The Common Cause

If you have zest and enthusiasm you attract zest and enthusiasm. Life does give back in kind.
-Norman Vincent Peale

Economic development is a profession that requires technical skill and consistent, persistent effort. Community development, place marketing, and business recruitment and expansion efforts have all become quite sophisticated. But those efforts alone aren’t always enough to develop economies, help businesses and build sustainable tax bases.

Sometimes you also need a solid dose of boosterism and enthusiasm for your community. Sometimes a challenge, a grant or a competitive process brings out this enthusiasm. Recently, Columbus was named as a finalist for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge. This effort has brought many parties together in pursuit of a significant grant, and an enthusiasm for the community itself. The same is true for Circleville, Ohio, who was a quarterfinalist in the America’s Best Communities competition.

Whether or not a community is always successful or ranked first in a competition is not necessarily the point. Perhaps the greatest impact of these competitions is that they focus the community on itself for a common cause. This week, whether you are pursuing an opportunity or not, use your enthusiasm and that of others to bring your community together.

-Kenny McDonald

One Columbus Update

• This week, the One Columbus team is in Canada for a business development mission.
• Next week, our team will travel to China for a business development mission as well as to Germany for Hannover Messe, the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology.