Wednesday Stretch: Open Desert

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." - Rumi, Sufi Poet

American can-do spirit seems to have morphed into competitive spirit and then mutated into polarization - politically, socially, and in our business dealings. Even in the face of the positive history of a practice like coopetition (that's not a typo, there's a book on this very subject), polarization seems to be sucking the strength from American culture.

What to do? Create a clearing. And no better place to do it than our Open Desert. One of our greatest resources is our literal and figurative wide open space, meaning this: we have relatively blank slates. A young state with young cities and towns has many opportunities and choices that have just been made or are yet to be made. As the prinicipal of my kids' elementary school says on the PA each day, "It's your choice. Make it a good one."

Take a moment today to look at your choices. Are they polarizing? Coopetitive? Collaborative? Or even unifying? I'll be reflecting today as I work, asking the same questions of myself.

BTW: Google the words "Open Desert" and you'll find our neighbors in Coachella Valley, CA have started a group by that name (and note that I pinched a photo from their site.) At first glance, it appears to have no rudder in the water. When you dig a little deeper, it turns out that this is actually a kinder, gentler networking group. This could be an interesting model for business networkers here to consider.

"They Just Don't Care"

John McCain announced his Presidential candidacy yesterday. Apparently not many folks showed up. One attendee holding a McCain for President sign told an NPR reporter that she wasn't really a McCain supporter, but the people passing out signs "looked desperate, so I took one."

It reminds me of a community development admonishment I once heard: Social Capital should never be judged by how many people show up to the meeting.

The tendency is for passionate people who call a community meeting on a critical issue to be deflated and stunned when turnout at the meeting is low. The knee-jerk reaction is, 'they just don't care.'

In actuality, everybody cares about things related to their lives in varying degrees and within a hierarchy of priorities. The people who show up are just those who care about your agenda, were motivated by how you framed it AND could make it without having to honor commitment to a higher priority. Worst case, the people you are counting are those with a passion for coming to meetings.

If people aren't coalescing around your meetings, it is time to rethink what you are doing.

Number Two, Trying Harder?

Phoenix is the number two major metro for new college graduates. That was the conclusion after BizJournals crunched the numbers and we were edged out of the top spot by – surprise – Las Vegas. I assume that this has something to do with Vegas having showgirls.

But hold on. The previously heralded retirement mecca symbolized by Sun City has ostensibly been measured as one of the best large metro areas where job opportunities are strongest for young adults.

Question: do they understand that they are not Medicare-eligible?