Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER THREE

Working Together

Americans don't always agree. We have strong feelings about athletic rivalries, political parties, and religious beliefs. There is one thing, however, that receives almost universal agreement: working together is better. In a survey, What Will It Take? Making Headway on Our Most Wrenching Problems, commissioned by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change in 2003, Americans said overwhelmingly (93 percent) that working together more closely on community problems leads to better results. When asked what would most improve the quality of life in the community, 40 percent said “working together” versus 14 percent who said “voting.” These responses define our challenge—how to make working together business as usual.

The ...