Wednesday, December 27, 2017

We Can Do Better Than Economic Slavery

Economic slavery is thriving in agriculture, and we can do something about it. The same exploitive economic principles used in the USA in the 18th and 19th century with slavery are still being used in the 21st century by many companies. Companies commoditize agriculture to provide consumers with cheaper prices and to enrich themselves. Unfortunately, these “cost savings” come at a high human cost by enslaving people in the cycle of poverty, limiting education for children, and disconnecting us from our food and the people who grow it (arguably a leading cause of the USA obesity epidemic).

I would like to highlight coffee since it is something most of us purchase every day. The truth is the coffee business is a dirty business that has made a few people very rich by economically enslaving many others. I want to share with you three of the most egregious practices that go into your cup of morning Joe.

1a. What is Wrong?  Plantations (Bad for People and the Environment)
The same economic principles used on cotton plantations in the 18th and 19th century are being used today on most coffee plantations.  While plantation workers are not in physical chains, they are subjected to inhumane conditions and in many cases are only paid about $1 a day.

The other issue of plantations is their negative impact on the environment. Clear-cutting rainforests to make room for a coffee plantation is a real problem for the ecosystem, the animals, and makes for bad tasting coffee.

1b. How we can do better.
Ask your favorite coffee shop if they buy from plantations? If they do, ask if you can have the name of the plantation and Google it to see their labor practices. Not all plantations engage in unethical labor practices, but most do, so if you are going to buy plantation coffee (which I hope you don’t care for environmental reasons) be sure they are not engaged in economic slavery.  

Bonus: Ask if their coffee is organic?

2a.  What is Wrong?  Brokers
Farmers call brokers, “coyotes” because they are scavengers who feed off the plight of others. Brokers are part of the corporate coffee system that breaks the connection between the consumer and farmer. Many times, brokers work like a “payday loan” place prepaying for a coffee harvest in advance at a fraction of the true value.  

2b.  How we can do better.
Ask your favorite coffee shop who supplies their beans? They may locally roast, but obviously, the bean is not locally grown, so ask where they got them? Are they a direct importer or do they use a broker? If they use a broker, ask which one? If they won’t tell you, find a coffee shop that has a transparent supply chain and support them.

3a.  What is Wrong:  Blends
Unfiltered truth: Blends like Breakfast Blend, Holiday Blend, and fortunate blend are used by corporations to comedies coffee and disconnect the consumer from the farmer. These blends are a mixture of cheap beans blended and marketed in a way to raise the retail price on the low end and most likely unethically source coffee beans.

3b.  How we can do better.

Only drink single origin coffee that you can track back to the farm. It is easier than you think. Next time you are at your local coffee shop ask your barista, “What farm and region is the coffee from?” If they don’t know, ask if they can find out? If not, ask if there is a local coffee shop that does server ethically sourced single origin coffee and go there. 

I would like to invite you to learn more on January 11th at the Labor Trafficking Food Chains Forum




Tuesday, December 19, 2017

3 More Reasons Lousy Students Make Great Entrepreneurs



Lousy Students Learn How to Fail
In order to become a great entrepreneur, you need to know how to fail. Why? Because entrepreneurship is mostly about failing forward. You try, you fail, and then you try again until you break through (or fail again).

Many entrepreneurs first learn this critical entrepreneurship skill in school. As a lousy student, you get used to failure: you fail tests, homework, classes, and even whole grades. As a lousy student, if you don't get comfortable with failing, you'll probably drop out and start a business or something.

Lousy Students Learn How to Ask for Help
Lousy students who want to pass, learn how to ask for help. Fortunately, this is an entrepreneurship skill that is more important than the class the entrepreneur is trying to pass. Great companies and organizations are built one ask at a time. Entrepreneurs are constantly seeking and asking for help: help from investors, help from talent and help from their network.

Lousy Students Learn How to Pivot
The last thing failing teaches entrepreneurs is if you don't want to fail again, you need to try it a different way. Every idea, before it has its breakthrough will go through several iterations or pivots. Many companies started as something else: Avon was started by a door to door book salesman who gave away little bottles of perfume, Nokia started as a pulp mill, and Wrigley's was originally a baking powder and soap company. Failing forward and getting up to do it another way is at the heart and soul of entrepreneurship.

Who is your favorite flunky entrepreneur? 

