Three Improvements to Catalytic Specialization in Economic Clusters (Delta County Cluster Model)

Clusters are going to become increasing important as our nation seeks to create competitive advantages. We will need new ways to think about things and researchers will have to share information to connect the dots of development. Approximately 13 years ago I started researching clusters based on something I found in Detroit just prior to the collapse. Since then I started to work on first understanding fishing, technology, and pharmaceutical companies. Once I got to a certain point I started to think of isolated rural towns like Delta County where you can watch cluster form in live time. Here is where I am now in my Delta County Model (It may not be where everyone else is. Some may be further and some less however each is going to be a little unique.)

As with all science you have to keep finding new information to better understand the model and the activities and the different components that lead to local and perhaps even at some point national innovation. This comes through the collective of knowledge on economic clusters and watching how they form.

 According the report Transform Economies, Promote Specialization we find that there are possibly three ways to start a catalytic specialization area (CSA) to speed innovation (Dhar, et. al. 2022). 

1. Identifying the Cluster. In my example I used Delta County and Escanaba, MI. 

2. Prioritization of high-potential CSAs. This means government, industry and business stakeholders make it important. 

3. Building models. Aha! I been working on this one using Delta County. See Theory of Transactional Clusters (Ok. There are about 4 people who are working on this in any depth from what I can sort of see. Most others are sort of drawing off of those primary theories. Mine is nearing a point where I can weave it into a bow so that it justifies itself in a way that better ensures higher levels of validity. Each of the components is justified in the literature and applied real time review but put together in this way may be new. Its not finished yet so avoid hitting it with a purist meat cleaver.)

Now the report pushes for specialization and I agree in part that this is true but its not absolute. Specialization is necessary in order to have the higher refined technical and scientific knowledge. Yet over specialization of a team leads to poor results when trying to connect scientific holes. Cognitive diversity is as important in research as it is in business and civic life. 

Thus I would throw a finger to the wind and throw a ratio out 1 creative generalist to every 5 specialist on a team. This is how one calibrates a team will determine whether they will go wider to cross pollinate other industries or deeper to discover new pins of needle knowledge (In cluster management and shared research it will be important to determine the amount of forces on the cluster pushing it down some lines of development versus others. That will be dependent on stakeholders.) 

One of the advantages in the Delta County/Escanaba Model is you can start formulating a way to sort of see where the gaps in knowledge lay, which industries might enhance a cluster, and move down into the granular movement of information and resources. It isn't perfect but there are some justifications at various levels of sand to beach conception. 

Dhar, et. al. (December 7th, 2022). To Transform Economies, Promote Specialization. BCG. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2022/promoting-economic-clusters-to-transform-economies

Expect Little but Receive Much from People: New Year's Wisdom

As we move into the New Years I have learned some lessons over the decades and feel it is beneficial share much of what I learned throughout my life with others. I'm not always right, but I think they do provide some level of valuable insight into at lease one perspective. While I like to give advice to my kids, and with age they have come to appreciate that advice, that doesn't mean everyone will. It also doesn't mean that my advice is always valid. What it does mean is that I'm experienced enough to provide some general advice and hopefully take some of it myself. 😏

Expect Little but Receive Much from People 

People can disappointing and because of that a great many conflicts in life are based on false expectations. While as a society we should have certain expectations and maintain certain standards for the benefit and safety of everyone most of our day-to-day interactions are are series of social interplays. Sometimes they are positive and sometimes they are negative.

The expectations we have of others are ours alone! We create them in our social world and they are highly dependent on the person and their focus on certain social exchange behaviors. Some people will focus on some things and some will focus on others.

In many cases, the wiser the person is, the less they expect, and the more humble they become. The less humble, and in many ways more emotionally demanding a person is, the more they expect people to meet their high expectations. Only from a place of wisdom can you truly guide others. Mostly you are immersed in the mix of life, pushed like a leaf in the wind, unaware until one reaches a level of metacognition.

Often the lower we are in that journey, the more we expect from others while the higher we are in that journey the lower those expectations (different than cynicism alone). Beware of those with impossible expectations because they will likely stay impossible! (They are often also incorrect expectations.)

People just sort of live their lives and get into their routines along the robopath without critical examination. Some think about things deeper and some only scratch the surface. If you lower your expectations you can come to accept people for who they are and where they are in their life's journey. Expect more beyond what someone can provide and you will be disappointed.

When you allow each person to unravel themselves and be themselves without expectation they begin to tell you a story. They may not know they are telling you a story but you are allowing them to be themselves and in turn express themselves freely. You receive insight into the person, their interest, values and lives (Sometimes that is important). 

This year instead of expecting people to meet your expectations instead take the time to let them set their own standard. Let them tell you a story about who they are and what they believe. Listen to what they talk about, how they want to be treated, how they treat others, their values, and their behavioral mannerisms. With time they may tell you a story of their inner motivations and their life's logic. 

If your trying to select a candidate to manage your money, take on a political career, move into an important role you may want to expect less and receive more. The story candidates create through their interactions with others helps you to make important decisions. While we may have fancy systems, exquisite portfolios, complex supply chains, and spectacular balance sheets at the end of the day success comes down to people and knowing who has the skills for what. 

