Is Naples Too Proud?
February 25th, 2014
A couple of weeks ago I had a meeting with John Cox,
President of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. We met to talk
about Opportunity Naples and lot's of other good stuff.
What is Opportunity Naples? On their website they sum it up pretty good. It reads; Opportunity Naples is a three-year economic development strategy that will advance economic opportunity for all residents of Greater Naples. The process will be held over the next eight months, leveraging the thoughts and opinions of Greater Naples residents and leaders. Public input and stakeholder perspectives, along with a thorough analysis of the Collier County’s competitive position, will directly inform the process. The result will be a best-in-class strategic plan comprised of actionable, measurable goals set in a collaborative framework to ensure Greater Naples thrives for decades to come.
Did you notice in that paragraph that they continually use the words, Greater Naples? I told John I did not like that approach as we live in Naples, not Greater Naples. His response behind this approach was, "The Opportunity Naples moniker is designed to address an audience beyond our borders, a high percentage of which already has an idea about what Naples is. Almost no one beyond our borders would know or care what a Collier is."
Okay, I can understand that concept. I'll go with it.
Throughout the conversation we got to know each others backgrounds since we really just met. He just moving here from North Carolina not to long ago and taking on the job as our new President of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. So as we got to talking about Naples in general, and an interesting concept came up. We talked about how others may perceive Naples from the outside looking in.
He brought up a great point that lit off a huge light-bulb in my head. In my words, he said maybe Naples is too proud? Maybe we have gotten a little ahead of ourselves and it's something we seriously need to think about if we want businesses and industries to come here to Naples.
I could not agree with him more.
Just those comments alone brought up conversation as it reminded me of the couple of years I lived just outside of Aspen,Colorado. I for one will never ever live there again, even if everyone else thinks it's such a glorious place. Yes, they have beautiful mountains, powdered ski runs, and endless mother nature. But what you may not know, is the people that live there are the most clicky and stuck up people I have ever met! They are rude, disrespectful, and by God, you better not even think about touching "their" parking space. They will harass you and flip you off until you move! (Gee, can you tell that happened to me? Ugh!) Now don't get me wrong, there are good people there too, and I did meet some wonderful friends that still hold true to this day. Yes Sarah and Felix, that's you!
So why is it these Aspen folks tend to be this way? It's because they have money or "think" they have money, and feel they are better than you. So for the two years while I lived there, I basically walked around popping everyone's head, deflating them until they came down to Earth. The same concept seems to be lavishing it's way here in Naples. Our pride is beginning to show in areas of egos and special interests. And if that's the case, then we are heading right into disaster. We seriously need to think about this because it will truly become a negative impact for our future growth.
Do you want families to come here thinking it's the greatest place to move to because while on vacation, they were pampered, and life was grand? But once they move here and get a real good taste of Naples, their whole idea of moving here was one big mistake because our pride has gone just a little too far?
No we don't.
Now don't look at me or every Naples resident for that matter. And especially the service industry. Without the service industry pampering to all of our tourist needs, we would go kaput. The service industry alone which consist of bartenders, waitresses, teachers, bank tellers, the firefighters, or just the kid bagging groceries at Publix. They alone are the most wonderful, down to earth people you want to meet. These are my kind of people. They keep me in check. And thankfully from just meeting John Cox, he is right there with me. He is down to earth, polite, and very gracious just to be where he is. My kind of guy!
So with that said, and from what I have observed in the past 6 months alone, egos amongst many individuals turning for the worst throughout Collier County. Some leaders, some acquaintances. They may not even realize it, but they are just digging themselves a deeper hole and our communities are beginning to notice.
Why can't we just put our egos and pride aside and focus on everyone else? Isn't this for the better good for our communities? Do we not want families and businesses to move here and feel right at home, instead of being looked at funny or sneered? I know I do. And that's been my approach since the day I was born. Stay even keeled, honest, give back the best you can, and don't let your ego get the best of you. All the while staying positive, of course.
