Not because they weren't smart. Not because they didn't work hard. But because nobody had ever explained to them what economic development actually is. What is the mission? What is the function? What are the dilemmas you'll face when public purpose and private...
I sat in meetings early in my career where decisions were being made and I didn't know the local backstory. Who had tried what before? Why certain approaches had been abandoned? What are the political sensitivities? What the community actually needed versus what...
𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘔𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝟣𝟫𝟫𝟢𝘴 I thought I was reasonably well prepared. I had read the research, understood the theories, sat in plenty of meetings with practitioners....