Doug Wendt, Senior Partner and President of Wendt Partners, a business-to-business business growth consulting firm, brings a wealth of experience in both business and economic development to his work and to this podcast.  His perspective is that economic developers need to think of their work as positioning products (their communities and the businesses within them) and engaging in “disruptive innovation.” He explains this with reference to how tech business’ need for space has changed over time, with more of a focus on being in the urban core of metro areas than in suburban office parks.  Doug also shares insights into the challenges facing manufacturers as they attempt a resurgence in the US–you will be interested to learn how he sees business financing as the key to future success.  The role of the economic development organization gets explored, with Doug making particular suggestions on  how leaders need to think about structuring the workload of themselves and their staff.  Utilizing his international experience, Doug also shares his thoughts about the impacts of globalization on the work of economic developers and the thinking of businesses, and finishes off the conversation by suggesting that economic developers focus on the “3Cs”–content, consulting, and community.