From the Archives: Chattanooga Is Our Business
This is the text of a speech our founder Stephen Culp gave June 10, 2010, at the Chattanooga Downtown Rotary. He was speaking on the heels of STAND, a community-wide survey that heard from over 25,000 people about what they wanted next for Chattanooga. We found it in the archives recently, and much of what he had to say still resonates today, particularly his words about “building an infrastructure of people” and the goal of building the “most civically engaged city in the country.” We were inspired by our roots and wanted to share.
25,000 of us have just spoken up, on behalf of our community, as a part of the largest visioning process in history.
Chattanooga has momentum. So, then, what do we do next?
In broad terms, we build on the momentum.
In bold terms, we make Chattanooga the most civically engaged community in the nation.
That may sound crazy, but remember where we are. And remember, this momentum started 25 years ago, when 2,500 folks, including many of you, began forging the culture we call the Chattanooga Way. And now, 25 years later, 25,000 of us just became a part of that culture.
Why not make it 250,000–250,000 of the most engaged citizens in the nation?
If it’s ever going to happen, it’ll happen in Chattanooga.
Remember: the aquarium, and the riverfront, were crazy, but this community did it anyway.
And we’ve done it right so far. STAND, for example, wasn’t some internet-based facebooky gimmick thing. This was grassroots in its execution — 80% were face to face. And when volunteers were out there talking to Chattanoogans, we realized something else — that many of these folks had never once been asked their opinion about their community.
Though hard to measure, this process of engaging citizens, many of them for the first time, is an important step for Chattanooga.
Why? Because for a community to help itself, people need a sense of ownership. And for that, they need not just to feel engaged, but to be engaged.
So after you engage people, what’s the next step?
Help them connect. With each other, with information, with tools, to help them work together. 25,000 Chattanoogans have recently said they are concerned about crime, education, environment, and jobs. We simply need catalysts — or platforms — to engage and connect people, so they can educate each other and collaborate with each other, to make their community better.
It can be simple. Let’s say someone identifies a problem in their community. More likely than not, someone else may have a solution. But maybe they’ve never met. Or maybe someone has an idea, and someone else has a similar idea. Alone, they may not have the opportunity or critical mass to do anything about it. Put them together, and maybe they do.
The connection, like with any startup, may just be the most important part.
Especially here, in Chattanooga. We all know Chattanooga is a unique place — not too big, not too small… a special community, a renaissance city.
It’s also an entrepreneurial city.
In fact, there’s something to be said for looking at Chattanooga from an entrepreneurial perspective — looking at it like a business, and even better, like a small business.
For starters, like any small business:
- One: our people, and culture — our human capital — are our greatest assets, and the ultimate owners of our venture. This is not a cliche here. We saw this begin 25 years ago — when we literally created a culture — call it the Chattanooga Way, call it Can Do, call it what you want. It’s become a competitive advantage.
- Two: like a small business, we’ve had to, and will continue having to, adapt to constant transformation and renewal, and it’s become one of our core competencies.
- And Three: since every business needs a vision: In the context of what we’re talking about here, why shouldn’t that vision be to have the broadest ownership of that business — Why not set our sights on having the most engaged citizenry in the nation?
Some might ask, “Why do this? Why bother?”
Here’s why:
For one thing, if the citizens of this community take an ownership approach, a lot of the other issues — crime, education, jobs — start to take care of themselves.
For another, like every businessperson knows well, nobody’s going to do it all for us.
Not the government. Not STAND. And not the foundations, who have, heroically, served as our guardian angels for decades — Indeed, we lost one of our city’s greatest and truest guardian angels last month. The landscape is changing.
The point is, as individuals and as a community, we have to assume responsibility. We have to assume there are no entitlements. We have to assume ownership. In other words,
We have to act like owners,
like entrepreneurs.
And Chattanooga is our business.
Does any one of us, or any one organization, or any one government, know how to address all the problems and opportunities we face?
No. But as we’ve discussed, one of us might know how to solve one problem, and another might know how to solve another, and on and on… and better yet, if we engage and connect, we might realize that two or more of us might have similar ideas, and can work together.
This can be what it’s all about — helping people like you to engage, and connect to the information, tools, and people you need to improve your community.
So lets bring this back down to earth and ask, nitty gritty, “what can we do to help us help ourselves?”
It can start with the little things.
Business owners — here at Rotary, you could give your employees, say, 2 hours/month to focus exclusively on the community. In my experience, volunteer work does not make employees less productive — quite the contrary.
Nonprofits — If you work with a civic organization, a church, or a nonprofit — get together and talk to another one. Maybe you find that you can share resources, or even goals, and can work more efficiently together.
And the rest of us — maybe, and maybe best of all, start something on your own, like a neighborhood crime watch, or a school renovation, or just grab some neighbors and clean up your block… it just might catch on.
Even if you just take a small step, you will set an example for others. Setting examples is how the sense of ownership can spread.
And this is how, 25 years after our last great community push, that the metrics of success may be different this time.
We may not build anything like an aquarium, or a new riverfront, again anytime soon.
Instead, what we’re talking about here, is building an infrastructure of people.
A culture of connection. One where 1,000 different citizen-inspired, entrepreneurial initiatives might emerge, where the good ones will survive, the bad ones won’t, and the result is a healthy, and diverse, civic and entrepreneurial ecosystem — where citizens take broad responsibility for getting done what needs to be done for our community.
In other words, we should aim for a kind of civic entrepreneurism that allows our culture, of the Chattanooga way, to thrive.
The good news is, a lot of folks have already started, with projects like:
- RiverRocks- an upcoming regional festival with sports and music, celebrating all that is great about Chattanooga’s outdoors (and there is a lot to celebrate)
- 48 hour launch- to help entrepreneurs go from zero to 60, or at least 30, in a weekend
- Causeway- still in the works- will be a platform to help improve our local community through civic entrepreneurism
- Gaining Ground — to increase the production and consumption of food from local farmers
- Chattanooga3D- to put the community on the map, online, in 3D, for everyone to use
- ChattaData- to help us visualize some of this important data we’re now able to get access to
- Chattanooga Football Club- go see a game to realize it’s not just about football (or soccer)
- An emerging Citizen Crime Commission — to bring more citizen accountability to our safety
These are just examples, of what are, for the most part, citizen-inspired initiatives, ideas that emerged — from the heads of folks who want to help their community, who got together with other folks, and just got started.
Who are these people?
The list is long. And it is worth noting, for the skeptics, that the folks who are stepping up are people like you. They are businesspeople, they are public servants, they are churchgoers, they are emerging leaders, they are volunteers, they are good citizens. They are Chattanoogans, like you.
And you, as Chattanoogans, deserve some recognition — for making Chattanooga the place it is, for what you’ve already done, and all you’re going to do. You are people whose quiet, competent, and steadfast dedication to your community has set an example for the rest of the nation to follow.
Let’s build on that momentum.
To become the most civically engaged community in the nation is a lofty goal, and maybe it takes 5, 10, or another 25 years. But like anything, any business, the best way to start is to, well, get started.
25,000 of us just stood up, and got started. It is now the time when we can all stand up, speak up, sign up, talk to each other, roll up our sleeves, and take ownership of what is, ultimately, our business.
Why? Because we are Chattanoogans, and that’s what Chattanoogans do.
Thank you.
