The word of the year is alignment -- at least that's what it seems like to me. The word has come up repeatedly in many of the conversations that I've joined lately.
When something good happens, we say that "the stars align" to create an unusual situation. Since we don't have much control over the stars, this old saying implies that the positive results happen by chance. Sometimes that is the case, but here in Clinton County a lot of people are working hard to make the stars align.
I have the honor of serving on three local boards of directors: The Development Corporation, Mountain Lake PBS and The Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce. Each of these organizations is working on its strategic plan at one stage or another (developing, executing or updating). What is amazing to me is how much alignment there is among the various strategic plans. For example, The Development Corporation is working to expand the Foreign Trade Zone in Clinton County so that we are an even more attractive location for international business; Mountain Lake PBS is working on projects that bridge cultural differences across the international border between New York and Quebec; and the Chamber of Commerce touts Plattsburgh as Montreal's U.S. Suburb. Is it mere coincidence that all three of these leading organizations are developing or executing strategies that are so well aligned? I don't think so.
If the alignment among the various strategic plans is not the result of luck, what then is the reason for it. I submit that the force that is making the stars align is a sense of shared vision for our community. Although each of the organizations mentioned in this post may have a different way of expressing it, they all have a similar vision for the future of this area. The vision is that this will be an international community of choice to live, work and play -- a community with a competitive advantage that attracts high quality employers and draws young professionals and entrepreneurs who want to raise their families near an international border, in a region of unparalleled natural beauty. These are not my original ideas, but they have been suggested and discussed by some of my esteemed colleagues from within this community. To a large extent, this vision is already becoming a reality. With the success of the Plattsburgh International Airport, with the growing list of Canadian, Korean and German businesses that have chosen to locate here, and with the bi-national membership base of our local public-media organization, we are already becoming a hub of global business in northern New York.
Although it sounds simple enough, developing a shared vision for the community is no mean feat. With the passage of time, most organizations have a natural tendency to lose sight of the external reason for their existence and to focus internally instead on self-preservation. We forget to ask, "What need are we supposed to meet?" and we begin to ask, "What do we need?" A community cannot achieve a sense of shared vision unless the organizations within the community are willing to shift the focus from their own internal needs to the external needs of those who depend on us.
To my astonishment, the organizations in this region have done a remarkable job at focusing on the external interests of the community as a whole. As a result of this unselfish behavior, the efforts of each individual organization are better aligned toward a common goal. Therefore, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. This gives me great cause for optimism -- optimism that we will achieve our shared vision and become a community of choice to live, work and play; a community with a competitive advantage; a community that can sustain economic prosperity and a high quality of life.
You can call it a luck if you like, but like the old saying goes, "The harder I work, the luckier I get." Fortunately for us, there are a lot of people in this community who are working very hard on a shared vision. We at Clinton are helping to shape that vision and we are committed to aligning our efforts with those of others who are working for the common good.
That's what I think. What do you think? I welcome your comments and reactions via e-mail to presidentsblog@clinton.edu.
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