think we can do better than this.

I think that often our Cleveland decision makers tend to look for "the one big thing" to solve its economic problems, and don't effectively apply fundamental business views -- what assets do we already have to work with, what markets are we trying to target, what risks do we expose ourselves to with certain decisions, what will give us momentum, how do we get things done, how do we engage the resources we need to do it, how do we execute in a timely manner -- I don't think as a community we apply these "rules" well to how we expend valuable resources, how we grow Cleveland.

Gaming, a "solution" for this city viewed as a way to stem an exit of expenditures from a population that (statistically speaking) is economically depressed; and to "draw in" more dollars, from the outside, from a population that (statistically speaking) is economically depressed, is a pursuit which has a set of risks that (to my eye) has not been fully gauged:

- the argument that gaming downtown will help to circulate more activity to surrounding downtown venues is generally contradictory to the way that the companies who are in the business of gaming design their facilities: gaming facilities are designed to NOT promote the movement of traffic to other venues, but to keep people inside, gambling. The gaming industry has evolved with tremendous sophistication on this point, and with the primary objective of revenue, no gaming company in the world is going to make a deal with Cleveland civic leaders to design their facilities in a manner conducive to promoting foot traffic to other venues.

- the increase in gaming revenues will increase the tax base for the city of Cleveland, which would be true, tho it should be noted first and foremost who precisely this pursuit would have Cleveland competing "against" for which we would anticipate any "significant draw," as the competition will never be Las Vegas (a still rather cheap flight away), but Detroit and St. Louis -- other economically depressed geographies that have had mixed results with their own gaming endeavors, but which also have their own unique twists (gaming across the water in Canada nearby, gaming on Mississippi river boats, respectively): the "influx" will not be huge. Also to be noted is that gaming companies will look first to see what kind of corporate-tax % will be entailed in pursuing a Cleveland-based gaming endeavor (gauged against other geographies also trying to use a short-cut to revitalize their economies), and -- if the "local draw" is the primary intended market -- then we risk undercutting the income taxes of in-city and surrounding residents for the overall NEO tax-base, as Gaming facilities are designed to win more often than lose.

- the side-effects: an increase in homeless, an increased demand on health and human services within city and surrounding municipalities: gaming facilities are designed to win more often than lose; gaming targets economically-depressed populations.

- target markets: who are we trying to attract to Cleveland? Are we trying to attract populations that (statistically speaking) are economically depressed? are we trying to target populations that represent some level of wealth, or some level of innovation for our brain-trust that can develop and support the overall sustainability of our economy? Can we put momentum behind efforts where these latter populations are already growing here -- the underground of what (to my silicon-valley seasoned eye) appears to be a solidly burgeoning entrepreneurial climate, the brain-trust in our universities, the boomerangs? And are we putting THESE populations at risk with the pursuit of gaming? Do I, for example, a boomerang-er, want to return to and nurture my roots in a town that pursues economic health by feeding on economic depression? Or, more simply put, would this impact my view of Cleveland's quality of life -- the arts, the culture, the green trees, the lake, the vibration (still untapped but very there) of innovation across the city? Yes, it would.

The addition of jobs that come from the introduction of gaming facilities is a benefit, with the potential of significant long-term costs to us. A job is not a job-is-a-job. The clean-up of Prospect Ave. was a positive thing...but one could argue that this put many people "out of work"...but a job is not a job-is-a-job. The context is extremely important.

Perhaps if we focused on the application of assets we already have, we could stem the "loss" of income dollars from a financially-depressed population because we are pursuing an overall infrastructure which promotes growth for this population itself, and these "customers" would suffer less feeling a need to gamble their strained dollars in favor of a long shot.

What if we did marshall and wield the assets we have? What if instead of talking about "brain drain" we applied the rolodexes of even just our civic organizations to link CWRU, CSU, CCC students directly to jobs -- systematically engaging non-profit membership rolodexes with agreement to be job-shadowed, mentor, provide access to internships. Eliminate the need for iCleveland or Y.O.U. to struggle with the devpt of its own rolodex and leverage the GCP/COSE and CVB rolodexes as part of how we together fuel brain gain.

What if any large company that needed to lay people off had the active support of outplacement from our civic entities -- entities that have an interest in "brain retention" that provide other companies in their rolodexes (why not combine these?) with direct links to this newly-available and qualified workforce, here, locally. What if every effort made to attract companies domestically or overseas provided value to the companies of these rolodexes by offering links to partnership, JV, and acquisition opportunities through these efforts, or every dignitary that visits Cleveland is greeted by the CEOs of our top companies who already or have yet to do business in the countries these dignitaries represent? What if corporations that invest in economic development initiatives had active support for the part of their agendas to invest by our civic players providing visibility and marketing around their investments, and offering venues for these players to influence and drive outcomes to getting these initiatives done -- not vaguely through board seats, but through inititiative-based councils that enable private-sector players to see their investments through with less dilution of agenda once fund-raising is completed.

