Texarkana, USA lifted up for second global conversation on the Power of Strategic Doing for Getting Things done in Texarkana USA
Texarkana, USA was in the global spotlight again this past Monday for second global conversation emanating from Brussels, Belgium. Leadership Texarkana Executive Director Ruth Ellen Whitt was invited by Kim Mitchell of Shreveport to participate in a Strategic Doing conversation focused on Flourishing Communities and the role that a culture of Strategic Doing can play in that process.
One of the hosts again declared that “Texarkana was one of the biggest success stories of Strategic Doing.” Mitchell repeated what Strategic Doing founder Ed Morrison has said previously – that Texarkana USA is doing something unique and very different from other places: We are making it part of our culture for how we get things done. The more common platform for Strategic Doing is having consultants who are learning the process in order to lead and offer workshops in businesses or communities where interventions have been requested – by a consultant. On the other hand, the LIfT Strategic Doing Core Team has been focused on tapping the benefits and progress which Strategic Doing makes possible by working with intention to grow the numbers and capacity for DOING of leaders and teams throughout Texarkana.
The LIfT effort has been process- and capacity-focused – as part of Leadership Texarkana’s overall vision of creating a culture of leaders throughout Texarkana who are ready to work together for community excellence and progress.
At the same time, although connected at the hip in one way or another, the myriad Strategic Doing based collaborative teams producing outstanding outcomes over the past five years have been driven independently by numerous community leaders as they have pursued a portfolio of amazing projects – from Broadband access, to the cross-stateline award-winning Courthouse Square Initiative, from Pitch It competitions, to everything goTXK, from TexAmericas recent honors for being top five Industrial Park in the nation, to the Assembly Line. And beyond.
Those in the global audience wanted to know what the keys to success have been in Texarkana USA – what might they learn from our community-wide success. REWhitt’s answer was that Texarkana’s key is that this opportunity has been championed by community leaders at the leading edges of our community initiatives BECAUSE they have each taken the time to learn it, and are using it to their own benefit!
There is no more valuable testimonial in Texarkana these days than having LIfT Strategic doing Core Team member Rob Sitterley (CEO of our AR-TX Regional Economic Development corporation) declare: “Strategic doing works – and is a game changer!!!”
Texarkana’s unique success has come from the LIfT Core Team’s ongoing commitment over the past five years to increasing the numbers of leaders who understand the potential, the value and the opportunity, who are willing to invest in learning it, and who are successfully using Strategic Doing throughout Texarkana.
Check out goTXK.org for more celebration of our innumerable Texarkana superlatives!