As you come to practice the half zen wisdom of expecting less and gaining more there will come a point where you realize people want to be appreciated for who they are and not what you want them to be (A good point for those who want to inspire others to greater heights.). Clearing the smudge of expectation from your glasses often leads to greater insight. Did you expect me to say something different? 🤷

Christmas in Escanaba: Generations of Loggers and "Mill" Workers

On this Christmas Day it is time to spend time with family and friends. For those in Escanaba, it is time to remember the many generations of people that worked in lumber in one form or another and its influence on our holidays (Think about it....for many families histories going back since early 1900's or even before.). 

Source: DDA and History of Escanaba

Even my family goes back generations in this field in the U.P. ensuring logs made their way down the river. The "Mill" as it is locally known has helped this town throughout its generations maintain a way of life that is unique among those in this country and perhaps even the world. 

I know that Christmas is sort of a religious day for some and it is sort of a secular holiday for others. For me, it is a little of both. Today, I'm thinking a few minutes about the many blessings that have been shared among people I know and among people in the community. 

Source: Escanaba Post Card Museum

I'm reading this article Proposal to transform Escanaba Mill, retain 1,200+ jobs gets first green light and thinking, "Wouldn't it be nice if we do land the investment and the town is secure for another few generations?"

I guess we should be thankful for what we have today and perhaps with a little Christmas miracle be even more thankful for tomorrow. There is always hope. 💓 Happy Holidays and great tidings! 

"Ibland kan man inte se skogen på grund av alla träd." translated "Sometimes you cannot see the forest because of all the trees."

Surfing in MI During a Blizzard, I Kept Hearing About It! Video

People complain in California during the wee hours of the morning that it is cold but I doubt they never thought of surfing during a blizzard! I would not suggest you try it at home.

The closest thing I can think of are ice divers. Basically they chop a hole in the ice and jump in. They keep asking if I will be topside for emergencies ensuring the ice wont freeze, helping, etc. While I have summer dived with the group many times I respond, "Don't ask me! I'm not jumping into the hole!" Basically, depending on tank time and decompression time based on depth it would be unlikely emergency services would be close enough help. (You may want to read about gases in cold water decompression many divers don't often think about. Pollock, 2003)

The coldness is not the issue here, it is the cold, wind, waves, and violent nature of a blizzard on the Great Lakes that would make this activity and perhaps even rescue difficult. However, with the outdoors the goal is often to push the limits and for many people it works out just fine but preparation and precaution are important.

Pollock, N. (2003). Cold Stress Complicates Decompression Risks. Education, Conservation, Exploration. https://www.gue.com/cold-stress-complicates-decompression-risks

Top Four Things I Learned About Fitness Over the Past Year (Rowing Example 2023)

I'm an active type person and do lots of things for recreation, sport and even sometimes compete in various activities. Reflecting back over the past year and some of the fitness mini experiments on myself to see what works and what doesn't work to improve fitness (In this context, it just means trying new things and taking notice of changes. Colloquial language). Four things I found interesting over the past year are listed below.

Earned a fitness trainers license and have some experience in general fitness activities (I have been on different teams throughout my life from sailing to chess). While that is perfectly good knowledge for me, it may not be precisely the right knowledge for you! The only way to know with reasonable assurances is to talk to your doctor and make sure you are ready for physical stress. Because I regularly try and push the limits and in turn I must monitor my general health and have regular check ups. 

Four Things I Learned

1. Consistency. Keeping at it with a schedule and not allowing others to derail.

2. Food Quality. Higher protein, complex carbs, and good fats. 

3. Loading Properly. Ensuring you are burning yourself into fatigue.

4. Imagery. Know what your trying to accomplish and have an image of it.

(Over the past year+ I have been getting into rowing. About 5 years ago I started rowing and then sort of dropped out as other interests took precedence. Anyway, over the past year I have found out that it is a great sport for fitness and when you get into it there are other life benefits. My goal over 2023 is to move from being sort of on the cusp of lower level of a rowing team/group to somewhere in the middle. Then I will have to decide what goals to add after that {Its about options in most things.}. 

If you don't know me very well you will come to find that my life is a series of goals and efforts to accomplish those goals. I can barely see where I started anymore. For the most part the important ones have been accomplished and those that started out with hopes but lost precedence sort of fizzled in the practicalities of life (i.e Everest)

In order for me to achieve my goals I will need to condition more on the muscles and activities that specifically apply to rowing {or any other activity). Each sport has their own fitness requirements and the process of engaging in multiple sports until I get pretty good before exploring new sports has some general fitness advantages. Yet each sport requires a period of adaptation to proficiency that leads to multiskills which further create complex fitness {i.e. I'm not saying its all that! I'm just saying variety, especially variety to proficiency, leads to new self mastery paths. Skills and abilities are additive.}  

I like to set and work with concrete goals so mine is to drop 30+ seconds for the 500 meter this year. I'm good enough to row in a fairly seasoned group/team, but am on the lower end of the pack. {Yaaa sad I know. 😢} I don't blame myself because as my sport specific body mechanics become more finely tuned, pace becomes consistent, muscle memory grows, and specific fitness requirements adjust, those 30 seconds will drop quickly. It must be the way I, we, us learn or something. Beyond that, it would be slow time shaving. Its kind of like dropping 10 lbs when you first start dieting and then find out the rest of the pounds are much harder.)

