Pre-register here for the Insider Discount on the new book Finally, finally, finally…  ] After more than five years of learning and doing and failing and learning and doing again, the revised, updated and expanded version of my 2013 book, The Local Economy Revolution: What’s Changed and How You Can Help  will be released in … Continue reading Big News: The Local Economy Revolution Has Arrived! →

We're all looking at the coming year with some mix of hope and trepidation: an end in sight now to some of the biggest crises we've faced, but also a new, sobering awareness of Big Things we need to work on. I've been sketching the issues and the new opportunities I think we have to … Continue reading Agenda 2021: Bigotry-breaking through community innovation →

I never met Tony Hseih.  That was on purpose.   The Downtown Project in Las Vegas crossed my conscience at a moment when I had become frustrated, embittered by the failures of my professions.  As an urban planner and economic developer with a long history in downtown and community revitalization, I had hit a dead end, concluding … Continue reading Remembering Tony Hsieh, Downtown Las Vegas and the Realities of Vision →

Here's your extra special copy of the Online Public Engagement Short Shot. Stay tuned for the book coming out in early 2021! Online Public Participation 3,0 Short ShotDownload

We have a growing awareness of how important - and fragile - our local small business community is, and that awareness is definitely strong among our oldest residents.  That came home to me in a new way when I was asked to talk about local business and local economies with AARP Wisconsin.  As I said … Continue reading Showcasing the importance of Independent Local Business: My interview with AARP →

What does it mean to have urban spaces that are truly welcoming to everyone?  What does walkability, or transportation access, or nice public spaces, or inviting architecture, look like if you are not part of the majority culture? Too often, urban spaces and systems are designed by a narrow slice of our increasingly diverse communities, … Continue reading Rethinking Urbanism with the Black Urbanist →

Few people embody kinetic energy like Nick O'Brien.  Perhaps its his sports journalism background, perhaps its his determination, perhaps its the sheer joy and thrill of possiblity that he brings to his work.  A conversation with Nick can't help but make you see whole new ways to address our old problems, and I think his … Continue reading Redesigning Economic Development, starting in Wisconsin →

Sometimes you have a first conversation with someone and you find yourself saying, Damn, this guy would be a great person to interview.  Or maybe that's just me.  But the first conversation I had with Jaime Izurieta of Storefront Mastery blew my mind with the creative, engaging and just fun system he had developed for addressing the … Continue reading Destroying Lockdown Anxiety with a little Small Business Hopscotch →

An AccelerateUs: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Local Industrial Revolution conversation.  How do your get your independent business alliance from normal to distributing $10 Million in grants... in three weeks?  You cultivate trusting relationships with your elected officials and staff, starting years before.  That's what Dane Buy Local and Executive Director Colin Murray did, and … Continue reading Building A Bridge to Impact: Developing & leveraging public sector relationships. With Colin Murray, Dane Buy Local →

An AccelerateUs: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Local Industrial Revolution conversation.  How do you get the news about your local businesses out to everyone when everything changes every day?  How do you keep a few hundred business owners up to date on a fire hose stream of new regulations, new requirements, new procedures and ever-changing … Continue reading Technology FTW: practical ways to communicate with your community and promote your businesses →