So as Opportunity Naples begins to move forward, let's take a good look at ourselves, and maybe we can get somewhere in the future. Both within ourselves and for our greater economic outlook right here in Collier County.
What is Opportunity Naples? On their website they sum it up pretty good. It reads; Opportunity Naples is a three-year economic development strategy that will advance economic opportunity for all residents of Greater Naples. The process will be held over the next eight months, leveraging the thoughts and opinions of Greater Naples residents and leaders. Public input and stakeholder perspectives, along with a thorough analysis of the Collier County’s competitive position, will directly inform the process. The result will be a best-in-class strategic plan comprised of actionable, measurable goals set in a collaborative framework to ensure Greater Naples thrives for decades to come.
Did you notice in that paragraph that they continually use the words, Greater Naples? I told John I did not like that approach as we live in Naples, not Greater Naples. His response behind this approach was, "The Opportunity Naples moniker is designed to address an audience beyond our borders, a high percentage of which already has an idea about what Naples is. Almost no one beyond our borders would know or care what a Collier is."
Okay, I can understand that concept. I'll go with it.
Throughout the conversation we got to know each others backgrounds since we really just met. He just moving here from North Carolina not to long ago and taking on the job as our new President of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. So as we got to talking about Naples in general, and an interesting concept came up. We talked about how others may perceive Naples from the outside looking in.
He brought up a great point that lit off a huge light-bulb in my head. In my words, he said maybe Naples is too proud? Maybe we have gotten a little ahead of ourselves and it's something we seriously need to think about if we want businesses and industries to come here to Naples.
I could not agree with him more.
Just those comments alone brought up conversation as it reminded me of the couple of years I lived just outside of Aspen,Colorado. I for one will never ever live there again, even if everyone else thinks it's such a glorious place. Yes, they have beautiful mountains, powdered ski runs, and endless mother nature. But what you may not know, is the people that live there are the most clicky and stuck up people I have ever met! They are rude, disrespectful, and by God, you better not even think about touching "their" parking space. They will harass you and flip you off until you move! (Gee, can you tell that happened to me? Ugh!) Now don't get me wrong, there are good people there too, and I did meet some wonderful friends that still hold true to this day. Yes Sarah and Felix, that's you!
So why is it these Aspen folks tend to be this way? It's because they have money or "think" they have money, and feel they are better than you. So for the two years while I lived there, I basically walked around popping everyone's head, deflating them until they came down to Earth. The same concept seems to be lavishing it's way here in Naples. Our pride is beginning to show in areas of egos and special interests. And if that's the case, then we are heading right into disaster. We seriously need to think about this because it will truly become a negative impact for our future growth.
Do you want families to come here thinking it's the greatest place to move to because while on vacation, they were pampered, and life was grand? But once they move here and get a real good taste of Naples, their whole idea of moving here was one big mistake because our pride has gone just a little too far?
No we don't.
Now don't look at me or every Naples resident for that matter. And especially the service industry. Without the service industry pampering to all of our tourist needs, we would go kaput. The service industry alone which consist of bartenders, waitresses, teachers, bank tellers, the firefighters, or just the kid bagging groceries at Publix. They alone are the most wonderful, down to earth people you want to meet. These are my kind of people. They keep me in check. And thankfully from just meeting John Cox, he is right there with me. He is down to earth, polite, and very gracious just to be where he is. My kind of guy!
So with that said, and from what I have observed in the past 6 months alone, egos amongst many individuals turning for the worst throughout Collier County. Some leaders, some acquaintances. They may not even realize it, but they are just digging themselves a deeper hole and our communities are beginning to notice.
Why can't we just put our egos and pride aside and focus on everyone else? Isn't this for the better good for our communities? Do we not want families and businesses to move here and feel right at home, instead of being looked at funny or sneered? I know I do. And that's been my approach since the day I was born. Stay even keeled, honest, give back the best you can, and don't let your ego get the best of you. All the while staying positive, of course.
So as Opportunity Naples begins to move forward, let's take a good look at ourselves, and maybe we can get somewhere in the future. Both within ourselves and for our greater economic outlook right here in Collier County.
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