Nashville’s Pitch to Amazon

When Amazon announced last week that they would be opening a new, second, headquarters somewhere in North America, Nashville’s civic leaders quickly made their intention to make their pitch for the campus and its promised fifty thousand high-paying jobs. So did half a hundred other cities, and twice as many journalists wrote thinkpieces attempting to divine AMZNHQ2’s landing spot. (Denver!, D.C.! Toronto!) I’m no journalist, but I can thinkpiece with the worst of them. While I can argue that Nashville would be a great spot for HQ2, I cannot convincingly argue that it’s the best city in 2017 for it. Instead, here’s my advice for Nashville’s mayor’s office and Chamber of Commerce to for preparing to woo Amazon to Davidson County

1. No Bullshit

Amazon has already done all the research. They know that one hundred people move to Nashville every day. They know that the tech scene is relatively weak compared to an Austin, Dallas, or Atlanta — their reasonable competitors in the SE US geography. They also already know the cultural draw to Nashville is unique and is less easily replicated by other cities.

You cannot go into a meeting with Amazon and expect to surprise them — they are prepared for your bullshit, and will call it out (maybe even politely, no guarantees). Instead, make sure you have done your research on Amazon. Put all of your materials into memo form — no Powerpoint presentations. If you have a picture, put it inline in your memo. Be over-prepared to answer questions. Do not shy from your weaknesses — emphasize that a decade’s time can turn them into strengths.

Above all, emphasize that Nashville is prepared to do business. Amazon isn’t looking for a destination, it’s looking for a partner. Confidently portray that Nashville will be that partner.

2. Don’t Be Desperate

The Nashville area in five years will roughly have 200,000 more people than it has today, most of them proportionally younger and more professionally striving than average. That’s four Amazons, and that net inflow is as likely to continue without Amazon as it is with it. And Nashville can handle that growth — the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) could double in size and still not be as dense as Atlanta. (To the extent that the mayor/Chamber can share non-public data on Nashville’s growth, that would appeal to Amazon greatly — they love information)

Instead there’s the opportunity to highlight that Nashville has plans, plans that not only could accommodate Amazon but also be facilitated and refined with Amazon’s input. Everyone knows that tax and building incentives will be given by the winning city — don’t be specific, but emphasize that those incentives will be fair but more-importantly forward-looking so that Amazon employees and their families can truly take advantage of a Amazon-Nashville partnership.

3. Nashville 2017 cannot win Amazon. Nashville 2022 could and Nashville 2027 has few stronger candidates

This is one of the funnier Google searches of all time:

“…skate to where the puck is going…”

This hockey-cum-business adage has become so overused as to become cliche but damn if it still isn’t useful, especially in this newly-energized hockey town. Nashville’s leaders should be wise to the fact that Amazon influx into a city will not happen quickly, and that the effort is best thought of as a ten-year plan. Every element of the pitch should recognize that each of Nashville’s weaknesses should be thought of as a strength when viewed through the lens of time.

-Nashville has a weaker tech scene, but it’s strengthening naturally, and an Amazon would complete the draw for creative and technical types that already view its unique cultural, cost-of-living, and convenience offerings as attractive

-Nashville’s public transit offerings are meager, but we have plans to improve them and a great need to with existing growth. With Amazon, those plans can be tailored to the needs of its employees. Furthermore, they’ll be brand new. (I mean, can the DC Metro be really thought of as a strength?)

-Nashville will continue to build on its existing strength as a transportation hub

• Interstates going 6 directions, including to Atlanta, Memphis (FedEx), Louisville (UPS) with numerous overland trucking operations just off the I-40 corridor
• Numerous warehouse, logistics, and supply chain operations including car manufacturers and Amazon itself within the metro area
• An expanding (and expandable) airport that is already among the most convenient to its metro’s downtown
• Location nearest the geographic center of the Eastern & Central time zones, effectively meaning no flight to three quarters of the US population is more than 2.5 hours

4. Aim for the stars…

…land on the moon, or some sentimental BS. Amazon may not select our city, but it can be impressed by the commitment of its leaders and its people. Amazon in ten years will be remarkably different as well; it certainly was ten years ago. What if Amazon got into health care, or needed a drone manufacturing facility? The HQ isn’t a one-time pitch for business, it’s an audition to be a part of Amazon’s growth for years to come. Embrace it.