No, not the name of an indie pop band from the 1980s (although it’s a kinda cool name, eh?!). Its the response I usually get when I ask a local authority “Do you have a list of your most important employers – and a system of account management for them?”

The blank looks are the field’s biggest intelligence failure. Because here is what official statistics will never tell you: why. They will tell you employment in one of your industries fell 8% last year. They will not tell you whether the cause was a competitor’s technology, an ownership change three time zones away, a lost contract, or a founder retiring with no succession plan. Each of those causes demands a completely different response.

Data describes. People explain.

The businesses on your patch hold the causal knowledge your strategy depends on – why firms invest, struggle, grow, stay or leave. That knowledge is reachable only through trusted relationships, built before you need them. This is not stakeholder engagement as a pleasantry. It is analytical infrastructure.

And it runs on the business clock, not the government clock. Answer quickly. Arrive briefed. Never ask twice for information a firm already gave you. Close the loop by showing what changed because of the last conversation.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 – 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘹, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵-𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩.

This post is part of the prosperity in every postcode series. To deliver this – we need to be truly great at local and regional economic development. Follow me to get these posts prioritised in your LinkedIn newsfeed.

𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰-𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱.𝗸𝗶𝘁.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝟯𝟬𝟮𝟵𝟭𝟲𝗳𝗮𝗳𝗮

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