Monthly Archives: May 2009

(Community Matters) Wow, this is very cool. I’d love to find a way to help.

(Community Matters) Steven and I feel in love over conversations about community. In 1999, this included mostly students, church & the arts for Steven. For me, it was mostly about friends, nonprofit organizations, politics and work. By 2001 when I started teaching at UT, one of the most satisfying communities for both of us were our students.

Last night we had dinner with two of our former MBA students – Rachel & Michael Feferman. We first met Michael when he came to interview UT, determining if it might be the right place to obtain his MBA. Michael was/is a hot property – significant credentials, ambition and accomplishment. I remember Steven and I both being very impressed and spending quite a bit of time helping Michael understand the uniqueness of UT MBA. Rachel (then Hull) was in my Doing Business in Asia class, traveled to Vietnam, Malysia, Singapore and Hong Kong with our class, studied Mandrian and Chinese cooking at my house several Fridays – in additon to the class. And, I’m thinking she worked on the Lab Now consulting project in collaboration with our sister students at Jiao Tong University in Shanghai. She was equally a star and a favorite.

Last night had a glorious dinner at their new digs, out in their screened in porch overlooking Bouldin Creek. Rachel an exquisite cook – truly gifted. Terrific conversation including discussion of social media, its impact on: bands and their work, brands, friends/family, advertising and commerce. Steven referenced two important books to read: Here Comes Everybody and Groundswell. Michael talked about the commercial value of commanding “attention.”

We also talked about ACL this year. I think Michael’s convinced us to attend at least one day this year; it’s about time.

(Community Matters) Celebratory second lunch yesterday hosted by our dear friend Jan Hill with David Smith & Marion Cimbala. Nan McRaven should have been there but blew us off for a couple extra days frolicking in the Mexican Riviera – okay, who can blame her? 🙂 Jan picked Perla’s Seafood & Oyster Bar in the until-recently Mars space on South Congress. We commandeered the outdoor space with a couple of couches and the shuffleboard. Spectacular raw oysters, shrimp, crab, grilled brussel sprouts and grilled asparagus and a super duper Italian white wine – what a way to spend a Friday afternoon!

Jan has had the idea of a bike ride for women with breast cancer since her first ride in the Hill Country Ride for AIDS. David Smith initiated the AIDS ride and now serves as its executive director. He’s now doing similarly for our inaugural breast cancer ride. Nan McRaven and Jan launched the collaboration of breast cancer services organizations. I adopted it as a leadership project for the Entrepreneurs Foundation, and Marion staffed the project for two years. All this added up to the October 12 Texas Mamma Jamma Ride, ride for breast cancer services. Kerry Tate serving as the honorary chair. They hope to raise $400,000 in their first year – Jan expects to raise much more – so do I. I’m betting more than $500,000. How can we miss with legendary Austin philanthropist, Bill Dickson donating the first $100,000 in memory of his sister, Elizabeth Dickson Brennan. DLA Piper in too as a sponsor. The Entrepreneurs Foundation is a founder and shareholder, our portion of proceeds going into a pool for collaborative allocation between breast cancer service providers.

I’m hoping to engage a competition for high-tech entrepreneurial teams. Wondering if we can raise a fund (say $25,000) to match monies raised by high-tech teams. Thoughts? Interests?

(Community Matters) My first lunch yesterday – after breakfast with Lainey Melnick who’s considering a Congressional run against Lamar Smith, but that’s a completely different story – was with my favorite classical guitarist & entrepreneur, Matthew Hinsley – at Corazon (the old Castle Hill restaurant).

Matthew always blows me away. Eighteen or so months ago, we met and discussed his ideas about a replicable curriculum for teaching classical guitar to students. Batted around ideas especially for earned income models (he was well on his way here, I mean to suggest no meaningful contributions to his success or thinking). The curriculum is up and running at GuitarCurriculum.com.

Annual, national classical guitar convention will take place in Austin in 2010. Matthew and the Austin Classical Guitar Society are blowing out the model; Matthew taking this to an entirely new level. They’ve rented the Long Center for 6 days (June 22 – 27, 2010) and have already engaged the Miro Quartet and the Austin Symphony for the festivities. Obviously absent from the line up: Craig Hella Johnson’s Conspirare and Graham Reynolds & Peter Stopschiniski’s Golden Hornet Project – but I digress and shouldn’t offer up programing suggestions.

Loved, loved catching up with one of my favorite arts entrepreneurs. It’s already inspired me to pull together a dinner with Matthew & his wife, Glenda and Graham Reynolds & Shawn Sides and Kirk Lynn & Carrie Fountain and Michael & Rachel Feferman – now just finding the intersection of available dates for these arts entrepreneurs and Steven’s summer travel schedule – oy ve.

