Welcome to Curated Morning. A compendium of news, information, and stories that economic development professionals, community development leaders and elected officials read every week to stay in touch with what is happening in our economy.

The Main Thing:

You may remember a line from Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous inaugural speech in 1933 when he said: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He said this to help Americans cope with the ravages of the Great Depression.

Fear is an interesting emotion. It can paralyze us into inaction or spur us to do great things. We get to choose. The unwarranted fear of perceived outcomes drives procrastination and related anxiety.

Putting things off until the last minute or simply not doing something (avoidance) are coping mechanisms; everyone has used them at one point or another. However, like everything, you can take a perceived obstacle or fear and turn it into something positive.

For some people, putting things off is a minor issue, but it can be devastating for many people.

Please read my second post in a series about procrastination this week. I hope to help you improve your ability to tackle these responses to everyday life stressors.

​Don't put it off. Read it here. ​

Focus On Economic Development

Prescription for Growth: Eli Lilly Eyes $2.5B Houston Manufacturing Hub

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is considering a 236-acre tract in Houston's Generation Park for a manufacturing facility that could deliver a significant $2.5 billion economic impact over a decade. The proposed development, reported by Maddy McCarty in Bisnow (Eli Lilly Considers Houston For $5.9B Biomanufacturing Facility), would create over 2,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent positions, promising a substantial boost to the local economy. The project comes with a potential tax incentive limiting local school district taxation to 50% of the project's appraised value for ten years. While not yet confirmed, this potential investment is part of Eli Lilly's recently announced $27 billion expansion plan to build four new pharmaceutical manufacturing sites nationwide as demand surges for their weight-loss and diabetes medications like Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Why This Matters: This potential investment highlights how communities can position themselves to capture high-value life sciences manufacturing. McCord Development pivoted its Generation Park strategy toward life sciences after losing an Amgen facility to North Carolina in 2022. The proposed incentive structure also provides a valuable case study in the competitive landscape for attracting pharmaceutical manufacturing, offering substantial job creation and significant tax base potential.

Take Action: Evaluate your community's potential for life sciences manufacturing by cataloging existing biotech infrastructure and identifying gaps that need addressing. Create dedicated life sciences zones with pre-approved infrastructure and streamlined permitting. Research recent pharmaceutical facility site selections to understand the competitive incentive landscape without compromising long-term community benefits.

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The New Triple Threat: How Three Modern Skills Are Reshaping Workforce Requirements

In the article The new skills triad: How we equip the workforce for the future of work by Ronit Avni we learn that just as internet literacy and Microsoft Office proficiency became essential workplace skills over the past quarter-century, a new trio of fundamental competencies is emerging as the baseline for professional success. According to workforce experts, the "new skills triad" consists of carbon intelligence (understanding and managing environmental impacts), virtual intelligence (effectively working across digital environments), and artificial intelligence proficiency (integrating AI tools into daily workflows). This evolution reflects the transformative impact of climate regulations, remote work models, and automation technologies across virtually all industries and job functions.

Why This Matters: Economic developers must recognize this skills transformation when designing workforce development initiatives and attracting businesses. Communities that align education systems and training programs with these emerging skill requirements will create a significant competitive advantage in business recruitment and retention. Economic developers who help bridge these skills gaps position their regions to capture high-value employers seeking workforce-ready talent in these critical areas.

Take Action: Partner with local educational institutions to integrate the "skills triad" into curriculum at all levels, from K-12 through higher education and continuing education programs. Create industry-specific training programs that contextualize these skills for your region's target sectors.

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​From Traffic Lights to Tech Heights: Atlanta Crowned America's Ultimate Smart City

Atlanta has secured the top spot in ProptechOS' 2025 Smart City Index, outranking traditional tech powerhouses like San Jose and Boston. This annual ranking evaluates cities based on their technology infrastructure, sustainability initiatives, and tech job markets. Atlanta scored an impressive 88 out of 100 for tech infrastructure and 82 for its tech job market, advertising 643 tech positions per 10,000 residents. The city's long-term smart city strategy, launched in 2015 in partnership with Georgia Tech, has yielded notable successes. You can read about in The 10 cities best prepared for a ‘smart city future by Ryan Kushner in SmartCitiesDive.

Why This Matters: Atlanta's rise from 10th place last year to the top position demonstrates how mid-sized metros can successfully compete with established coastal tech hubs through strategic infrastructure investments and public-private partnerships. For economic developers, this case study illustrates how a comprehensive smart city strategy can simultaneously address quality of life concerns, attract tech talent, and position a region for future growth.

Take Action: Assess your community's current smart city initiatives and identify gaps using the ProptechOS metrics as a benchmark. Form strategic partnerships with local universities and technical colleges to develop smart city solutions tailored to your community's specific challenges. Create innovation zones or corridors where smart technologies can be tested and showcased, similar to Atlanta's North Avenue project. Consider how sustainability goals can be integrated with smart city initiatives to maximize impact across multiple metrics, as Atlanta did with its Better Buildings Challenge.

Other Articles of Interest this week:

Green Economy-- How Colorado became a circular economy model by Richard Martin | Trellis -- The state is trying to create a homegrown remanufacturing sector that keeps material in the state and out of landfills, creating new jobs in the process. A network of public/private entitites and initiatives is helping build the circular economy. For now, a fully sustainable ecosystem that collects material from across the state and includes a viable reuse and remanufacturing sector remains a distant vision.

