Tomorrow October 19, 2017, bids from cities all over North America will get to Amazon in the hopes of them winning the location of Amazon's HQ2. Amazon is looking to supplement its Seattle HQ with another of equal stature. The RFP that was published offered a prize that meant up to 50,000 jobs and a 5 billion dollar infrastructure investment. This has mobilized cities big and small to get the attention of Jeff Bezos and team.

Over the past several weeks I have read online business journals from all over America cover this amazing race to be the next Amazon focal point. I read about Philadelphia making this a Wharton project. Bloomberg Business listed Boston as a Frontrunner. I read about Chicago aligning leaders and luminaries. I imagine Rahm Emmanuel can put together a strong bid. Even Prof Scott Galloway suggested revitalizing Detroit as the best choice from one of his weekly video segment. Even small cities have presented arguments for why Amazon should choose their location. Woonsocket RI, Grand Rapids, Tuscon the list at this point includes over 100 cities looking for Amazon love.

There is always a logic that needs to be considered when looking at these proposals. Starting with the RFP Amazon published: They want a site that is preferably a metropolitan area with over a million people. They are hoping the site is attractive to a technology workforce they will bring to the new HQ2. So as an economic director or small city mayor, you have to approach this with a deep understanding of how you can win. I would start with a comprehensive review of Infrastructure. This means looking at hardware. Physical sites, buildings, utilities, parking, housing, and roads. Looking at software. That includes workforce, colleges, and universities, restaurants, recreation, and support services. Looking at the network. This is all of the things left that make everything work well together. Traffic, air and ground transportation, weather, access to resources, government and public support. By framing your strategy in this way it gives you a better understanding of your strengths and how best to compete on your proposal.

So how can your town win this Contest?

Some might argue it is better to completely opt out of this opportunity. The cost is far greater than the benefit. I actually think that it is worth going through the exercise even if you are not a strong contender. If you are seriously interested in standing out here are a few ideas that may help you do just that.

The Disney World Strategy

Is there any other reason you would travel to the vast lakes and lands of central Florida if the visionary Walt Disney didn't invest in the land needed to construct the happiest place on earth. Covering 43 square miles Disney World is the most visited vacation resort in the world. This location was planned, designed and from the ground up to support over 52 million visitors a year. Walt Disney had the vision to develop an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT). With the support of the Florida Government, Walt Disney Company and its 62,000 employees created an autonomous district that in many ways is its own city.

Can your state and local government collaborate to develop the land and autonomy needed to deliver a Disney World type package to Amazon?

The Regional Strategy

Cities are great because they are designed to support population clusters. If you want to win Amazon you want to have a strong resource of talent and infrastructure to churn the economic engine. If you are a smaller city or a suburb of a larger city it may be better to combine efforts and present a regional proposal that offers new benefits that can be a challenge for big cities. Affordable housing and quality of life benefits for families are a real attraction. As a region, there are many wins that can outshine an established big city and collaboration between big cities and their greater region could be an even better proposal. A region of cities and towns can better absorb the challenges that a large company can bring.

Think Bigger

In my experience, I have never seen a company have more than a single headquarters. Unless you are looking at divisions or subsidiaries. The headquarter of a company is where the leadership team meets operates and makes decisions. The reason Amazon is looking for a second HQ is that Seattle is feeling the weight of Amazon and that it is nearing capacity. If a proposal could deliver on double the ask. If a proposal was truly designed to woo Amazon then an argument could be made that the new HQ2 could really be the new HQ1 and Amazon could leave Seattle as a smaller regional office. Chicago can you support 100,000 tech workers and offer to make a multi-billion investment to win this prize?

Another way to think bigger is to do the work but change the target. While the competition is selling Amazon, you go after Twitter, Uber, Tesla or Netflix. The argument is still the same, but by changing the target you now open up the conversation to new ideas. Silicon Valley is a great location for emerging tech companies but once established could they benefit from relocating away from that ecosystem? If you have a great deal offer open it up to other buyers.

Finally thinking even bigger how about creating a super proposal. Silicon Valley, Las Vegas, even Disney World were not built in a day. These places grew over decades changing and expanding to meet the needs of the time. The thing is we are at a time of unprecedented opportunity and if you were really looking to have an unprecedented economic impact. Offer to build a city in a day. Design a proposal that could attract a super engine of companies. Align your infrastructure and lobby your government and develop a new community from scratch. China has built new cities from the ground up. This is a moon shot type of idea that could capture the headquarters of not only Amazon but also Facebook, airlines, universities, energy companies, and other forward-thinking companies. If you have a team thinking about Amazon this week ask them to storyboard a vision of El Dorado.

Grow your own

In reality, when the dust settles Amazon will review the proposals from all of the cities and towns and pick one to be the new HQ2. Whether you are a heavy contender or a long shot there is an important lesson in this story. That lesson is that Amazon did not exist before 1995. In 22 years it has grown to 136 Billion in revenue, over 340,000 employees worldwide, and has become a darling to mayors all over North America. They did this all from Seattle. Why Seattle? That was where Jeff Bezos relocated to start his company. There are new companies born every day in North America. Anyone of them could be the next Amazon. Including one already in your town.

Look at your infrastructure. Hardware, software, network. If you are willing to offer the sun and moon to woo Amazon, what can you do to stimulate your own homegrown economic engine? Hyperloop? Light rail? Affordable housing? Can you repurpose unused city property and create a business incubator? Can you convince your local university to create a seed investment fund? How about your commercial real estate developers? If you spent any time thinking about how to win Amazon use what you have discovered to give your current community a boost. Good Luck. Amazon HQ2 RFP

Let me know what you think? Do you have ideas for Amazon? How does your town promote economic growth? Leave a comment.