Every once in a while, a pattern forms, from independent and seemingly unconnected events such that you take a pause and wonder why? What is it that is going on? In this case the pattern that I have seen is that the role of the Mayor has taken on a level of prominence and importance in the mission of making things happen. At Zeitgeist the mayor of Rio described how he got the World Cup and Olympics to his city. Ted published a video about how the role of the mayor and how their local focus drives change and better citizen satisfaction. And then there is the C40 Cities group of Mayors who are working on making global climate change work. We could of course write pages and pages on the topic but for me, what I look for when I see trends like this are to find the attributes of success that the THPL community can benefit from.
The operative theme seems to be community and common interest. It’s difficult to overstate the importance of carefully selecting issues where you believe you actually can make a difference, rather than those where you would like to. Mayors do this or they do not get reelected and members of THPL need to do this or the journey becomes difficult because progress is fleeting without focus. So, it is then that once again we can see models of success around us and we can replicate their approach for success in our context and use it to get us the best possible outcome.
Loving life in a local world
Ciao
joe