Leadership -- How First-Time Managers Can Make the Successful Jump to Leadership by Harry M. Kraemer | Kellogg Insight -- A former Fortune 500 CEO offers advice on arguably the most difficult career transition in business.

Technology -- The creators of the Las Vegas Sphere want to open smaller mini-Spheres​

By Andrew Liszewski -- The mini-Spheres would accommodate 5,000 attendees and require a smaller investment from performers.

AI -- Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, acquires 1 million-square-foot property in Memphis​

Kyle Wiggers | TechCrunch -- xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, has acquired a 1 million-square-foot property in Southwest Memphis to expand its AI data center footprint, according to a press release from the Memphis Chamber of Commerce.

Mentoring-- Amplify Your Leadership With This Novel Form Of Mentoring by Melissa A. Wheeler | Forbes -- In exchange mentoring, two experienced leaders pair up, and each serves as both mentor and mentee. In this reciprocal form of mentoring, the dyad benefits from the diversity of expertise, skills, and learning that each has acquired in their careers.

Something You Should Read:

Do you understand Quantum Computing? If you do, please email me and be my tutor. I have read countless articles about Quantum Computing, but I still don’t know how it works. I have just barely begun to understand how our current system of digital computing works, but Quantum is confusing unless you are an advanced computer engineer with a PhD.

However, I have a strong sense of how technology works and impacts my life. Today, we are faced with the potential of AI, yet we don't fully understand how it will play out. We may never fully understand. When the internet came around, we also had no idea how it would turn out. The same goes for social media. In some ways, we are still left wondering because the full story has yet to be written.

For example, Steve Jobs and others who revolutionized our “smart devices” would never have realized that these devices have collectively made us dumber. I doubt that Job intended to provide a platform for TikTok reels or videos of our cats.

Before you jump on me for my disdain for some of this technology, let me remind you that I am not against technology. It’s all a gift to humankind. I am against the stupid use of technology.

Back to Quantum Computing. McKinsey has produced this excellent podcast on the future of Quantum Computing, which you can read the transcript or listen to here.

Here are the three most important takeaways from the article/podcast in case you don't have time to read or listen to it:

• Organizations should prepare for quantum computing by implementing quantum-safe encryption algorithms to protect against future "steal now, decrypt later" attacks, especially for sensitive data that would remain valuable years into the future.
• Companies should address the quantum talent shortage early by hiring specialists. There are only "thousands of people in the world" with the necessary skills, and it "takes years and years to train and earn a PhD to do this type of work."The most promising practical applications for quantum computing are in optimization problems (routing, cargo packing, financial portfolio management), simulations (drug interactions, materials science), and secure communications (quantum encryption), with an estimated $1-2 trillion in value across industries by 2035.

Overheard:

"The question is not whether intelligent machines can have any emotions, but whether machines can be intelligent without any emotions."

-- Marvin Minsky

The Rabbit Hole:

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Just a Little Note to Say…

When you receive a handwritten thank-you note from someone, it feels terrific. In today's digital world, getting a note like this is unique and even considered old-fashioned or quaint.

Professionally, I have occasionally written handwritten notes to people to thank them for their efforts or for something they have done for me. I committed to doing this as often as possible, but I, too, would get busy and forget. I have often thought of ways to start a private note-writing campaign, if for no other reason than to perpetuate this lost habit.

A handwritten note feels completely different than a DM or email thanking you for something or even a word of encouragement. Due to my analog upbringing, a handwritten note tells me that someone took the time to sit down with a note card or a piece of paper, think about what thoughts they wanted to convey, and then undertake the physical steps to write. In writing that note, they moved their hands in a way that put words on a piece of paper. It's meaningful when you think about it in our fast-paced AI-fueled world.

As someone who has occasionally written notes to people, the feeling you get sitting down and writing the note is wholly different from the digital message. For those who have grown up digital, this may sound like an outdated elder cry for days past, but it's not—writing a handwritten note forces you to slow down and think a bit about the person, the reason, and the sentiment you want to convey.

So, if you need help writing that first note, read this article. It provides a step-by-step guide on how to write a thank you note.

But don't limit it to thank-you notes. Please write a note that conveys how much you appreciate them. Or write a note that congratulates them on their promotion or other achievement. It can be that simple. And that is satisfying.

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​It's a Grill, Not a BBQ

Before I get to the main point of this article about "chilling out" while grilling, I want to make the point that so many people on cooking shows and home improvement shows make use of certain words related to the topic of this article: That big metal apparatus in your back yard, you know, the one that you heat with coals or propane is called a GRILL, not a Barb-b-que.

You are not barbecuing meat when you throw some meat on your GRILL. You are grilling it.

Barbeque is meat that has been smoked (preferably), and a dry rub or sauce is suggested. Putting your bratwurst or hamburger on a hot surface is 'grilling.' Case closed.

Feel free to comment by emailing me back.

Oh, and read this article about chilling when grilling (this sentence would not have been possible using the other word!)

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​When in Rome, do as the Romans do…

Unless, of course, they ask you to be a Gladiator. I watched the first movie with Russel Crowe (released in 2000) and recently watched Gladiator II. The entire spectacle of man-to-man combat in an NFL-sized stadium is compelling. Ancient Rome was an interesting and, in some ways, modern place.

Today, we can visit the Colosseum and marvel at its architecture. If you are lucky enough to have seen the structure, you undoubtedly have been impressed with its longevity. It’s that special Roman concrete, right?

​The video linked here will give you a detailed look at how the coliseum was built and structured.

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