BAY AREA COMMUNITY COUNCIL
JANUARY 2021 NEWSLETTER
The Bay Area Community Council is the leading organization in engaging community leaders in understanding and shaping the future of the greater Green Bay area.
President's Message
David Wegge

During this pandemic I have been watching a great deal of old shows on YouTube. Recently I saw bits by Rodney Dangerfield. He would always open his act by coming on stage, adjusting his tie, and saying “What a crowd, what a crowd.” I would revise that for this message as “What a year, what a year!” 

 In the world of Foresight Analysis, this pandemic is what we might refer to as a “Wild Card” event. It is an event/ scenario which has a low probability of happening, but if it does happen it has high impact and creates significant disruption. This was indeed the state-of-affairs in 2020.

Click here for David's entire President's Message

High tech advancements and job growth
Phil Hauck, Economic Disruption & Transformation Signals Team

I was recently introduced to a futurist named Thomas Frey of the DaVinci Institute. In a recent blog post, he makes the point that all these high-tech advancements that are replacing jobs aren’t a negative, but historically have been a positive. The negative impact gets attention because it is “seeable” … an unemployment statistic. What’s unseen is this: When a robot replaces a job in a factory, the job-holder is theoretically now in a worse position, looking for another job and/or living on unemployment.

But, Frey illustrates, the product that robot created will now appeal to more and more people, creating other jobs up the line, and provide a better quality of life.

That, in turn, yields a more dynamic economy that spawns more jobs. It’s a flywheel circle. The job that displaced worker will go to is one created by a prior tech advancement that is yielding a more dynamic economy.

Click here for Phil's entire article

A Natural Workforce Solution: Retain Your Retirees!
David Wegge, Economic Disruption & Transformation Signals Team

Greater Green Bay organizations are being challenged to find workers with the right skill sets to meet employers’ needs. They address this challenge with two strategies: 1) Attract & retain new workers from outside the Green Bay area, and 2) Grow our own by training and retraining individuals already living in our area.

The “attract and retain” strategy is a significant challenge, but three local advantages might offer some success: digital access, the successes of Titletown Tech, and the work of Greater Green Bay Chamber. That strategy alone, however, is not likely to meet our needs for the future. It will be important to focus future efforts on the “grow our own” strategy. Still, these two strategies are slow to provide the workers we need. A more immediate way to fill our workforce needs is simply to retain our retirees! Our aging population makes it a natural choice.

Click here for David's entire article
A Natural Workforce Solution: Retain Your Retirees!
David Wegge, Economic Disruption & Transformation Signals Team

Greater Green Bay organizations are being challenged to find workers with the right skill sets to meet employers’ needs. They address this challenge with two strategies: 1) Attract & retain new workers from outside the Green Bay area, and 2) Grow our own by training and retraining individuals already living in our area.

The “attract and retain” strategy is a significant challenge, but three local advantages might offer some success: digital access, the successes of Titletown Tech, and the work of Greater Green Bay Chamber. That strategy alone, however, is not likely to meet our needs for the future. It will be important to focus future efforts on the “grow our own” strategy. Still, these two strategies are slow to provide the workers we need. A more immediate way to fill our workforce needs is simply to retain our retirees! Our aging population makes it a natural choice.

Click here for David's entire article
FAVORITE RESOURCES AND NEWS YOU CAN USE

Recent news stories, articles, books, videos, Websites or venues of interest to the BACC supporters and newsletter readers, recommend by the BACC staff and directors. Also community events of interest to the BACC supporters

Greater Green Bay Chamber Economic Development
Thursday, January 7, 2021; 8:30 am-10 am
This panel will focus on the trends and forecasts within office utilization, design, planning and real estate. Register online by January 5, 2021.

Brown County Chief Executive Troy Streckenbach invites all individuals and organizations to test their Internet broadband speed. This collected data will help Brown County report all of our broadband capability in order to secure greater funding for improved broadband for everyone in Brown County.

Aspen Ideas to Go. "The World Needs Women in Leadership Roles," December 2020.
Today’s women are warriors and peacemakers, athletes and artists. Women in leadership roles can play a crucial role in leading us toward a better and more equitable future, and women must be part of the solution to current global crises. Former US secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright and former prime minister of New Zealand the Honorable Helen Clark are trail breaking leaders and powerful advocates for women’s empowerment. They speak with the Aspen Institute’s Forum on Women and Girls Co-Chair Peggy Clark about women’s roles on the global stage now and into the future.

Bower, Bruce. "What will life be like after the coronavirus pandemic ends?" ScienceNews, December 18, 2020.

Case, Anne, and Angus Deaton. Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism. 2020.
Five years after introducing the concept of "deaths of despair" two economists tie the rising number of US deaths due to suicide, drug overdose and alcoholism to a string of economic and social stressors harming the working class. This book charts a way forward, providing solutions that can rein in capitalism’s excesses and make it work for everyone. 

"Dealbook: How to Fix America," New York Times.

Dionne, E. J. "What 2020 Might Teach Us," Washington Post, December 27, 2020.

Dixon-Fyle, Sundiatu et all. Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters, May 19, 2020.

Dolan, Kevin et all. "Diversity Still Matters," McKinsey Quarterly, May 19, 2020.



Fowler, Geoffrey. "In 2020, we reached peak Internet. Here’s what worked — and what flopped," Washington Post, December 28, 2020.

Heffernan, Margaret. Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future. 2020.
We are addicted to prediction, desperate for certainty about the future. But the complexity of modern life won't provide that: experts in forecasting are reluctant to look more than 400 days out. History doesn't repeat itself, and even genetics won't tell you everything you want to know. Tomorrow remains uncharted territory, but Heffernan demonstrates how we can forge ahead with agility. 

Lozada, Carlos. "The Great Acceleration," Washington Post, December 18, 2020.