Sunday, December 10, 2017

FSU's Parking Problem Solved (A Free Idea for an Ent)


Here is a simple idea on how to help solve the parking problem at FSU. 
I am freely giving this idea to anyone who wants to run with it. 

The Problem: Very difficult to find parking on campus.

The Solution: Create an app call CARma that rewards people who are leaving with a parking spot to alert parking lot seekers that you are leaving. 

How it Works: 
  • A person walking toward their car is alerted by the app to see if they are leaving.  
    • If they are leaving and select "yes" they are given two CARma points from the CARma bank.
    • The app then updates the app's parking map to show that a spot is coming available. 
    • A seeker can claim an available spot which moves two CARma points from the seeker into an escrow account that will reward the user offering the spot when the seeker parks.
      • This will incentivize the person leaving to make sure the person who claimed the spot 
      • There can also be tipping
        • Once the seeker claims an available spot both parties can track and message each other.
Revenue Model: I have thought of several different ways to monetize this app, but I'll leave it up to you.

BTW: I did a quick check on the Play Store and did not see any app like this or any app called CARma. 

The cool thing is this is scalable to anywhere there are parking issues. 

    Monday, December 4, 2017

    Three Reasons Why Lousy Students Make Great Entrepreneurs

    I was asked by a local leadership group to speak to an assembly of high schoolers who are interested in entrepreneurship. When I asked them about what aspect of entrepreneurship they would like me to speak about, they said, “whatever you think would interest high schoolers.”

    Honestly, I was a lousy high school student and always struggled with traditional education. Then it hit me! Most the entrepreneurs I know were lousy students, and it got me to thinking, “Why?” Well, I came up with three behaviors that may infuriate teachers and result in scholastic failure, but turbo charge entrepreneurship and thrill investors.

    Teacher says, “Student doesn’t follow directions.” In entrepreneurship this is called “disruptive,” and it is the common trait of all successful entrepreneurs. Disruption is at the core of all entrepreneurship, in fact, this is what an entrepreneur does—disrupts the status quo. An entrepreneur looks at what is and says, “I can make it better/cheaper/faster!” As a result, disrupts the market.

    Teacher says, “Student takes shortcuts” In entrepreneurship, this is called, “a hack” and it is essential to creating an MVP (minimal viable product). Most entrepreneurs do not have the time or the money to make a perfect product, so they use hacks to save time and money. The cool thing is many times these hacks lead to innovation and can make the product even better/faster/cheaper.

    Teacher says, “Student needs to pay attention in class” In entrepreneurship, daydreaming is called, “ideation.” Visionary” entrepreneurs are paying attention, just not necessarily to what everyone else is paying attention. For entrepreneurs, the present is boring and they compensate by spending their mind time actively envisioning a more exciting future.

    Many teachers are frustrated by disruptive, shortcut taking, dreamers who are not paying attention to their carefully prepared lesson. I get that, but perhaps traditional education is not the best education for everyone. Perhaps education is ready for an entrepreneur to disrupt the status quo and create a better/faster/cheaper way to inspire individual learning.


    Have anything to add? I would love to read your comments. 

    Sunday, November 26, 2017

    You're One Question Away

    Sales professionals, if you want to get to the next level, stop pitching and start asking. It is really surprising to me how many sales professionals have not learned or been taught that questions are the "secret sauce" of sales.
    I cannot tell you how many sales professionals have walked away from a sale/future sale with me simply because they did not ask a follow-up question. They took my objection as an unequivocal no, but the reality is many times, I just haven't been asked the right question.
    If you abide by The Golden Rule for Sales Professional, I guarantee you will increase your client base and increase your sales. What is The Golden Rule for Sales Professional?
    The Golden Rule for Sales Professional
    Always ask a question that gets a "Yes" before you say, "Thank you for your time."
    I know it sounds simple, but it works. Questions like,
    • May I follow up with you next month?
    • May I send you a sample of a new product we just developed?
    • May I send you a connection request on LinkedIn?
    Your best clients are built on the foundation of the relationship, and solid relationships take time to build. You're one question away from beginning that relationship because relationships are built one ask at a time.

    What is a Social Impact Company (SIC)?