(Community Matters) Mapping the Big 5 personality types – Richard Florida notes these new maps.

Don’t we all . . . . I immediately looked to see where Austin & Texas lie. The Texaplex isn’t represented in all the maps but in enough to show we’re especially strong in Extroversion (check out the hot spot – must be Texarkana!) and Openness to Experience. Pleased to see not so much so in Neuroticism (I’ve played with predicting this by zip code!). Funny, we don’t appear to especially track with what I consider peer cities, though, admittedly, my capacity for comparative visual observation from graphics is not a strong point. If you make observations, please relay them.

(Community Matters)
Driving down S. Congress behind a huge pickup, Aggie & Jesus window stickers and an image of Jesus with crown of thorns on the tailgate. Obviously a state official given the license plates. We mix it up in Texas. Posted from my blackberry

(Community Matters) A touching NPR story about a father who lost his son to the war in Iraq and his chance encounter meeting the trauma nurse who treated him.

(Community Matters) Zagat’s new Paris restaurant edition just released – now there’s some holiday inspiration 🙂

(Community Matters) New Pew poll: from 43 to 43 in 2001 – percentage Americans identifying as Democrats vs Republicans – to 53 to 36 (a 17 point swing). Economy & jobs by far the most significant issues, followed by healthcare and education. From a partisanship perspective, pleased to see the shift. From a balanced perspective, it behooves us all to have two strong parties and it tempts us (Ds) too much to not have strong opposition (see Frank Rich’s May 3 column).

Even among voters now identifying as Democrats, such a wide gulf between those who believe we should “guarantee everybody enough to eat and a place to sleep” and that we “should care for those who can’t care for themselves.” This blows me away. I don’t have the perspective of how anyone disagrees with either of these statements – this my major political vulnerability since many (most Americans) disagree with both sentiments. Seems almost impossible to hold together the coalition that today calls themselves Democrats & Independents – though a nice challenge for Obama to have since represent a vast majority of the country.

Brings me to Austin politics. Many discussions about the mayor’s race. The polls weren’t wrong, it was very tight and Brewster could have won. We ran a very bad race. Completely outflanked in strategy, experience and ground game (what ground game?). Allowed Lee’s well-run, well-planned campaign to paint it as a business candidate (Brewster) against a Democrat (Lee). Conceded endorsements even before they were decided and then pissed off those constituencies by an aloofness/indifference toward the whole process. We forgot that all politics are local and failed to walk the blocks, ask for votes and remind supporters to vote. At one point the election was ours to lose; we lost it. I said all along I wouldn’t lose a night’s sleep if Lee Leffingwell won, and I haven’t. Lee’s always been a thoughtful, deliberate thinker and decision maker, and I know he’ll continue to be. Brewster’s a close friend and I feel many of us let him down by allowing his campaign to get so far off track.

(Community Matters) I hope there’s an autopsy when he passes away. If there is, I suspect we’ll find damage to some lobe or nook of his brain that has corrupted his thinking and perspective – seriously. His colleagues from previous administrations routinely talked about how they didn’t even recognize the Dick Cheney who was VP. I’m convinced the man isn’t all there. Wouldn’t be surprised to learn that one of his heart attacks or strokes resulted in brain damage – and we’ve been listening to him, taking him seriously for the last 8+ years.

(Community Matters) Richard Florida on the economy (even more on the sustainability of US capitalism)

There is enormous speculation in the media, fed by statements by government officials, with regard to the question whether the current economic downturn has reached, or will soon reach, its bottom and start upward. I believe this speculation, and the data and opinions on which it is based, are of little value, probably too little to guide individual or business decisions. People got tired of reading about economic gloom and doom, so the media were happy to play up indications that the worst was over.

(Community Matters) Richard Florida, author of The Creative Class, is guest blogging on The Daily Dish this week.

In The Economy of Cities, Jacobs controversially argued that virtually all of economic growth traces back to cities; in her view, cities actually precede agriculture. Early cities, according to Jacobs, spurred agricultural development by providing trading centers for agricultural products.

While it’s common to think of suburbs as draining off city assets, today’s metropolitan areas with their urban cores and suburban and ex-urban rings, are really expanded cities. Up until the early-to-mid 20th century, cities were able to capture peripheral growth by annexing new development, until suburbs figured out they could prosper by becoming independent municipal entities – thus the now-famous concentric-ring or, in some cases, the hole-in-the-donut pattern of our metro regions. The growth of gargantuan mega-regions like the Boston-New York-Washington corridor is essentially the next phase of this process of geographic development.

It’s important to understand how these two interrelated geographic processes – outward geographic expansion and the more intensive use of existing urban space – combine to shape economic progress.

Always enjoy Richard’s insights. Surprised he didn’t take this piece just a bit further and call for revisions in metropolitan governing structures – which are long overdue.