Development Services vs. Economic Development

First, this is not adversarial at the title might suggest.  At least not in Prince William County.  It is more of a very basic observation of the differences and the similarities between the two. These observations are based on extensive experience in one discipline and knowledge (and a growing experience) with another discipline. 

Economic development is fundamentally about why.  As in why should you locate your new facility in the County. As in why you should expand your existing operation in the County as opposed to a neighboring county.  Economic development is about customer service, marketing, listening, and justification. A great economic development professional can identify a client's needs AND wants.  Most clients do a very good job identifying their needs.  Wants are much harder and requires listening. Marketing is getting the client's attention.  Customer service is about getting answers to a client's questions in a timely manner.  Justification is at the heart of why.  For economic developers, we must justify a decision by a business executive to spend money and hire residents in our County.  

Now Development Services (DS).  DS is the permitting arm of Prince William County.  DS is about how. As in how quickly can we permit your facility so you can begin operation.  DS is about listening, asking appropriate questions, and customer service.  Listening involves the client explaining the project.  Asking appropriate questions is about finding out any unique factors in an effort to limit surprises. Customer service is about providing a concise and accurate overview of the permitting process and responding to client questions as quickly as possible.  It is our goal to permit you as fast as possible so you can begin generating revenue.  In addition, when you decide where to expand your operation, you may not have the same team who told you why you should locate in the County. But you will remember a positive permitting experience.  

You see, permitting is different in every jurisdiction.  Rules and regulations can differ slightly, but significantly. Make no mistake, these rules and regulations are taken seriously and enforced.  

Note the differences.  In economic development, it is sometimes said all that glitters is gold.  In DS it is about having a far deeper understanding about the project and understanding how we can fit key industry factors into the County permitting process.  DS is about delivery.

Note the similarities. The similarities are far more important.  Let me point out in other jurisdictions I hear about how economic development does not understand permitting and vice versa.  That is not the case in Prince William County.  

As far as similarities, I see three key ones. All are important. The first one is both have an emphasis on customer service.  The second one is listening to the client is absolutely critical.  And the third one is both want the business to succeed in the same way, but with a slight difference in metrics.  

The slight difference for economic development is about getting a client to locate in the County. The measurements for economic development are jobs and capital investment.  DS is about getting a client's selected location permitted quickly. The measurements for DS are permitting review time and customer satisfaction. 

I suspect I will have future posts on this subject.  

New Job - Observation Three - the Hum of a Beehive

This is the third and last post on my new job.  In my previous job I worked in one of the newest buildings in County and enjoyed a second floor view.  You may have seen posts of the view when it snowed.  At the maximum employment, the office of economic development has 13 employees. By and large it is very quiet. 

Now I work in County Complex, a development with five county buildings. I am in a two story building, it is called 5 County Complex.  My cube is on the first floor with a view of the courtyard and 1 County Complex.  

A couple of hundred employees work in 5 County Complex. Many citizens come to the building to discuss future plans, permit a business, or review public works project. The first floor has a large seating area for applicants seeking a permit for a home improvement, starting a business, or other activities.  Within this area are approximately 15 counters manned by County staff.   

It is a beehive. Halls are filled with people, conference rooms are almost always booked, and we have a diner in the basement.  

The early morning is when I hear the floor gear up.  It is quiet when I first arrive. I might hear a pot of coffee brewing. Within each 5 minute increment, I can hear more noise. And then it tops out in 30 minutes. I can hear conversations from a couple of the counters, a copy machine churning out paper, conversations in the hallway about business or a customer inquiry, and people walking the halls. In short, the low hum in a beehive.  

And I love it. 

New Job - Observation Two - the Wall Street Journal

As noted earlier, I took a new job with a different department in the County.  This post refers to the pre-morning day.  In my previous job working extra hours was the norm for me and half the office. 

In my new position, I find that the atmosphere is more relaxed.  Please do not misunderstand me, I am in no way implying that the staff in my new department do not work as hard, they do.  

I continue to receive the Wall Street Journal (WJS), an excellent business publication.  It is a cornerstone of business news.  In my previous position, I would read it on-line and usually in the evening.  

Now, I read the newspaper at my desk. I get to work early, pour a cup of coffee, and read the newspaper. Reading the newspaper edition is far more preferable.  The on-line version gives you headlines by subject.  The newspaper version you get to read (or not) each page and glance at the headlines.  I found I read articles I may have missed on the electronic version. It is also something unique to hear the paper swoosh when I turn a page and the sound of the paper crinkles as I straighten the page out when I find an article of interest.  When I find an article an acquaintance may enjoy, I email it to them. 