    This is an expanded excerpt pulled from an article I wrote last week "Is Your Company SICk?" I received feedback that people wanted to know more about the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and how to achieve it.
    Social Impact Company (SIC) and the Triple Bottom Line?
    When I was in business school, it seemed like all instruction was tagged with the line “at a profit.” Instruction like, “Provide your customers with what they want, at a profit.” I get it. I agree with it. It just wasn’t enough for me.
    When I started RedEye Coffeealmost 15-years ago, I wanted to achieve a Triple Bottom Line (TBL). A TBL conceives of profit in a more holistic way. It takes into account the total impact of commerce and is committed to a mutually beneficial supply chain that considers financial profit and both social and environmental impact in determining the enterprise's success.
    A commitment to a TBL drives passionate conversations in executive meetings, which I call “managing the tensions.” In these conversations, the leadership team holds each other responsible to the TBL. Why do I call it “managing the tensions?” Quite simply, a SIC can’t do everything. A SIC first and foremost must make a financial profit—employees, landlords, and the IRS demand to be paid. So, there are "tensions to be managed" between having stakeholder and customer pride all the while achieving a TBL.
    Conceptually, a SIC looks like the Venn diagram on the left. This diagram drives and guides the conversations in the boardroom on how to maximize financial profits, environmental responsibility, and social good. It has been my experience that there is a bit of a transitional phase implementing the TBL. It is mostly about asking questions like, "What would be the impact if we rethought our marketing budget from traditional advertising to financially partnering with our customers to achieve the social good we want to see in the world?" It is not something that will happen overnight and it will demand your teams' best thinking. But this is a good thing when you consider that reports show that 70% of the American workforce is disengaged.
    What aspiring SICs will quickly discover is the Venn won't look as pretty as the one above, it will look more like the lopsided one on the right. As a business transitions toward being a SIC and incorporating a TBL there will be anxiety while incorporating a new business paradigm. This is normal and is one of the "known knowns" in the SIC process. It is my contention that traditional corporations will need to move toward being a SIC to be competitive in the 21st Century by holistically reimagining their business model and incorporating the TBL. It's not just a good thing to do, it is the future of commerce.
    Do you want to be a SIC? Contact me www.markmcnees.com
    About Mark McNees: Mark is the Social Entrepreneur in Residence at FSU's Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship, Director of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation at FSU’s Devoe Moore Center, Founder/CEO of RedEye Coffee (selected by the Newman’s Own Foundation and KIND Foundation as one of the best Social Enterprises in America), and a business/organization Social Impact Conference speaker. 

    Value Proposition: Which Coffee Would You Choose?

    I guide my students through this value proposition every semester in my Social Entrepreneurship and Economic Development class at FSU. There seems to be a collective neurosis that to succeed in business you must win the race to the bottom (be the cheapest). Social Entrepreneurship, in stark contrast, predicates that people be loyal to brands with the product/service that offers the best value.
    The Academic Exercise goes as follows: 
    Me: Given seemingly three identical cups of coffee: one costing $1.75, second $2.25, and third $2.35; which one would you choose?
    100% Students: The coffee costing $1.75
    Me: Right. Me too. Now, what if I told you cup #1 has unethically sourced coffee and cups #2 and #3 are ethically sourced?
    90% of Students: We would buy cup #2, the ethically sourced coffee costing $2.25.
    Me: Right. Me too. Now, what if I told you that cups #1 and #2 use chemicals that are harmful to the environment and clear-cut rain forests to have bigger crop yields?
    85% of Students: We would buy cup #3, the earth friendly, organic coffee costing $2.35.
    Me: Right. Me too. Now, what if I told you cup #3 is also served in earth-friendly cups, made by a barista earning a fair wage, and 100% of the profits go to local and global empowerment charities?
    95% of Student: We would buy cup #3, the ethically sourced, organic coffee, with a social mission.
    That is a Value Proposition.
    Social Entrepreneurs run a different race.

