Dynamic Decisions Podcast

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  • Entrepreneurship
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🎙️ Welcome to Dynamic Decisions – where the best decisions start with great conversations. Hosted by Teasha Cable, CEO of CModel, this show dives into the stories, strategies, and decisions behind some of the most innovative leaders in business today. Each episode, we sit down with visionaries who are leveraging data to rethink the status quo, solve complex challenges, and create lasting impact in their fields. Tune in to discover how top leaders are using data to transform their businesses—and how you can too.  Learn more: cmodel.io

  1. 2d ago

    What's the Real Currency of Economic Development?

    Mandy White, Chief Economic Development Officer for the Greater Jackson, TN Chamber, has spent nearly three decades helping turn Jackson, Tennessee into a manufacturing hub home to 60 to 70 companies, including several Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 brands. In this episode, she breaks down what actually won the region's largest single investment ever, and how she keeps the workforce pipeline growing to match it. Spoiler alert, it wasn't incentives. How Jackson won a $425M Georgia Pacific plant, the largest investment in its history, by building trust with the site selection consultant before incentives were ever discussedWhy "Team Tennessee" thinking means Mandy sometimes coaches competing communities, including teaching a Japanese business etiquette course to two nearby towns bidding against each other for the same projectThe real mismatch between fast-moving manufacturing technology and slow-moving educational institutions, and how Jackson bridges itMandy's decision-making breakdown across four leadership personas, and how 27 years on the job shifted her from a balanced approach to a values-first one If you think incentives are what wins industrial recruitment, this conversation will change your mind.

    What's the Real Currency of Economic Development?

  2. Aug 28

    Not All Growth Is Good Growth: The Case Against Chasing Every Deal

    Not All Growth Is Good Growth: The Case Against Chasing Every Deal   Maurice Harris has sat on both sides of the site selection table: first as a researcher at Greater MSP and Transwestern Real Estate, now as an economic development specialist at JLL working with BNSF on rail expansion across Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Montana.  He's also a Golden Valley, Minnesota city council member and the first African American to win a second term on that council, giving him a rare view into how research actually lands in real decisions.   Why site selection has shifted from cheap land and low taxes toward talent attraction, housing, and quality of life over the last decade How Minnesota competes with low-tax states like Texas by selling schools, parks, and infrastructure instead of a lower rate The real story behind the Amazon HQ2 bidding war, and why Greater MSP was comfortable not winning it How Golden Valley built its first-ever economic development strategic plan and funded dedicated staff through a new EDA tax levy   If you've ever wondered what actually convinces a company to pick one city over another, this one will change how you think about it.

    Not All Growth Is Good Growth: The Case Against Chasing Every Deal

  3. Aug 25

    Just Give Them the Pickle

    Kelsi Jackson, executive director of the Jackson County Tourist Development Council in Northwest Florida, built her county's entire visitor strategy around a decades-old customer service story about an extra pickle.  She explains how that mindset turned skeptical gas station clerks and restaurant workers into genuine tourism ambassadors, and what it takes to grow a rural visitor economy without a big budget. The origin of "Give Them the Pickle" and why Kelsi built a whole ambassador training program around itHow a four to five month training series turned some of the county's loudest online skeptics into its biggest cheerleadersWhy Kelsi's team chases cave divers and hunters who stay a week or more over day-trippers who don't spend muchHow a public-private partnership at Jackson Blue Springs tripled foot traffic without costing the county in operations   By the end, you'll understand why "just give them the pickle" has become the whole philosophy behind Jackson County tourism.

    Just Give Them the Pickle

  4. Aug 21

    99 Neighborhoods, One Economic Strategy

    Coreat Houser directs the City of Birmingham's Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, overseeing economic development, workforce development, real estate, and small business support across all 99 city neighborhoods.  In this conversation, he explains why civic education, not just funding, is often the real bottleneck to inclusive growth, and breaks down how his team rebuilt Birmingham's $6.2M BOLD grant program from the ground up.   Why Coreata's first 30 days in city government, right before COVID hit, exposed how little most residents and business owners actually understand about how city government works How BOLD evolved from a $6.2M fund for 66 organizations into a 12-month, technical-assistance-backed partnership model instead of a compliance program Why Birmingham deliberately maps funding and investment across all 99 neighborhoods instead of concentrating it downtown The results of Coreata's live Decision Style Persona Assessment, showing exactly how he weighs values, data, risk, and long-term strategy when allocating public dollars   This is what economic development looks like when equity is a mapped result, not a talking point.

