Transcript of Josh McManus
Josh McManus: The cities that I go to, all too often that have abandoned their hope for change, have always oriented their change to both big vision and big projects. And what I've learned over time is you have to have big vision and small projects. So tons of small, individual interventions that add up to this shared value set that is the larger vision for the community. And, having come of age in Chattanooga, a place that did make that turn -- and the numbers are behind it: Chattanooga is the one post-industrial city over 100,000 that lost population '70s, '80s, regained it over the '90s and 2000s. They really are the comeback kid -- it was because there was this commonly held vision, this belief that a rising tide would lift all boats; that there was a belief in a culture of abundance, even when resources were fairly scarce, if you look at the sort of balance sheet that goes alongside of it. But what came from that shared value set was everyone taking on the project that they could handle. And so it was everyone doing what was in their ability. And so, rather than sitting back and waiting on big bets to work, what I try to help build a culture of is that everyone is responsible for collective destiny, and that everyone has an ability, if properly mobilized, to make some difference.
