The View from the Other Side

Here is a fun new video from my friend (and 2008 PSBJ 40 Under 40 inductee) Marty Dickinson and the Downtown Spokane Partnership. Her organization has led a tremendous effort to revitalize that City’s Downtown Core over the past decade or so and this video celebrates their accomplishments. Nice work, Marty! This makes me want to take another trip east.

Renton’s workhorse keeps plowing

As if it wasn’t enough that some 40% of the commercial airplanes in the air today were assembled in and took their maiden flights from Renton, news came today that India will spend $2.1 billion to have eight Renton-built Boeing P-8I submarine hunters defend its seas.

And, word came last week that Boeing may develop a fourth generation of the 737 rather than scrap it for some new family of single-aisle aircraft–one that many speculate could be built somewhere else.

Both of these stories come as extremely welcome news to us who truly appreciate the significance of Boeing and, more specifically, the 737 production facility at the Renton Plant to the regional and State economy. As the Aerospace Futures Alliance has recently pointed out, the Renton Plant alone is responsible for more than 10% of Washington State’s foregin exports ($3.8 billion) and nearly 3% of the Gross State Product ($6.9 billion).

Talk about an asset worth preserving…

Sage advice from 75 years ago

So, my dad, Theodore W. Pietsch III (Professor of Ichthyology at the University of Washington, known world wide as the author of salacious articles about fish sex and the describer of the recently discovered Maluku Frogfish) is writing a history of my grandfather, Theodore W. Pietsch II (known to me as Grampa Pop), and his work over a 38-year career as a designer for “every American automobile manufacturer except General Motors.”

In 1933, Grampa Pop was just like any other 21 year old kid looking for a job. Like many of us, he sought the help of a family friend who in 1933 set him up with an interview with Mr. Harold E. Talbott, then Director of the Chrysler Corporation. Upon setting up an interview for him with Mr. Ken Lee, Chrysler’s then Director of Research, here is the advice Mr. Talbott gave in a note to my Grampa Pop:

“Not knowing you any better than I do, or knowing your ability, I am making no further suggestions than to say that if I were in your place, I would go to Detroit, interview with Mr. Lee, take what job is available there, work like the devil, make good and warrant promotion. The work there will be difficult at first and you will probably have a discouraging time making friends and being away from home, but those are things that are necessary if you are ambitious to get ahead in the motor car industry.”

I suppose my father’s manuscript and the history of my Grampa Pop’s work in the mid-20th Century may have some new relevance given the current state of the automobile industry, but I thought this particular piece of advice offered 75 years ago by a successful business person to a young, eager job seeker was particularly insightful. And, I thought it worth sharing.

Reboot? I’m in.

Did everyone read this article last week? I hope so. Not the happiest thing I read during my holiday break, but I have to say I think Tom Friedman is right on here.

I don’t mean this to be political, but I am ready for the “change” promised by President-elect Obama and/or the “reboot” suggested by Friedman.

Here’s an example of one local community that recently took a bold step forward. When Ben Wolters left me in 2006 to join the City of Kent and told me that he was going to build a new hockey arena, I thought he was crazy (although, I don’t think I ever actually told him that). But, I have to congratulate Ben and, of course, Mayor Cooke and others on her staff. They pulled it off. They had an idea that will no doubt change their community for the better and they ran with it unabashedly. I wish them great success.

As Friedman writes, “We (Americans) still have the most creative, diverse, innovative culture and open society — in a world where the ability to imagine and generate new ideas with speed and to implement them through global collaboration is the most important competitive advantage.”

In 2009, I hope more of us are willing to take bold steps to “rediscover, rebuild and reinvent our own backyard.”

Happy New Year to all!

Service for Sue Carlson

For those of you who may have read my previous post regarding the recent passing of Sue Carlson and are interested in attending the celebration of her life. Here are the details:

Monday, November 24th, 2 PM, St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 1700 Edmonds Ave NE, Renton, WA

The Passing of Sue Carlson

Well, this is not what I intended to write about in my first foray in to the world of The Prosperity Blog. But, many of you who have been working in and around economic development in the Puget Sound region for some time will remember with fondness and respect Sue Carlson. So it is with sadness that I inform you that, after a valiant, lengthy, and hard fought battle with cancer, Sue passed away peacefully early this morning.