    99 Neighborhoods, One Economic Strategy

  5. Aug 18

    The Recruiter Who Won't Play the Salary Game...and Wins

    Joi, known as The Joiful Recruiter, is the lead talent acquisition advisor for sales at Dynatrace, president of the Black Employee Network Business Resource Group, and founder of Joiful Talent Solutions. After a decade in high-volume RPO recruiting and years in enterprise SaaS, she has built a track record that includes a 95% offer acceptance rate, a 20% drop in time to hire, and a 30% lift in retention among the sales teams she staffs. The exact behavioral questions Joi asks to find out why a candidate really left their last job, before she ever screens for skillsHow she carried her instincts from high-volume RPO recruiting into slower, higher-stakes enterprise sales hiringHer rule on salary conversations: talk about money early, and never let the candidate name the number firstA live, on-air persona assessment that reveals just how values-driven her decision making really is, and what that could be quietly costing her If you hire, manage, or coach salespeople, this conversation will change how you run your next interview.

    The Recruiter Who Won't Play the Salary Game...and Wins

  6. Aug 17

    What Happens When a City Tears Down Its Own Tax Base?

    Kristen Fish-Peterson has spent over 16 years running Redevelopment Resources, advising cities and developers across the Midwest on tax increment financing, grants, and the deals that bring struggling downtowns back to life.  She has worked both sides of the negotiating table, from City Hall to the developer's pro forma, and brings a rare fluency in both languages to this conversation.   Why Kristen tells developers to prove their financial gap with a real pro forma before a city offers a dollar in TIF incentive The Watertown, Wisconsin block she convinced a city to demolish for a park, and the 10x tax base bet that followed How developer-funded TIF and revolving loan funds let cities keep sharing in the upside long after a district closes What most city councils get wrong about infill housing, and why a vacant lot costs more than it looks like on paper If you have ever sat in a room where a city and a developer couldn't agree on who's taking the risk, this episode is your playbook.

    What Happens When a City Tears Down Its Own Tax Base?

  7. Aug 14

    Cut Costs or Cut People?

    Derrek Lennox is SVP of Corporate Development and CFO at Dougall Media, a managing partner at his own consulting firm, and an adjunct professor of corporate restructuring at York University's Schulich School of Business. In this episode of the Dynamic Decisions Podcast, he doesn't just talk turnarounds, he hands over the exact frameworks he uses to make decisions under pressure. The three-part framework (financial, process, strategy) Derek uses to diagnose whether a struggling organization can actually be saved. His two-move method for cutting through bad data: ask questions, do the math, and never trust the first answer you get. The real story behind an Indigenous-owned arena that flipped a $500,000 loss into a $1 million profit without a single layoff. If you've ever wondered how a CFO actually decides, not just what he decides, this one's for you.

    Cut Costs or Cut People?

  8. Aug 6

    Self-Care Isn't Selfish. It's the First Draft of Your 25-Year Plan

    Michael Clark has spent nearly 25 years shaping how fast-growing towns handle growth, and he's built his approach around four clear priorities. As Director of Community and Economic Development for Collierville, Tennessee, he oversees planning, engineering, GIS, and building codes under one roof, and starts every day with a decision that has nothing to do with any of it.Heres Michaels wisdom nuggets for any leader tasked with developing and growing economies: Priority 1: Protect your own personal health and wellbeing first. Michael's daily non-negotiable is a solo gym session, because a clear mind makes every harder decision that day possible. Priority 2: Eliminate a corporation's reasons to say no. One micro-distillery decision in Zebulon, NC spawned five new downtown businesses once his team removed friction instead of just adding incentives. Priority 3: Break down departmental fiefdoms. Planning, engineering, GIS, and economic development all report through Michael so no business gets lost between five approval processes. Priority 4: Build a plan that stays alive. Collierville's 2050 Comprehensive Plan is designed to evolve with the community instead of sitting on a shelf. Learn more: Collierville, TN CModel Data, Inc. How do towns attract new businessesWhat is new urbanismHow to balance historic preservation with economic growthHow to manage a town's rapid growthWhy self-care matters for leadersHow to build a comprehensive plan that doesn't sit on a shelfHow to break down silos in local governmentWhat makes a comprehensive plan actually work

    Self-Care Isn't Selfish. It's the First Draft of Your 25-Year Plan
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About

🎙️ Welcome to Dynamic Decisions – where the best decisions start with great conversations. Hosted by Teasha Cable, CEO of CModel, this show dives into the stories, strategies, and decisions behind some of the most innovative leaders in business today. Each episode, we sit down with visionaries who are leveraging data to rethink the status quo, solve complex challenges, and create lasting impact in their fields. Tune in to discover how top leaders are using data to transform their businesses—and how you can too.  Learn more: cmodel.io

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