The first title I considered for the November PM cover story on economic development was “Intrigue, Secrecy, Espionage, and Mystery.” I thought it was clever and would attract readers inside to find out what the article is about. But counsel by ICMA staff team members recommended I change it because readers might think I wasn’t so clever and after reading the article, feel like it was a bait and switch. I agreed to a more subdued—yet accurate—title: "Confidentality and Complexity, Unlocking the Subplots of Economc Development."

            Since I really liked that first title, I want to reason that some of the adjectives do fit the economic development topic. The authors are clear that companies request local governments to secrecy (which leads to an air of mystery, right?) on when and where they are considering relocation or change. They don’t even tell their own employees.

            Scouting and inspection come under the meaning of espionage (if this doesn’t sound reasonable, check your thesauras), which the companies must do before selecting a specific local government. Intrigue gets a little riskier to use with economic development because it has the more negative connotations of trickery, plotting, deception, and scheming.

            You’ll have to read the article to see if you agree these words do define the article or if they just remind you of prime time television shows like The Good Wife.