"...to not be parochial and to practice finding opportunities.”

Excerpt from Giving Strength, May 2007 (page 17)
publication of The Bush Foundation

By Mary R. Bensman

People key to a vibrant main street

.....Each of these projects illustrates the important balance between economic development and human capital. Businesses need people as customers, as employees and as taxpayers to support infrastructure.

“Before, we made the assumption that human capital would follow economic development,” Froelich said, “but today that dynamic has reversed. To attract talented people to available jobs, we must provide people with the quality of life they might get in other parts of the country. Area manufacturers and businesses have increased wages, but to be competitive, additional increases will be necessary. We need to raise salary levels for everyone if we are to have vibrant main streets. Our employers need to find an advantage other than a low-cost local labor force.”

He believes that leadership training will help. “Our leaders need to see their place in the world, to get a larger global view and define their role in it. While we may need to teach people how to engage more community members in new projects and other basic leadership skills, we also need to impart curiosity, to give them an awareness of what there is to learn, to scan, to not be parochial and to practice finding opportunities.”