'One Guilford' reflections
Most who attended seem to agree: The One Guilford leadership symposium Wednesday at High Point University was a worthwhile investment of time, even on a gorgeous spring morning.
Approximately 225 of you attended, and judging from the written questions from the audience, you were engaged and eager to get involved.
Some of the headlines, as I saw them:
1. Greensboro and High Point still have trust issues.
2. African American males are in crisis in Guilford County, in the classroom and in the criminal justice system.
3. The county still faces major challenges in job growth and average pay.
4. The county shouldn't merge every service or agency in sight -- bigger isn't always better -- but Guilford leaders ought to consider consolidation where it makes practical sense and saves time and money.
5. Foremost, the county needs to agree on a shared vision about where it wants to go and what it wants to be.
Among the observations that stood out:
1. John Alexander, president and CEO of the Center for Creative Leadership: Neither the panel nor the session dealt very much with a front-burner challenge and opportunity: immigration. (Concincidentally, Census figures released on the same day reveal a surge in the Hispanic population in North Carolina.)
2. Keynote speaker Howard Putnam, former CEO of Southwest and Braniff Airlines: We don't need to duplicate what, say, Charlotte or Raleigh are doing. We can borrow a page from Southwest's book and stake our own unique claim to what we want to be.
3. Anonymous audience member: Guilford County's vision ought to be to have best public schools in the country.
4. High Point Regional Health System CEO Jeff Miller: His hospital and Moses Cone still talk and work together despite their dispute over Cone's planned expansion into North High Point.
5. High Point Mayor Becky Smothers: She's all for a unified vision as long as it is a Guilford County vision and not "a Greensboro vision."
6. John Alexander: One way we can build better trust is to hear and understand one another's stories.
7. Al Barnett of Scott and Stringfellow Inc.:Young people are turned off by local government for an obvious reason -- the behavior of some elected leaders. For instance, a friend of his says watchingh only a few minutes of county commissioner meetings makes her head hurt.
8, Former Greensboro City Manager Ed Kitchen, now with the Bryan Foundation: The county has outgrown the traditional model of government in a number of respects. Services such as water and sewer need to be handled regionally.
High Point University and its president, Nido Qubein, were superb hosts, who do everything first-class.
The key now is effective follow-up. There has to be a next time, ideally in Greensboro, and it ought to focus on vision.
If you happen to have a big enough facility out there and you're willing to host the next One Guilford symposium, let us know.
Some links to other reactions:
Ed Cone
Sue Polinsky
Jeff Thigpen
David Hoggard
Comments (12)
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We should have the educational system in the country. We should come together and make our home a place where children learn.
A modest amount, $5,-$15,000 supplement provided by the private community, to our Teachers, would be a start. It is doable, for all of the right reasons.
Accountability, expectations, involvement, would all improve. The children would benefit, that makes sense to us all.
The other option, accept the status quo, "it is someone else's problem" or "I do not have a dog in this fight," has it's outcome played out often.
Is that what we want or expect?
Posted on May 17, 2007 9:05 PM
The effective follow-up is another conference about the "vision thing" where local talking heads talk locally about what "we must do"? Pardon me if I don't see many real effects resulting from such a follow-up.
The problem is that Greenboro and Guilford both have incredibly inertial and bureaucratic systems of government replete with micro-fiefdoms and niche constituencies that cancel out any concerted effort. Consequently, we are to mediocrity what Mecca is to Islam.
We need something more like a monarchy wherein a powerful executive could actually do something. More Guiliani, less Mitch Johnson.
Posted on May 18, 2007 2:09 AM
The effective follow-up is another conference about the "vision thing" where local talking heads talk locally about what "we must do"? Pardon me if I don't see many real effects resulting from such a follow-up.
The problem is that Greenboro and Guilford both have incredibly inertial and bureaucratic systems of government replete with micro-fiefdoms and niche constituencies that cancel out any concerted effort. Consequently, we are to mediocrity what Mecca is to Islam.
We need something more like a monarchy wherein a powerful executive could actually do something. More Guiliani, less Mitch Johnson.
Posted on May 18, 2007 2:10 AM
Are you serious, Brian? I think Howard Putnam noted where that kind of thinking takes us: Chicago under Richard Daley Sr.
Posted on May 18, 2007 8:45 AM
But Putnam also said that things really got done under Daley's reign.
My take is at my place.
Posted on May 18, 2007 9:08 AM
But Putnam also said that things really got done under Daley's reign.
My take is at my place.
Posted on May 18, 2007 9:09 AM
But Putnam also said that things really got done under Daley's reign.
My take is at my place.
Posted on May 18, 2007 9:09 AM
But Putnam also said that things really got done under Daley's reign.
My take is at my place.
Posted on May 18, 2007 9:09 AM
David, plugging your blog is all well and good, but I would have stopped after three times.
Also, Allen and Doug need to be commended for organizing the event.
Posted on May 18, 2007 9:23 AM
Sorry 'bout that, Savage (and Allen). My multiple posts were quite unintentional but very effective. Hopefully they will get deleted and leave only the one.
Agreed on the deserved kudos to Allen and Doug. It was a great event and a wonderful first step.
Posted on May 18, 2007 11:03 AM
Skeet Club, the problem is this stupid software. You think you've submitted your post, and then everything disappears, then you click the button and presto: your post appears multiple times.
Allen: if you want "things done," then you need a system that is conducive to change and not an obstacle to it. Obviously there is the potential for an effective bad leader as well as an effective good leader. As it is, however, nothing will happen because every initiative will suffer the death of a thousand committee meetings. Talking heads won't change that. A monarch might, and I think it would be great civic advertising to have the only city in NC run by a king (if an elected one--a hereditary monarchy is probably against some law).
Upon reflection, however, I'm not that displeased with Greensboro's mediocrity, and probably prefer the status quo to what would replace it.
Posted on May 18, 2007 11:04 AM
I agree with Brian. I think it's quite apparent, given Queen Elizabeth's recent trip to the US, and seeing the shambles that's been made of Congress controlled by lobbyists, that we strongly petition the queeen to be re-admitted to the British Commonwealth with colonial status.
Posted on May 18, 2007 2:58 PM