What if every minority company were given first -- or even equal -- access to bid on overseas' requests for suppliers? Wouldn't this be an opportunity to support the economics of our minority businesses and populations in a true fashion, rather than through "set-asides" that do not inherently or systematically enable these businesses to do business more effectively?

What if every program created and developed for workforce development had a mechanism for enabling our region's companies to directly find and access its graduates? Why do we continue to create new programs to train our workforce for "needed skills," based on expensive research of "what we need," and not then provide a mechanism for our companies to find them? Easily...smoothly...with celebration, distinction, and most importantly in response very visibly to these customers that are the fundamental foundation of our economy?

What if every passion-based founding of an organization or initiative that has been created purely to reflect the passion of our community members (Bridge Builders, Connection Series, Leadership Cleveland, the list goes on, for there is an incredible amount of passion here...) were tapped as greeting committees for every diplomat that came to town, for every company we were trying to attract here? What if we let the passion represented within these players work for us, as a system, instead of separate from the outcomes we are all in pursuit of?

What if we treat each non-profit and even the rolodexes of these non-profits as resources to the companies they represent -- not as separate services that companies must seek out independently for support, but as an array of services to any company based on the trends we DO know exist in the needs that they have...that any door a company goes through provides them access to any other service they might need...what if we looked at and packaged all the things we do (and fund) here from the customer's point of view? What if Cleveland developed a reputation of being a pleasure to do business in? What if we applied the asset of empty downtown real estate, actively, to the customers who reside in these rolodexes and who themselves recognize the value of a metropolitan address -- and access to wide bandwidth (OneCleveland) as well as the proximity to and support of a service network that includes not only health insurance (COSE); but support to sell products overseas (WTCC); have access to higher-education graduates (iCleveland); search directly for specialized skill sets via workforce programs (multi-organizational workforce programs); invest in initiatives they care about that will benefit their quality or ease of business (economic development initiatives); get visibility for their investments (a transition of marketing dollars that currently feed marketing of non-profits to marketing of these customers' support of the initiatives themselves -- would this not in effect increase the dollars invested?); have a one-stop for posting job openings that not only distributes this information to workforce programs and colleges that may garner them qualified candidates but also to relevant trade and professional associations which can provide services and support within this network to companies as well; bid to one another for service or product offerings; have access to the industry and market research which in effect they have funded directly to non-profits or via foundations...why would we not package these in a way that makes it easier for businesses to do business here? Why would we not use these tools that already exist in a manner that enables the players intrinsic to our economic health to be economically healthy?

What if we looked at our arts and culture from the "customer perspective" in ways that make these assets easier to access, know about, get to...what if our buses said more than "Bus #31," and instead said "Bus #31, this bus goes to Playhouse Square, HealthSpace, the Cleveland Clinic, Slavic Village, the Art Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Garden Center, the Historical Society, Crawford Auto and Aviation, Little Italy..." What if we used the asset of our wide bandwidth in OneCleveland to broadcast events going on in Slavic Village to a kiosk in the Warehouse District with horse-drawn carriages or a trolley or a well-labeled bus to get our shoppers and eaters there and back...to talk about the uniqueness of the combined experience of it all over supper, and come back to do it again...

What if foundation money were applied to the payment of fees behind a master-lease that endeavored to populate our empty buildings downtown by applying volume purchase concepts to enable affordable parking and residence in these office spaces? What if it we used these existing -- CIVIC ("for the greater good") -- rolodexes to promote the effort and engage our region's companies? What if it were designed to include 30% retail and 70% office occupancy so that it drives business to the retail, that enables further attraction of retail and further momentum to an increase of couples/family residents because this momentum makes for a place people want to live, in vibrancy. What if we replicated the model across the region -- providing companies, people, with direct access to the options that fit their needs and desires?

These things are a lot of work, but they are do-able. They are not more expensive than the way we expend resources now. They are not things that feed on a depressed economy, but apply our assets to grow our economy and enable the providers of our economy -- the businesses, the entrepreneurs, the large corporations and the small; the opportunities of workers, the access to jobs and growth -- with the tools they need to survive and thrive by their own opportunities rather than paternalistically deciding which is the sector that will be The Chosen...service and better enable businesses to succeed so that they can increase their revenues and create more jobs; make doing business a seamless pleasure to do here, so that we attract more companies to the area. Use the engagement and loyalty garnered through superior service to elicit more consistent and more potent investment from the private sector in larger projects; engage their participation with focus on what serves them best to ensure initiatives are followed through on; tap the assets we already have through vehicles we already use to increase visibility and use of our arts and culture to draw people in and service them to return; apply the resources we request already (foundations) to the opportunity of our empty spaces and apply the rolodexes already in place to help populate them. Each instrumental to synergy with the other, and momentum to pave the road -- and engage the financial support as well as the personal commitment and marketing (buzz) -- of the community that is already deeply committed to the region's success, and which has yet to be tapped.

It is not an increase of cost, but a change in way. I know we can do better..
from Cool Cleveland reader Ebie Holtz ebiefh@msn.com

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