It’s time to take on Niagara’s sacred cows
In the 1990s, cities across the country began visioning exercises to engage citizens in conversations about what could be achieved in their communities by 2020.
Leaders and groups used these visions to mobilize their respective communities.
Citizens across the country and here in Niagara would like to know if their communities achieved those visions.
In 2016, researchers Laura Cameron and Catherine Potvin authored a report titled “Characterizing desired futures of Canadian communities.” They conducted a qualitative analysis of 31 “future visions created by communities across Canada.”
Cameron and Potvin observed that “differences between current realities and optimal futures” were the outcome as visions attempted to improve the “well-being of Canada’s citizens.”
When it comes to the well-being of Niagara’s citizens there has been visible success in the development of sport facilities, but we have not fully achieved the change we had hoped as wait-lists for essential services like affordable housing in our region continue to grow.
If we are going to launch a new visioning exercise, we need to start by identifying barriers to improving the well-being of Niagara’s citizens.
The authors of “Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers” have an idea that is worthy of consideration.
Robert Kriegel and David Brandt refer to “sacred cows as long outdated polices, creativity crushing procedures and fearful people who block new opportunities.”
Kriegel and Brandt’s approach to change management is to begin by “rounding up the sacred cows” and that “customers are especially invaluable in tracking sacred cows.” As citizens we are all uniquely positioned to provide feedback to those leaders and groups considering a vision-2030-or-beyond exercise.
Kriegel and Brandt outline several barrier-reducing strategies in their book. Here are four:
“Hunt the Expert Cow” means to put the expert cows to pasture by hiring outsiders to bring a fresh perspective to the organization. What if the next leader of the fourth largest employer in Niagara was for the first time in its history a woman? She would bring a new viewpoint to the discussion on how we improve Niagara’s citizens quality.
“Hunt the Competitive Cow” means to rethink the old rules of the game and do business in the opposite way. What if each municipality merged their economic development and planning departments into one entity? It could have the Niagara overview needed to nurture the right growth in the right neighbourhood.
“Hunt the Customer Cow” means to provide out-of-the-box solutions to long-standing problems. What if an incentivized private housing sector was asked to develop solutions to Niagara’s affordable housing crisis? It very well could lead to the construction of thousands of affordable units for Niagara’s citizens.
“Hunt the Work till Ya Drop Cow” means to stop the traditional thinking that links success to overwork. What if Niagara’s employers stopped overtasking employees to the point where they compromise their personal lives? Research has proven that providing employees with time/space to recover their energy will result in mental sharpness and increased creativity.
A visioning exercise at its root is about challenging the status quo of today in order to build a better tomorrow. What sacred cows do you think should be dealt with in Niagara? Share your thoughts and help create a change-ready citizenry prepared to work together to improve the well-being of Niagara’s citizens by ________ (you fill in the blank).
Damian Goulbourne is associate dean of the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport at Niagara College and was the mayor of Welland from 2003 to 2010.