I'm a tall woman. At 6 feet, I towered over my middle school friends. Many times – during school pictures and at dances – I wished I were shorter. In time, I learned to accept and leverage my height on the courts, both basketball and mock trial. As I've grown comfortable with my height I've become more fully who I am.
Many communities wish they were different – with a better music scene, a more vibrant metro, or a crop of visionary leaders. Rather than copy another community's "pattern" of success (hint: there are no patterns), communities should identify and leverage their assets. Every community – whatever its size - has SOMETHING that attracts talent.
Joel Kotkin, author of the New Geography, might call this process discovering the "soul" of your community. Whatever you call it, it's about indexing what you've got and then working it. In 2004, redirect your energy away from looking to other communities for what you should do; turn your attention towards your own seeds of greatness.
Ask yourself:
-What's the best news in our community right now? Who needs to know about it, and how will we tell them?
-What's the most promising development emerging in our community in the next 6-12 months?
-What have we learned from all of our past studies, analysis and research that we SHOULD be doing, but have not?
-Who are the critical people we need to either get on board or move out of the way to ensure our community's success? What will I do to make that happen this year?
-What's my highest and best use in identifying and communicating our community's assets?
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