LURING SUCCESS INSTIGATORS 

In the past it was not uncommon for provincial and state governments and such businesses as banks to collect art to decorate public buildings. Now a dramatic new trend, to attract business, industry and individuals to a particular locale is emerging: bringing action instigators and businesses to your community even if you have to "buy" them.

In Canada, the recent move by the government of Saskatchewan to aid in the purchase of Crown Life Corporation (after the province of New Brunswick admitted it had considered the same deal but found it "too rich") is a typical example. This process will increase as political jurisdictions are forced into innovative action to create local economic activity. Saskatchewan, which has had a continuing population drop during the last few decades, needs the additional individuals who will move there as basic population infusion as part of the Crown Life acquisition.

Governments of all stripes -- and from all countries -- may actively seek out and attempt to lure individuals, business enterprises and both profit and non-profit organizations as competition heats up for successful operations in our highly-competitive global environment. The old ways aren't working. So far only a few innovators have learned the rules of the new game!

Having an industrial development department in city, state or federal government is not new. But most direction has been to bring in large, prosperous companies with hundreds of workers. As large companies continue to downsize, go bankrupt or are purchased by foreign or out-of-town buyers something has to replace that lost economic activity.

Growth today is most evident in small, sunrise industry start-up companies with few employees. Three years ago 62 percent of all new jobs, according to StatsCanada, came from companies with five or fewer employees. Last year 82 percent of new jobs were created by companies with nine or fewer employees. One does not need a degree in higher mathematics to figure out that if this continues, by the end of the decade that totals two-thirds of the workforce.

All this occurred while other figures were showing that a full 40 percent of all companies listed among the famous Fortune 500 ten years ago no longer existed! And, that no 10 year-old old Fortune 500 corporation has increased staff during the past decade.

The new belief is that individuals create jobs in the new communications age environment. Get the right people, turn them loose and hope, in balance, that they will give bigger bang for the money expended than in trying to support large but fading sunset industries. The big political disadvantage: small companies, even a lot of them, do not make the same amount of political contributions that used to flow from the large industrial age corporations -- to all parties. In light of the current growing panic over the economy, when municipalities must take unusual action to prevent their demise or eventual death, expect to see what would once have been considered outlandish action. Unusual arrangements in an attempt to survive and thrive in an environment, no training institution ever anticipated.

Remember The Ninth Law: In times of chaos, panic or rapid change, the bizarre rapidly becomes acceptable."

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