    Toyota's Secret of Success

    All of us have been drilled by a 4-year-old who keeps asking the question, "Why?" It usually goes something like,
    Kid: Why is the sky blue?
    Adult: Because that is the way God/nature made it.
    Kid: Why did God/nature make it that way?
    Adult: Ah, I don't know just because.
    There is a theory that was formally developed by Sakichi Toyoda and is used within the Toyota Motor Corporation that is credited for their legendary manufacturing system. That theory is called the 5Whys. Toyoda espoused that to get to the root of the real problem you must ask "why" five times. So, in the above example, if the adult did not punt on answering the kid's "whys," by the fifth "why" they would have ended up with the following explanation of why the sky is blue:
    The sky is  blue because molecules in the air scatter  blue light from the sun more than they scatter red light.
    The 5Whys are critically important in solving problems, not only in manufacturing but for all problems-business, social, and personal. Abert Einstein famously said, "If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about the solutions. Toyoda and Einstein both knew the surface problem is just a symptom of the real problem. The 5Whys is a tool to get beyond the symptom(s) and get to the root cause.
    The 5whys are especially important for Social Impact Companies (SIC) and Social Entrepreneurs. All too often a well-intentioned person, organization, or government will try and "help" people only ending up making the problem worse by treating a symptom and not solving the core issue. This is evidenced by a mountain of failed initiatives that have compounded problems like homelessness, hunger, poverty, and drug addiction.
    Shallow thinking has led people, organizations, and governments to dump an enormous amount of resources trying to solve these symptoms, leading to disastrous results. Shallow thinking like, homeless people need homes, hungry people need food, poor people need money, and drug addicts need to "Just say, No" are just a few examples of how symptom solving actions don't actually solve anything.
    Nancy Reagan, fell victim to this shallow thinking with her "Just say, No" campaign. It is a prime example of why it is necessary to employ the 5Whys when trying to solve a problem. Nancy Reagan was technically correct, if people just said no to drugs, they would not become addicted. Tragically, drug addiction is not caused by saying, "yes" it is much more complex than that as we have seen with the recent opioid addiction epidemic that is now credited with over two-thirds of all overdose deaths in America.
    Bellow is a very quick example of how the 5Whys can help people, organizations, governments discover the real problem using the opioid crisis.
    This is only an example and not intended to imply or suggest a solution to the very complex issue of drug overdose and drug addiction.
    If Nancy Reagan and her team would have employed Toyoda's "5Whys" I believe they would have implemented a completely different strategy to combat America's growing drug problem. It is pure conjecture, but if they would have done so, perhaps American would not be in the addiction/overdose mess we are currently experiencing.
    Again, these are very complex issues and my intent is to give you a powerful tool to solve the real problem you are facing. The following are some best practices when using the 5Whys.
    Best practices using the 5Whys
    1. Use paper or a whiteboard
    2. Write down the problem in a way everyone understands
    3. Human error cannot be the answer to the 5th Why
    4. Honor the process (don't take shortcuts)
    5. Focus on cause and effect (using the above example: Why1 are people ODing? Because they are drug addicts. -> Why2 are they drug addict? Because they took too many perscribed opiod drugs....)
    I would like to encourage you to try using the 5Whys the next time you or your team are faced with a problem. It may seem a little clunking at first, but once people get used to honoring the process it can be a powerful tool in solving the real problem.

    Innovate or Die

    Most managers and politicians love systems—they are predictable and have the illusion of safety. Systems are similar to mathematical equations, promising if you work the formula, you will get a foreseeable result, like the proverbial 2+2=4. But what if “4” represents unrealized potential or worse, unequal access to opportunity? Smart companies and organizations encourage entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs to question the formula because eventually, companies and organizations who don’t question the formula will become DOA.
    Giants of commerce like Blackberry, Sears, Borders, and Blockbuster had everything to succeed except curiosity and an organizational structure that encouraged questioning the formula. Along the way, they stopped being pioneers and became settlers who valued fences over unknown horizons. It's normal, it's expected, and it is a predictable formula for death.
    Every first-year business student is shown the “Lifecycle of a Business” chart. It is not a mystery; it has happened again and again for thousands of years, not only with businesses, but with governments, religions, and organizations. There is one simple law: innovate or die.
    The mantra for growth companies like Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Netflix is, “Move fast and break things.” This axiom is the antithesis of most mature companies who live and die by their formulas, but the fact is, in today’s economy slow and steady doesn’t win the race, slow and steady results in Chapter 13.
    Here are three questions to determine if your company or organization is a pioneer or a settler.
    How often does senior leadership question the company formula?
    1. We have an entrepreneur/intrapreneur position  
    2. Every meeting
    3. Once a month
    4. When the CEO brings it up
    5. Can I call my boss on my Blackberry to ask
    How long does it take to go from ideation to the launch of a new product or service?
    1. Before lunch
    2. A Week
    3. A Month
    4. A Quarter
    5. We are about to release a new buggy whip next year
    What happens if a person/team launches a loser?
    1. Our company culture celebrates Minimal Viable Products (MVP)
    2. We are always in the process of learning how to better serve our market
    3. A robust postmortem to find out where the process broke down
    4. They may only get a 2.5% salary increase at their next annual review
    5. Bye, Bye Miss American Pie
    Add up your score of the three questions with the number next to your answer. If you have
    • 3 to 7 points you are a very innovative company, be careful not to lose your core
    • 8 to 10 points make sure your culture has a champion of innovation
    • 11 or more points your company is in decline, and you need to hire an innovation consultant ASAP
    An innovation culture has an unreasonable commitment to “move fast and break things.” Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Netflix are unusual because they refuse to settle. Settling is normal, it is what humans do, just know by settling you are stamping an expiration date on your company. If you want to cheat death, you must innovate. This is easier said than done and you will most likely need help. I recommend reaching out to organizations like The Jim Moran Institute, your local Chamber of Commerce, or an innovation and organizational culture consultant like me.  