You may be interested in this motivating video....

(Your probably thinking I'm going to add more videos on rowing and yes that among many other videos from other stuff I'm interested in because I find them motivating. However, I think you might sort of see a general blog demographic forming based on shared interests, likes, knowledge sets and lifestyle. If your going to write about something you might want to make sure it does general good for society and that it is stuff that interests you!)

January 6th Committee Report Released House Report 117-000

This report is important and in relation to a security report in a previous post a few days ago (Capitol Security Report). Why is it important in general and/or for business? Well, the short answer is that the way in which we handle these conflicts, issues, and arguments helps to show our ability to navigate some of the most tricky situations. If I were a foreign company I might take notice that even during the worst of times where a Capitol has been sacked we as a nation, as a people, as self-rule spirit eventually adjust and overcome in a relatively peaceful way (I'm optimistic! 🤞)

There is research that helps to show that countries that can handle conflict and civil strife by focusing on the best will of the people become more stable places to invest and in turn reduce risks for international investments. When we add innovation, infrastructure changes, etc., civil rights protections, we might find the U.S. to be overall one of the best places to invest with a stable government system that can overcome violent dissent and overcome hate to develop itself and its human capital (That doesn't mean we still don't have work to do.).

Let us see if our choices get us there or if we allow further splits. It looks as though people are starting to see the bigger purpose of their roles and how that can be a huge part of becoming the first digital era economy through large scale advanced manufacturing universal democracy that marks the next stage of societal development. Or we go backwards. 🤷

Most countries are not ready to grow on this level because the groundwork hasn't been laid. Conflict may have a longer term historical advantage when it occurs if we adapt to higher values and shared futures appropriately. That happens ONLY if we overcome our challenges and keep our eyes over the horizon. Many are walking like ducks behind the other and have not looked up to get their own bearings.

For now, just read the various reports and see where they are similar or different. This report is going to be fairly important because of the sheer scope of people involved, witnesses, and other documents that lead to credibility of the assessment. It is now up to the DOJ to review. I didn't actually read it yet...in process...I'm curious what it says. 

Final Report January 6th, House Report 117-00

Billerud Needs Escanaba and Escanaba Needs Billerud!

The mill needs new life and the life of that mill is limited by the current market. Billerud has an opportunity to not only connect with the community but be part of history in the making. This town has lots of potential and the town is attracting increasing interest. Billerud is taking a historical landmark mill and bringing it into a modern digital era that supplies boxes for packaging and shipping (This is a growing market). So Billerud will make some choices....

Below you will find a very nice article by the Daily Press (Our local paper). If Billerud selects Escanaba as the place for investment I believe based on the way the market is changing, political adjustments, and economic shifts in manufacturing the company may end up returning more than they initially projected and in turn set themselves up for future emerging options and opportunities (Maybe. There is some support for that comment.). 

I'm not going to go into depth on hedging and corporate investment strategies that consider factors such as locality, emerging markets, current investment profiles, etc. There are people out there way smarter than me on that topic. The only thing I'm going to say on it in the moment that Escanaba may work as a midterm and long term investment hedge for a number of different types of companies. The current revenue projections would likely be maintained except during certain periods of construction until new systems come on board (It just depends on the mechanics and strategy of the plan). 

That may specifically apply to Billerud as this mill and this town have unique characteristics (geographic, infrastructure, skilled training school, etc.) that would be hard to find in other towns. In other words, while some investment metrics might find similarities in some towns they may not see the specific benefits of this town (I think they see it but sometimes people get lost in in some numbers and not other numbers which would justify unseen value.)

Companies want to put themselves in the best place for success and future options and opportunities as they can. Future options, with local/state support, and with other developments in the area can raise the long term value of the initial investment projection and return rate. Environment is a difficult thing for many traditional metrics to count accurately (there will always be error rates). Add to that what our market looked like preCovid, preSupply Chain chaos, preChina-US trade issues, PreRussian war, etc. a few years ago to today and we would be shocked at how radically different they are now. Forecasting the Fringe. Billerud and the Red Buck 'Skonawby'.

Think about it. If you can invest in a town that may have other opportunities coming its way that raises the value of the mills property and land holdings, having one of the few deep ports, shipping infrastructure, lifestyle for attracting and retaining employees (executives), and a downtown that is drawing interest I think you can see the other difficult to calculate benefits (One could calculate these out but it isn't always included in every strategy so sometimes its beneficial to mention so designers can go back and consider.)

We can only really wait and see what happens but we those that can make the opportunity go through should be. It will be good for the community and it will be good for the company and for the owners/investors. This could be the start to something much bigger and much greater as markets reorient themselves to new supply chains and political realities.

Townships, county support mill expansion