It is a great way to spend the first few minutes at my desk before the work crunch starts. 

New Job -Observation One - AM Emails

I recently took a new job with the Prince William County Dept. of Development Services.  It handles permitting of facilities and structures in the County.  Before that I was with County economic development department.  

One unique aspect of moving between departments in the County is you lose your email address. It is for security reasons.  

At first, I was unhappy. Over the past eight years this was my email address and all my clients knew it. It also was the user name for most of my business subscriptions. Changing all that was a monumental hassle. 

Before I moved to my new job I would get between 20-30 emails a day in my inbox before 8 am.  Checking my inbox was the first thing I did every morning.  Usually I would answer several before I left for the office. 

Now, I get between 1-2 emails in the morning.  I enjoy the morning much more.  It is far more leisurely and I enjoy drinking coffee, breakfast, and watching "Morning Joe."  And I do not check my emails first thing in the morning anymore.

It is a great way to start the day. 

Advice on an Organization's Culture from a Former Chick-fil-A Executive

First, I love Chick-fil-A.  The food and unsweetened tea are terrific. Second, I always enjoy reading a good business story. Third, I think Jim Collins is one of the most intelligent business observers in the United States. 

The article I reference to later in this post is by Ms. Dee Ann Turner, a former Chick-fil-A executive.  The focus of the article is an organization's culture.  And like me, she is a big Jim Collins fan. In fact, she references a Collins book that is one of my favorites. 

I cannot tell you how many articles i read about the importance of culture to an organization.  And having experienced good and weak cultures in the workplace, I can attest that culture is an absolutely critical foundation of a successful business.  

Ms. Turner does indeed value culture.  But that is not the main point of her piece.  Rather, she has two key parts. The first part of her article focuses on  excellent observations on how to tell when the culture is eroding. The second and equally important part is concrete recommendations that can be implemented.  

As an employee this is a valuable resource if the organization values culture.  As an economic developer it is a valuable tool to help determine the quality of a firm we are either recruiting or assisting with an expansion.  After all, most economic developers seek companies who choose to be involved in the community and value their employees. 

So enjoy the article.  It is an important read for all of us who are employees and value culture and for all economic developers who value the firms we recruit and assist with expansions. 

Link to article:  https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/former-chick-fil-a-vp-dee-ann-turner-this-can-make-great-companies-fall-apart

Note:  Ms. Turner's article is an excerpt from her just published book, Bet on Talent: How to Create a Remarkable Culture That Wins the Hearts of Customers," published by Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

An Excellent Article, Except...

First, an admission.  I am not a Starbucks fan.  Yes, this is an article about Starbucks and the COO, Ms. Roz Brewer. 

However, this article combines my favorite components of a great business story.  A new person comes in to improve the company. This new person is not from that industry.  The new person asks the right questions and uses data to determine what is working and not working. Next is execution. And finally, the results.  On a side note, it is an industry I enjoy reading about. 

This article is exactly like that. Ms. Roz Brewer comes in and does all of the above.  I love reading about coffee, but alas, as noted earlier, I do not drink Starbucks products.  However, this is a very good article for the reasons noted in the second paragraph. You will learn about Ms. Brewer's background. You will learn a lot about how she changed course in the business, how she determined the new direction, the importance of data and analysis, how she asked the right questions, and the importance and difficulty of execution. And you will learn something new about Starbucks.  

Title: How Starbucks Got Its Buzz Back

Link: https://fortune.com/longform/starbucks-coo-roz-brewer-sales-retail/

Government and Business Working Together?

Yes, I know it is so hard to believe.  But I found this article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek. It is about Saildrone. Saildrone is a robot sailboat.  The machine spent 7 months and traveled 12,500 miles to sail around Antarctica.  Saildrone brought back vital information about the climate and carbon absorption in the Southern Ocean. 

Saildrone is also the name of the private sector company that designed and built the robot sailboat.  

However, this is the interesting point of the article to me.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designed the carbon dioxide sensor used by the robot sailboat. 

Without Saildrone the robot sailboat and all the work in creating it may not have ever happen. Without NOAA designing the sensor, Saildrone may not have been commercially viable.  This is an excellent example of business and government working together for a common goal.  As a result, NOAA and other U.S. and international government agencies use the data for several important purposes. 

The article offers far more on Saildrone and the trials and tribulations of the company.  It is a very good read.  

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-05/saildrone-s-journey-around-antarctica-uncovers-new-climate-clues