I’m sitting at my office in the ‘burbs listening to the waning of the cicadas’ song as I contemplate this blog entry. I’m also smiling thinking about the other fellow bloggers on Soapbox. It’s fun to learn about others’ perspectives and viewpoints of our region. It’s also good to see that many people who are active in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky echo such positive thoughts about this place.

Many years ago (more than 15 and less than 30) I moved to Cincinnati from stints in Boston and Chicago.  I wanted to move closer to where I grew up (Dayton) and to, as I said at the time, get back to the “golly-gee” Midwest where people are friendly and welcome you with open-arms.  I wanted to live in a place where I could get in my car, drive to big open spaces and parks in under 30 minutes, have trees outside my window instead of another big tall building, and be close to a cosmopolitan area with great arts and entertainment available without living smack dab in the middle of the hustle and bustle (o.k. so that was “back in the day” when gas cost $1.30, a stamp was .20, and a dozen eggs cost .84 according to the wonders of Google).

Two weeks after arriving from Chicago, the large client assigned to me at the Ad Agency where I was hired, left the agency.  My furniture and belongings hadn’t been moved here yet from up north, and I was nervous that the deal with my new employer might fall through.  Fortunately things worked out and I’m glad to have been able to stay.

I recently saw Jack Rouse at a C-Change session and we were remarking about some of the changes we’ve encountered over the years - which in a round-about way leads me to the topic at hand…developing personally and professionally in our home town.  (I don’t usually like to name drop but it was a good segue into the topic).

My experience has been positive with regard to growth and development in CinciNoKY.  It’s probably why I chose the profession I’m in – business and life coaching.  As past president of the now defunct local coaches association and through networking with executive and career management coaches, I associate with colleagues who are active in helping people do their jobs better while also finding greater satisfaction (it’s been proven that those who enjoy their work, perform and contribute at higher levels than those who are unhappy at work).

It’s a pleasure to live in a progressive market where a growing number of local businesses invest in enhancing their work environment, developing strong internal leaders, connecting workers with community contribution, understanding how generational differences impact workforces, being mission and vision driven, and employing training and development for continuous learning and improvement.

It’s apparent in health care, corporations, service providers, arts, non-profits, municipalities, and other arenas.  A past client who leads his organization recently expressed to me that they frequently evaluate staff, the culture, assignments, etc. to ensure being current with changing times and needs of the business.

An oft recited quote seems to apply to much of the development that is going on both inside local companies and within this community with efforts like Agenda 360 and others…

“Be the change you want to see in the world” (Ghandi).

It’s a great time to be in Cincinnati as it develops from the inside out.