A People Business

“Business is a human organization, made or broken by the quality of its people.”
-Peter Drucker

Economic development is accelerated when people—both leaders and followers—collaborate, decide and act. On the flip side, stalled collaboration causes delays in decisions and actions and, ultimately, hinders a community’s economic development.

While there are many complexities that drive the economy, I believe more each day that great things happen when key community actors are aligned and motivated to act.

On the surface, it is easy to keep score about who is currently winning and losing in economic development. But it is more difficult to determine why. Most, if not every time, it comes down to a small group of people and organizations that are unusually aligned and motivated to collaborate and act. Sometimes there are unique leaders that drive this activity, but make no mistake, individuals cannot succeed alone.

The question is whether your community is laying the groundwork for success and investing in people and organizations that will lead to future gains?

-Kenny McDonald

One Columbus Update

• This week, the One Columbus team is in Kalamazoo for Consultant Connect’s NEXT 2017, a meeting of the top 30 North American rising stars in economic development.
• One Columbus is working in partnership with Columbus CEO magazine to publish a special section in October on the Columbus Region’s technology industry and IT ecosystem. To advertise, please contact Susan Kendall at 614-410-0692 or skendall@columbusceo.com. The deadline to reserve space is August 18.
• Franklin County and the Columbus Chamber are hosting the Retail Summit on August 9 and 10. Insights and strategies will be shared by industry thought leaders and trailblazers from around the country. Learn more and register here.