MONDAY, October 23, 2006 — Combining humor with an evangelical fervor, Danny Hearn urged local leaders on Wednesday to raise their expectations and renew their effort to create economic opportunity throughout Lee County.

Hearn, who served recently as a consultant to the Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce, spoke Oct. 18 to a quarterly meeting of the Committee of 100. During his 45-minute critique of the community, the president and CEO of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce said economic success begins with a strong focus on developing small businesses.

"The heart and soul of the community is small business," Hearn told the crowd of about 110 people at Chef Paul's Cafe. While many communities simply wait for large manufacturing plants to land in their back yard, that can't be the primary focus. While those operations can make a big local impact, manufacturing is on the decline. And those kind of opportunities simply don't come along all that often.

What chambers of commerce can do, Hearn believes, is help small companies succeed and grow. And to do that, they've got to listen closely to what small-business owners really need: "What you're going to worry about is how your cash register is going to ring."

While many of his suggestions were aimed at making the local chamber more effective, Hearn didn't spare anyone in the room, and admitted as much right up front when he began the presentation.

Just to make his point, Hearn addressed the Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce, Committee of 100, Lee County Economic Development and local governments. Business leaders don't believe these economic development groups are working together as they should, he said, and businesses must see a strong partnership for the community to flourish.

That means developing cross-agency committees to deal with specific problems in the community; developing a stronger, more probusiness leadership in government; and making sure the community has something positive to "sell" business leaders interested in locating here.

Cooperation also is needed to promote tourism, a task that has not been fully embraced in Lee County. "Somebody has got to be the clearinghouse for all of the positive information about all of the exciting and wonderful things going on in this community," Hearn said.

Other challenges

End apathy. Hearn said he heard apathy emanating from the business community, possibly because leaders and owners spent time pursuing projects that weren't essential. If you're going to ask for people to spend their time volunteering on a project, he said, it must have value and it must have both a clear beginning and end. That helps eliminate apathy.

Develop leaders. It is important to identify and develop young leaders, Hearn believes, people who can assume responsibility on local boards and help shape the region's future.

Encourage residents to shop locally. "Shop local" campaigns are the staple of chambers of commerce and businesses, Hearn said, are asking for this kind of effort. Successfully retaining shoppers in a location bordered by "big box" retailers in places like Cary means showing residents that specific items they need are actually available here — and where.

Create ethnic diversity. Citing governmental agencies and economic development groups, Hearn asked: "Does it have the ethnic diversity it needs to have, that reflects the diversity of what this county is in terms of population?"

Diversity, he said, is critical throughout the community. Differences in cultural behavior can create misunderstandings for law enforcement officers, and differences in language can be dangerous when family members try to translate medical instructions from physicians to patients.

Find a voice in Raleigh and Washington. Hearn believes that chambers of commerce can be the best advocate for local interests within the state and federal governments. Independently, people can't accomplish much with legislators, he said, but "collectively, this strong voice can do incredible things."

Follow through on community development. Citing the recent work of Quest for Excellence, Hearn said business leaders need to "be at the table" and it's not enough merely to decide what should be done. Any proposals must have a clear implementation plan showing how it will be accomplished — with steps defined and responsibilities delegated.

'What I didn't hear'

Turning from recommendations based on what he heard in focus groups and surveys, Hearn had an urgent suggestion based on what he didn't hear.

"If education is not mentioned," Hearn said, "then we've got to grab a hold of this thing and find out what are our priorities."

Citing a litany of statistics showing how important education is to individual earning power and success in a global economy, he urged leaders attending the luncheon to focus squarely on improving education. Starting with parents.

Many children come from such bad environments that it's difficult to show them what will help them become successful, he said. Just about anyone can succeed, he said, but emerging jobs in information technology and professions require a solid education and technical training.

Time to prepare ... and act

Refocusing on building a positive business climate will be increasingly important with growth projected for Lee County and surrounding areas. With the usual growth enhanced by military families arriving soon — a result of the federal Base Realignment and Closure plan — the community will face both opportunity and challenges.

"That is what I heard," Hearn said, summarizing his findings and advice. "Now it all depends on what you're going to do about it. "