It didn't feel like it was a group of people coming together to brainstorm about getting businesses to come to Fayetteville. It was more like one of those personal growth seminars which ask that you get in touch with yourself, your desires and feelings. The terms flung around were dream, imagine, care about, and envision. The big question was what did you what to have a high quality of life in Fayetteville?
I felt like I was in either a psychiatric self-esteem group or in a middle of a mystic "share and care" exercise. I've been in these types of seminars before and I've hated every minute of it. I'm not the type to do those warm, fuzzy, touchy, feely exercises. What I really want to know is; What The Heck Does This Have To Do With Getting Businesses Located In Fayetteville?What people were presenting was big giant Dear Santa Christmas Wish List. They were like petulant children demanding that they be given presents. I want! I want! Waaah! Do they really expect businesses moving in to Fayetteville to provide them with their Wish List? What the seminar was focusing on was the demands of the citizens of Fayetteville rather than the needs of a potential employer. The demands weren't new either. If you've been to any of Fayetteville's "Vision Quests" you would be hearing the same old thing. The people at the seminar presented nothing new.
The most disturbing desire was that Fayetteville be a "Green City". That it have a reputation of being a sustainable city. It was implied that the environment had a bigger priority in the city than anything else. If I was an employer I heard that Fayetteville, in order to achieve it's "Greenness", will have policies, regulations, guidelines, fees and fines that ensure that any company operating in Fayetteville achieve "sustainability". I would see a big chuck of my profit down the tubes trying to obtain Fayetteville's "sustainability". Why aren't they finding ways to reward companies locating to Fayetteville. These are our stars. They should be treated like dignitaries. They are the ones that will bring more money into the city. With that money the city could begin to fulfill some of the desires of the citizens. There's another seminar on Saturday. Hopefully it will answer my question. Why have this seminar? I don't want to feel like I'm in a middle of hippie commune with the people holding candles, singing Kum By Ya and eating vegetable quiche. If that's what they are going to do I'm ditching out for the afternoon.
2 comments:
When I was proposing Big Broadband (which is 100-250gb/scompared to 10-15 that can be pumped in on powerlines much like cox or phone companies already provide in order to retail community spending into interstate banking coffers) I was building on the Ozark electric co-op model and arranging a financing architecture which would support the necessary incentives packages expanding businesses and new enterprises require (cheapened overhead - talent costs) to sustain themselves into profitability.
At least, I get to see GHWB. I hope I can get good seats if show up with a book at 5pm....Its too bad that new book orders ("The Phenomenon of Man" and the "Divine Millieu" by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin will not arrive until the 9th *fingers crossed
"I don't want to feel like I'm in a middle of hippie commune with the people holding candles, singing Kum By Ya and eating vegetable quiche." Very nice quote. That wouldn't be those who are running the seminar?
If I heard anything about being "green" or keeping things "green", I, as a businessman would look elsewhere.
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