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Dixon Main Street - Tourism -- Riverfront {Combining resources to create a stronger community through "We" thinking A possible combining of Dixon Main Street, Dixon Tourism and the Dixon Riverfront would have a tremendous benefit on the City of Dixon. By combining the three entities, there would be more resources and funding available to better promote the city and the events and programs that are offered. Already, many people in our own community view these entities as one and often are confused as to which entity to work with for their programs. If our own citizens are confused, imagine how a visitor must feel. The monies that currently go into operating the Dixon Tourism office could be granted to Dixon Main Street, which would act as the new Tourism/Main StreetlRiverfront hybrid. This combining of entities, would immediately save the city $14,000 (the current amount donated to DMS) and $14,400 (current Riverfront stafffees), for a total of $28,400 in savings for the city. This saving is realized through the current money granted to Dixon Tourism and combined resources of one entity. Dixon Main Street owns and operates an office in the heart of the downtown and thus, there would be a cost savings on building rent and operations for Tourism. This would also free up additional retail space in the downtown. The Dixon Main Street Executive Director would be able to advocate for all three entities on a full-time basis bringing continuity to the three volunteer driven organizations. A full-time director eases the burden on volunteers and allows for more efficient work for .

the organizations.

The current Riverfront contracted employees would remain, as well as, office staffing for tourism. The current boards would be maintained as committees within Dixon Main Street. A new name could be developed and marketed to show the combination of the groups,' while the three current names would still be used as branches of the one organization. How would the combining of the entities help the community: synergy on events and planning. - One stop for visitors and tourists to receive information. - Strong marketing of the community. - Ability to solicit conferences and tour groups in a more active way. - Full-time and part-time staff could be maintained. - More resources for continued downtown and riverfront development. - Money savings for the City of Dixon - Volunteers wouldn't be "competing" with other volunteers that are trying to accomplish the same thing. For instance, both the Riverfront and Dixon Main Street have Economic Development Committees. All three have events and programming committees, etc. - Did you know that according to Destination Marketing Associate International 81 percent of Destination Marketing Organizations are non-profit entities. That means that only 19 percent are government agencies. Having Tourism under Dixon Main Street would align it more closely with how other DMOs operate as DMS is a non-profit entity. - The Riverfront Commission was established to create the Riverfront, not to govern and run the riverfront. The combining of the entities would also allow for long-term stability

- Better

for the Riverfront management. Thus, the Riverfront Commission could focus on the continued development of the Riverfront rather than day to day operations. This effort would be the first step in creating a ONE Dixon culture. Our community is ripe with individual efforts that if combined would create a better community for all. We are looking to stress a cohesive community culture that strengthens our place in the world. Our top priorities will be to solidify the ONE Dixon culture through: - Coordinated planning community events to maximize effect and results - Promotion of the businesses, community, and activities to bring in more visitors, residents and prospecti ve businesses. - Create strong relationships with our schools, park disttrict, chamber of commerce, etc. - Create a vision and goals for the city of Dixon for 5 years, IO years and 20 years from now. - Pool talents and resource to more effectively and efficiently make Dixon No. I. Looking forward, to effectively create the ONE Dixon culture, we must embrace the "We" and get rid of the "I" We can take the same ideas from effective businesses to our community. Below is excerpts from an article about "We" culture in business. This best

describes what we need to accomplish

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Promote the "We" and remove the "I".

How a "We" culture can raise your organizational IQ by Judith E. Glaser (from www.smallbusinessreview.com)
No work is more important for a leader than creating an environment in which all team members can contribute. That raises the collective IQ of the company and pays dividends as the business gleans ideas for new strategies and improved processes from allover the company. When it comes to communicating, I-centric leaders often don't. They assume that voicing their ideas and repeating them will cause employees to embrace them. It doesn't work that way. Overall, the I-centric leader persists in Alpha behavior-he (or she) has to be the last word on everything. For these people, winning means somebody else has to lose. They never admit mistakes, and the stakes are high for that kind of behavior.

We-centric leaders, by contrast, are less hung up on status and maintaining ultimate authority. They lead by example-showing the organization that it is essential to listen as well as talk, to share infonnation and to learn from mistakes.

I. Share Power. At meetings, give the lead to your employees so they learn how to
I

lead too. 2. Seek feedback. Ask employees how you are doing as a leader. Listen to what they say and be open to change. 3. Focus everyone on pleasing the customer. Turn their attention outward, to the market, rather than inward at the boss. This produces better perfonnance. -----'

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4. Share a framework for change. Start by setting down over-arching goals, then ask people for strategies to achieve them. Don't think of strategy and implementation as separate spheres; engage employees in both. 5. Behave like a leader, not a dominator. Don't try to win by intimidation. Define leadership in terms of creating environments for success for everyone-yourself, included. 6. Break down silos. Identify areas where territoriality is getting in the way, and find strategies to end turf wars and foster cooperation; sponsor leadership challenges in the organization that requires teams of people from different areas to work together on vital business challenges. 7. Be the change. Asking others to change doesn't create change. You need to change how you interact with others: Show, don't tell. 8. Be human. By admitting when you are wrong and showing that you can turn a mistake into a "learning moment," you teach employees that they can do it too.

9. Celebrate We. Share the credit and spread the praise--emphasize that "we are all
in this together."
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The Payoff Don't expect overnight results. This is a process that needs to become part of the company routine-not a one-off event. As leaders repeatedly engage employees with questions about how to do the job better (rather than simply dictating marching orders) they create a virtuous cycle of advice, suggestions and feedback. In the process, they create a community of colleagues that looks forward to coming to work every day. These conversations need to be "dialogues" not "talk-ats." It is important to establish the ground rules for the group-to determine the scope and objectives. But it is essential that each member plays a role in creating the future.

. .

Organize groups around common experiences to share best practices. Select team members for diversity of viewpoint-it is in the clash of ideas that new insights are formed. Ask all the members of the team to describe processes they use that are having a positive impact or are creating new business success. They should talk about how they can transfer this knowledge to others and how it can be applied across the organization (if it can).

As a leader, you have a tremendous opportunity to promote mutuality and to counter territoriality and silo thinking, by encouraging everyone to grow along with you. As everyone-including the boss-receives regular feedback on their ideas, on their performance and on their behavior, your organizational IQ (and organizational profitability) grows exponentially. It's a win-win, which is what WE-centric leadership is all about. Judith E. Glaser, CEO of Benchmark Communications, Inc. and author of Creating WE: Change I-Thinking to We-Thinking & Build a Healthy Thriving Organization; Platinum Press, 2005. Selected as one of the best business books of2oo5. www.creatingwe.com; and The DNA of Leadership, February 2006; 212 3074386.