Attitude Adjustment

[simms3]

2 articles in this week's Atlanta Business Chronicle highlight exactly the difference between why a city like Jacksonville with so much potential lags behind everyone and why a city like Atlanta with no potential is one of the top tier cities in the country:

Let's Keep Atlanta Big League

World Class Name Requires Great Transit

These articles aren't anomalies and similar articles appear in the AJC and ABC every week.  Recently there have been a few editorials in the paper highlighting a lack of self esteem in Jacksonville and a lack of leadership.  It's doubtful the writers know about MetroJacksonville, but the writers are right.  Anyone who spends just a little bit of time in Atlanta, Charlotte, Austin, or Nashville can sense the urge to get things right and to move forward with progress and big and bold ideas.  It's a competitive atmosphere.  Jacksonville is lacking that competitive drive, and not just the city and its leadership, but many people who call Jacksonville home are content to sit back and let whatever life brings them happen.

If one could sum up what needs to happen in just a few words: Jacksonville needs to become a rat race.  Currently the situation is one where people try to prevent it from becoming a rat race and people from other cities view Jacksonville as a quiet place to retire from their current rat race.  A rat race has negative connotations, but every big league city is a rat race and it pays off for those who keep up in that race.

[simms3]

And furthermore, the stances taken by Jacksonville and Atlanta toward a lack of port funding also highlight differences.

Atlanta's article/blog in the ABC discussing the rejection of funding takes on a sense of urgency to get the funding anyway.  All the Republicans and Democrats are rallied together in support.  Even the Repubs say this is the kind of "earmark" that needs to be spent.  The obstacle is Boehner's promise to end earmarks, but the Repubs are "working around that."  No mention of any other ports.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2011/02/14/savannah-harbor-dredging-left-out-of.html

In the Jacksonville Biz Journal article, the whole editorial revolves around the fact that Jacksonville didn't get the funding, but it's ok because neither did Savannah or Miami.  Definitely a different tone.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/trade_trucks_trains/2011/02/obama-budget-no-money-for-savannah.html

And did anyone see this?

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2011/02/14/parc-management-wants-to-jazz-up.html

All I can say is, whoa.  This is the stupidest idea I have ever heard in my entire life.  They have to come up with something better than running zip lines on flat land in downtown between West Bay St and the Sports Stadium district.

[marksjax]

Spot on! We, as citizen's, need to realize the other cities are trying hard every day to keep what they have and keep moving forward. I know Mayor Peyton, the JEDC leadership and the Chamber of Commerce realize this competition because they mention it when talking about attracting new business or port expansion, etc.
Not so sure the average Joe realizes it though. And ditto some on the city council.
Good thoughts on this concept. We should accept we are in a race (of sorts) and realize in many ways the other cities are way ahead and we are still getting out of the starting blocks.
 

[cityimrov]

That's going to be a very tough idea to sell.  I remember I wrote something like that in this thread http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,10876.msg197127.html#msg197127

The response was this

For many (including me), small business ownership is not about a desire to, as you say 'grow, expand, and try to create a world class company that can compete internationally'.  Those are worthwhile goals and I applaud the efforts of those who choose that path.  However, I chose small business ownership because it allows me to spend more time with my wife and children.  It is about quality of life more than quantity of life.

This is the response I pretty much heard from most business owners I talked too.  A lot of people here are very comfortable with what they have.  It doesn't matter (currently) that the port isn't expanding or things like that.  Sure, it may cause a determent in our lives later on but for now, it doesn't matter.  There's very few people here who is willing to enter that rat race.  

[dougskiles]

If one could sum up what needs to happen in just a few words: Jacksonville needs to become a rat race.  Currently the situation is one where people try to prevent it from becoming a rat race and people from other cities view Jacksonville as a quiet place to retire from their current rat race.  A rat race has negative connotations, but every big league city is a rat race and it pays off for those who keep up in that race.

Do you have any intention of moving back here someday to lead the race?

[dougskiles]

That's going to be a very tough idea to sell.  I remember I wrote something like that in this thread http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,10876.msg197127.html#msg197127

The response was this

For many (including me), small business ownership is not about a desire to, as you say 'grow, expand, and try to create a world class company that can compete internationally'.  Those are worthwhile goals and I applaud the efforts of those who choose that path.  However, I chose small business ownership because it allows me to spend more time with my wife and children.  It is about quality of life more than quantity of life.

This is the response I pretty much heard from most business owners I talked too.  A lot of people here are very comfortable with what they have.  It doesn't matter (currently) that the port isn't expanding or things like that.  Sure, it may cause a determent in our lives later on but for now, it doesn't matter.  There's very few people here who is willing to enter that rat race.  

That quote was from me.  There is an ebb and flow with everything.  Some days I am motivated to solve all of Jacksonville’s problems and wish I could employ every unemployed engineer that comes knocking on my door.  Other days (and probably the day I wrote that quote), all I want to do is get through the problems in front of me, go home and play games with my kids.  It doesn’t have anything to do with being comfortable.  It has everything to do with balancing my life.

A far bigger issue to me than poor motivation is our city’s low self-esteem.  How do we get ourselves out of the funk?  Personally, when I start feeling down the best thing I can do is get outside myself and help someone.  It puts everything in perspective.  So, perhaps there is something as a city that we can do to get outside of ourselves?

When we finished the cleanup at Hogans Creek on Saturday, I stopped to admire the work.  I was struck by the simple beauty of the place.  It wasn’t anything that would make the cover of a magazine, but you could see the love that had been poured over the place.  We need more of that in Jacksonville.

[CG7]

I was at the clean up Saturday, and went back downtown on Sunday. The weather was perfect, and there were people all over the place. From a group of people waiting for Chamblin's and the library to open, I made my way to the Landing and the restaurants with outdoor seating were doing a brisk business. I walked the entire Northbank Riverwalk, and was amazed at the number of people walking, jogging, biking and just soaking up the sun. The one thing I noticed was the large nimber of kids, and how bored they looked. I got home and heard about the PARC Co.'s plan for a corridor of shopping, dining and entertainment and thought that is just what the area needed, and isn't that what evryone is complaining about is a lack of a draw downtown. This would bring people downtown, plus it would make a walkable destination connecting the landing and Laura street with the Shipyards. I don't see how that is a stupid idea. But what do I know?