There is value in teamwork between business community and local governments
Teams exist because there is a challenge or opportunity too big for an individual alone. This concept was shared with me at a recent conference, and it resonated with me; specifically, it made me consider the fact that our community is a team.
Effective teams – and effective communities – have shared prosperity. The World Bank defines shared prosperity as the extent to which economic growth is inclusive by focusing on household consumption or income growth among the poorest population rather than on growth in the average.
That definition sounds like a socialist dream, but that’s not the case if you simply deconstruct the terms and take each individually. Share is defined as having a portion of (something) with another or others. Prosperity is a condition in which a person or community is doing well financially. So shared prosperity might be better defined – in common parlance as opposed to the academic World Bank’s definition – as having joint responsibility for how a community operates.
I have two basic assumptions: one, that businesses are only as successful as the community they operate in, and two, communities are only as successful as the businesses that operate in them. We, therefore, have shared prosperity since the prosperity of a business is directly connected to the success of the community. In other words, we’re in it together.
Vail Mountain COO Beth Howard had a recent editorial that touched on this, highlighting Vail Resorts commitment to be “Epic for Everyone” to create a more welcoming entry point to the sport, while also creating stability for our community despite variability in weather or unpredictable events like a pandemic.
I appreciate the recognition of the importance that there is a shared responsibility to grow the sport, regardless of any real or perceived challenges associated with this. The community, our towns, and our businesses must remain aligned in our goal to provide the highest level of service and to enjoy shared prosperity moving forward.
Vail’s town council was also in the news recently with their council retreat where the relationship with Vail Resorts was a topic of conversation. It is good to see the recognition among elected officials that shared prosperity between our largest employer and the towns they operate in is essential to the ongoing health and sustainability of our community.
I appreciate the council’s recognition of the importance to have a good working relationship with the business community (in this case, with our largest employer). The town, and our entire valley, are invested in the success of a strong relationship and must remain focused on communication and cooperation to ensure our ongoing sustainability as a community.
The concept of shared prosperity isn’t a new one. The idea that a team is only as strong as its weakest link, or that you’re only as strong as those around you, rings true. A team – and a community – is filled with strengths and weaknesses.
In Good to Great, author Jim Collins exhorts the idea of having the right people sitting in the right seats. The reason for this? Organizational efficiency, to be sure. But it is more than efficiency or effectiveness that drives the desire to have people in the “right seats”. The benefit to having people in the right seats is that it leads to a strong team and results in shared prosperity.
It’s not about kumbaya. We have very real challenges facing us. I’m optimistic we’ll tackle them – together – because strong communities are a team that work together to address challenges that are too big to solve alone.
Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce. Learn more at VailValleyPartnership.com