It’s been a little over 6 months since Governor O’Malley announced a major leadership change to the direction of the Maryland Dept. of Business and Economic Development (DBED). Recently, I spoke with this major change. His name is Christopher Johansson and he is the Secretary of DBED and reports directly to Governor O’Malley (a former boss of mine when I worked for Baltimore City). I spoke with Secretary Johansson and met some of the DBED team members at TechNite–the GBTC’s “very awesome” annual technology event that celebrates the regions tech successes. It got me to thinking about DBED’s 1st 6 months under Secretary Johanssons guidance and the impact DBED has had on Maryland businesses! First, a bit of background, the date was April 9th, 2009 when Johansson was sworn in by Governor O’Malley. It was a big day for Maryland and I remember going on air (not just locally but on my national show as well) talking about how this was a smart move and a great choice for the State. At the swearing-in Johansson stated “I look forward to building on our unparalleled assets – our world-class workforce, our top-rated education system and our superior business climate – to ensure that Maryland remains competitive in the global economy.” For those that don’t know the mission of Marlyand’s Dept of Business and Economic Development is to “create, attract and retain jobs while promoting the state’s vibrant culture and history.” Bottom line they are charged with helping to grow companies in the State of Maryland.

Now before we get to deep into this post I want to be upfront, it’s no secret that I believe in Johansson and am an admirer of his work! He has a solid track record and is a genuine person that wants to see Maryland succeed at the highest levels, not to mention he has experience working on National programs. For example he was a member of President Obama’s Executive Committee for Urban and Metropolitan Policy during the Presidential campaign and he served as an advisor to President Obama’s transition team. 

I have total confidence in his ability to deliver, he’s intelligent, committed and likes to win! My only gripe (yep, only one) is that I want them (DBED) to deliver more, much, much more and much, much faster to quickly capitalize on their momentum. Here’s why! We all know these positions have a short shelf-life to make change and impact. We also know that traditionally it takes Government time (in some cases a very long time) to conceive, draft, review, implement and sustain new or expanded programs. And I get it, I know it’s a political climate and I have the utmost appreciation and understanding to the political pressures and challenges DBED is facing. I’m probably one of the few in the technology industry who can write on this topic that has worked for DBED as Manager of IT for the Division of Tourism, Film & the Arts and has also worked for O’Malley.

We all know this is a very challenging time and budgets aren’t what they used to be! Which is precisely why I think DBED should use recent wins to step up the pace and use what I call “the trampoline effect” to get their ideas & successes more bounce & more bounce nationally! Their website lists recent news and highlights.

3 recent successes I’m excited about are:

1. The opening of the 1st International Incubator in the US (located at College Park, MD) I think great possibilities could come from this type of injection to our biz tech ecosystem, I saw the international appetite for something like this 1st hand while visiting tech companies in Seoul Korea 2 years ago.
2. The openings of BioTechnology Centers in Rockville and Baltimore. Giving us much needed infrastructure.
3. The hiring of their 1st-ever Interactive Marketing Director – while I’m surprised it’s their 1st. I’m more excited that Secretary Johansson and DBED saw the need and acted. 

Out of all 3 of the above, I’m most excited about the new hire. And here’s where I get to finally share my 2-cents on what I think DBED needs to do to step their game up and hit my “trampoline effect”. 

From my perspective, DBED needs to become more engaged in assisting the storytelling of Maryland business success through social media. Alot of neighboring state Econ Development agencies have a twitter and Facebook account. I’m glad to see that about a week after Secretary Johansson came on board they posted their 1st tweet. Their twitter account has some great posts and it’s not just self-serving DBED news, which is very wise to do to build a real audience. One social media gap I see is the lack of competing State Econ Development agencies embracing the “killer app” to gain national/international attention. I’m referring to web video. In my opinion I think DBED has an opportunity to take a leadership position by launching YouTube/Vimeo/Viddler channels. This doesn’t have to be an expensive program at all. This could be done very effective for small change! I’ve noticed several of our nearby competitors have little to no social media presence and it seems like a wide-open opportunity to have our State stand out and begin to create a national dialogue/buzz about Maryland’s business climate. For example, Virginia’s Economic Development YouTube presence is laughable, I mean why bother. They have 1 video and it’s just their 30 sec ad of why they are the best state to house your business. Yeah, now thats real convincing! I’ll be right there VA! I’m not talking about slick, highly-edited, overly-priced marketing videos. I’m talking gritty, organic and user-generated videos of the people, culture and behind the scenes video that showcases what makes MD companies & our State business environment unique and compelling.

For example when CNN Money listed Baltimore in the Top 10 places to launch your business Economic dev agencies not just DBED should have been all over that national press and maybe they could have started a campaign and asked Maryland businesses and County Econ Dev agencies to shoot an organic 2-3 minute video about benefits of their business/organization in Maryland and place it on DBED’s (yet to be created) YouTube channel. Another example could be when Baltimore plays host to an international opportunity called TEDx MidAtlantic. DBED knows the value of TEDx and I’m jazzed to see they are supporters of the event BUT I want them to latch onto this international opportunity and leverage it! Another example could be when Gov. O’Malley declared October Cyber Security Awareness Month-for the month of October videos could have come from companies and the people involved in Maryland’s Cyber Security industry. Then later this month when the State hosts the Computer Security Institute’s 36th annual conference at the Gaylord Resort in Maryland with computer security experts from across the country. DBED could deliver a live stream or record video of some content that will happen at the event and make that accessable via their online video channels.

The bottom line is, we all want to see Maryland grow successfully and while many competing States are waiting on the sidelines, it’s the perfect time for us to institute some bottom-up strategies that can enhance our image and demonstrate some valid reasons why businesses should look at Maryland to expand or call home. 

And look DBED doesn’t have to do this themselves. They could or they could support/partner with some other company or organizations to make it happen. As evidenced by all the community biz-tech outpouring of free events like BootStrapMaryland, Ignite Baltimore, Social Dev Camp East, TEDx Mid-Atlantic and more the Maryland vibe is strong with people and business owners ready to volunteer, roll their sleeves up and get involved for a common cause. I’m excited about Secretary Johansson and as an entrepreneur in Maryland I’m really pleased to hear about the new interactive marketing DBED hire and look forward to seeing what opportunities they seize and produce. 

Let’s take the time we have now to our advantage and show why business in Maryland is REMARKABLE!