Last month, I had the pleasure of speaking to our local Rotary Club. (I highly recommend you check out this amazing group of individuals!) I used to attend Rotary in Oklahoma City as a guest of a friend, but I hadn't been to a meeting in a while. I forgot how much I enjoyed being with Rotarians.
When I first visited the Oklahoma City Rotary, one of the gentlemen at our table said, "You know, Rotary is a weekday church for business people." What a great way to sum it up!
The meeting follows a clear liturgy: an agenda, a ceremony with an invocation, a flag salute, some organizational business, and then a speaker.
After some enjoyable networking and completing the initial parts of the liturgy, I was called upon as that week's speaker. The audience was delightful—one of the most engaged groups I've had the pleasure of addressing.
Then came the often nerve-wracking question and answer session. The conversation quickly turned to economic development, with several questions focused on our past efforts and future opportunities.
While I did not possess all of the history of the past, I shared a few economic principles that I hold to be true:
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Economics is a positive-sum game—where everyone can win together.
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A rising tide lifts all boats—what benefits our community typically benefits everyone.
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A good business deal always has enough upside for everyone involved to prosper.
Our approach is simple: instead of building walls, let's focus on building bridges. Let's welcome great businesses that serve both our residents AND our neighbors.