    Monday, May 22, 2017

    Tallahassee can be the BEST Small City in America



    As a follow-up to my previous post, Unpacking Three Days in Nashville I wanted to share some thoughts on a question, which was asked several times in Nashville, “What makes a small city a great place to live?” And to expand that question, how could Tallahassee become the best small city in America?

    Now, I know some people will shake their heads and say, “Best!? Really!? Tallahassee!?” Why not Tallahassee? And why wouldn’t you want to live in the best small city in America? There is no reason we can’t, so we should set the goal to be the best.

    I would like to offer up the acronym, BEST as the four things Tallahassee needs to commit to in order to become the best. When I say, commit, I mean the whole city: residents, politicians, educators, commerce, civil servants, faith-based organizations, and non-profits.  The acronym BEST stands for:

    B-beauty
    E-education-entrepreneurship-enterprise
    S-safety
    T-transit

    The following is a quick explanation of each letter in the BEST acronym.

    Beauty is more than trees, although our natural landscape is beautiful. Beauty is also art, culture, access, and diversity, the things that create a sense of place and inspires community. For example, every day when I drive home near Bannerman Crossings via Thomasville Rd., I think to myself the medium would be an amazing art gallery that could tell the story of our city. Culture also adds to the beauty of a city, it brings people together, not only for ballet, but for farmers’ markets, concerts in the park, and community events. Beauty is also access, access to healthy food, good schools, and safe neighborhoods. Finally, diversity is also a beautiful thing when there is a common culture that is inclusive. We don’t all have to agree on everything, but can we agree that we want to live, work, and play in a beautiful city.

    What makes a city beautiful for all?

    Education Leon County k-12 is 36th out of 69 Florida Counties, and Florida is 28th in the country. Unfortunately, I could not find a ranking of nation k-12 academic standings, but the very fact that Tallahassee is 36th out of 69 in Florida and Florida is 28th in the country indicates to me that there is a lot of room for improvement. I am not a policy maker or a k-12 educator, but I think the goal of education is to prepare children to be productive community members and to achieve economic success. Our children, the children of Tallahassee, deserve an education system the will prepare them to succeed in the 21st-century economy.

    Does our current education system serve the children we have been entrusted to prepare?

    Entrepreneurship is the key to economic growth, diversification, and talent retention. Tallahassee has taken great strides in creating an entrepreneurial engine with DOMI, The Jim Moran Institute and School, the coming Innovation Hub at FSU and I/O Ave powered by FAMU and DOMI. These initiatives are an investment to diversify our economy, transforming us from a “government town” to an entrepreneurial economy supported by being the Capital City.

    What industry would we like to see grow and flourish in Leon County?

    Enterprise while entrepreneurship is exciting, it is existing enterprise that pays taxes, good salaries and makes our economy work. While it is true, most of Tallahassee is directly or indirectly here to support State government and higher education we do have other amazing companies and industry happening here. Large companies like ACS, A Xerox Company, St. Mark Powder, a General Dynamics Company, and Danfoss Turbocor all who choose to be in Tallahassee and are integral to our economy.

    What are some other companies that have made the choice to live, work, and play in Tallahassee?

