BY BOB SUTHERLAND
January 21, 2008 04:00 am As a business owner, I continually talk to my employees about positive, new opportunities we should consider. Cynicism and fear of change are the enemies of business; innovation and vision are its best friends, so good businesspeople target the stars. We may hit just a few, but it keeps us working in the heavens. So I often wonder why society spends so much time fighting in the potholes. Is it because there isn't enough good vision around? Good ideas -- and good ways to share them -- are rare. When not enough people share a vision, it often succumbs to cynicism and fear. I'm fully aware of the irony in attacking cynicism while writing in the mainstream media -- a master of cynicism -- but good ideas and good ways to share them won a round last Oct. 17. That's when over 500 people attended the first The Grand Vision workshop and kicked off a two-year planning process that will help us decide where to build homes, businesses, factories and offices, as well roads, sidewalks and -- who knows? -- the public transit to accommodate the 250,000 people moving here over the next 50 years. Our roads into town are clogged; car exhausts are interfering with the earth's ability to release heat; and gas costs over $3 and is climbing. If this doesn't call for new vision, what does? The future of so many businesses here depends on meeting an utterly clear challenge: encouraging development while preserving what we and our many visitors love about Grand Traverse. The answer is The Grand Vision. I've looked closely at it, attended that standing-room-only kickoff and seen that it's truly unique: a wide-open opportunity for planning the likes of which we have not seen before. The consultants have a great track record because they have a terrific approach and cutting-edge computer technology that allows them to take conflicting individual visions, compile them into many future growth "scenarios," show them in striking detail, and allow everyone to help shape a scenario with "landslide" levels of popular support. Even better, The Grand Vision has the resources to provide township, village and county governments with the tools and popular support to transform the best scenario into "fine print" that makes it real. For example, the Vision will provide analysis, engineering and design work on 10 highway corridors or activity areas to the relevant local governments. This week's workshops will look closely at three hot spots: Traverse City's downtown business district and neighborhoods; the Acme area; and the Interlochen area. You will use really cool computer graphics to look at many building shapes, sizes, uses and possible locations. There will be food, refreshments, good folks and serious fun. Hundreds of people already working on The Grand Vision are proving the cynics wrong. Don't you want to be in that number? About the author: Bob Sutherland is owner of Cherry Republic. He is a board member of the Traverse City Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Land Use Institute. He is also a champion of The Grand Vision. About the forum: The forum is a periodic column of opinion written by Record-Eagle readers in their areas of interest or expertise. Submissions of 500 words or less may be made by e-mailing letters@record-eagle.com. Please include biographical information and a photo.
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