November began with a well-attended webinar for Business Retention and Expansion International on “Leveraging AI in Economic Development.” The 60-minute webinar on November 9th focused on applying artificial intelligence in economic development, especially business retention and expansion. With 25 participants from the United States and Canada, it generated significant interest, particularly around practical applications like creating BRE strategies with Claude 2.0, lead generation, target company profiling, appointment setting, and logistics. A follow-up webinar is now in the works.
My AI-assisted executive coaching continued this month, holding 30-minute GROW model conversations with executive leaders to map out their goals, reality, opportunities/obstacles, and willingness to accomplish aims. I’m glad to report all coaching participants made real progress on their goals in November.
Our Whittaker Associates team proceeded with the Louisiana Future Energy project, supporting hydrogen economic development, recruitment and expansion as the state transitions from petroleum to hydrogen. This is part of a major federally funded decarbonization effort. AI summarized reports, drafted emails, and monitored industry trends.
After the webinar, I prepared for a podcast interview with Karl Dye, President/CEO of TRIDEC. We discussed economic development opportunities presented by decarbonization, climate change, and electricity shortages. AI helped to formulate discussion questions and follow up with participants. Check out the edited podcast on our website.
This month also involved writing this newsletter and launching the “AI in Economic Development” feature with an introductory article on AI’s rapid changes and applications for economic development. AI assisted with editing draft articles.
Read the first issue here.