    Safety Before I moved to Tallahassee fourteen years ago, I asked the only person I knew in Tallahassee why the crime rate was higher than where I was from, Los Angeles? He said, “That’s crazy, crime is not that bad in Tallahassee.” The reality is that I enjoy a low crime rate in my neighborhood, but as reported in The Democrat and Tallahassee Reports our city is the worst or one of the worst places in the state when it comes to violent crime. The South of town, particularly around the campuses are dangerous for our communities, businesses, families and our sons and daughters for violent crime, especially sexual assault. I applaud Mayor Andrew Gillum on his efforts to include the faith community into the conversation how to make our city safe. I think it is no coincidence that violent crime and sexual assault has risen alongside the narrative we teach our students that there is not God and they are soulless animals here by chance. Faith is a powerful and beautiful thing. Sure people have abused religion, but eradicating it from the public sector and creating a secular state has not yielded stellar results.

    Is there an alternative to the current system that will allow for all points of view?

    Transit A friend once told me, “A city cannot be great without great public transit.” I don’t know if that is true, but I do love visiting cities with great public transit, so it might be. Like my home city, LA, Tallahassee is pretty much impossible to get around without a car. Transitioning a city built on a “car culture” is hard to do, LA has been trying to do it for decades, with little success. Can Tallahassee do it? Of course, we can, but like Beauty, Education, and Safety, Tallahassee will need to commit to a public transportation system. Ultimately, transit is about access and as previously stated access is the precursor an inclusive culture and city.

    How can Tallahassee create access through transit for all our citizens?

    I’m not an artist, school administrator, police officer, or civil engineer. I also know the “how” behind BEST is a daunting task and I do not want to take away from all the great women and men who have dedicated to making our city beautiful, educated, safe, and accessible through transit. We live in a very good city, but if we want to live in the best city, we need to have an honest conversation and a compelling vision.


    I for one would love Tallahassee to be the BEST. 

    Thursday, May 18, 2017

    Unpacking Three Days in Nashville (TLH Delegation)


    5:30a Monday morning, sitting on the plane as it was getting ready to take off, I looked around, seeing Tallahassee’s leaders from every sector on board and thought to myself, “If this plane goes down Tallahassee is in deep trouble.” Fortunately, all our travels went off without a hitch, and we all made it back safely.

    Keeping with the plane theme, my 30,000ft take away is this, Tallahassee has amazing people who care deeply about our city. The very fact that eighty community leaders, at their expense, would travel to another city to learn how we can make our city even better is a testament to the deep commitment they have to make Tallahassee the best it can be.

    On the ground, I was very impressed with the vision and unity of Nashville’s public and private sectors to maximize their cities quality of life. I read in the Tallahassee Democrat’s Zing section that “Tallahassee would never become Nashville” and if that is why you think we went, you missed the point. The point is to learn, engage, discuss, and experience new ideas for inclusion, empowerment, and equity in our local economy and society.

    During our time there we met with public and private leaders who shared their experience discussing the benefits and challenges of creative collaboration across all sectors. The collective chorus was that it was/is hard, but it IS worth it.

    My personal takeaways are:

    Tallahassee has an identity crisis.
    In 2006, there was a line in the hit show, LOST, “All Tallahassee is, is strip malls and Waffle Houses.” A lot has changed in eleven years; we now have amazing local restaurants like The Blu Halo, Backwoods Crossing, and Fat Noodle, we also have cool organizations like INNE, DOMI, and the Jim Moran Institute that create amazing value for our community. State Government and Higher Ed are the foundation of our community, a firm foundation for us to build the best small town in America.

    Tallahassee has amazing leadership across all sectors. As stated above, the fact that eighty people would spend their money and their precious time to help improve our city is a testament to the depth of commitment and love they have for Tallahassee. Every person there could have used a three-day vacation to relax and unwind, but they chose to leave their friends, family, businesses, customers, and boards for one reason, to make Tallahassee the best it can be.

    Unity of purpose can solve a lot of problems. I have a firm belief that termites, not woodpeckers are your biggest threat to your home. The same is true with our city home, there is not a big enough woodpecker that can destroy our city home, but we need to deal with the termites, people who want to damage our structure. The best remedy for termites is clarity of vision that we as a community can unite around.

    The value of the Tallahassee/Nashville Delegation is what lives beyond it. The Democrat wrote an article titled, Is Tallahassee Better after Boulder? So, what will the headline be in a couple of years when Tallahassee leader go to another city, or better yet, what will the headline read when another city comes to Tallahassee?