Columnists
Power, vision and influence
Okay, I’m still gone, so don’t tell anybody. There’s just a few more things.
I would like to start with a strange analogy: Canadian folk hero and musical legend Valdy once performed in front of an audience which clearly hated his music, because it didn’t fit where they were at, and the messages he wanted to send—quiet and thoughtful.
He was booed off the stage. Then he wrote a song about it: Play Me a Rock and Roll Song. It became a hit. The point of the song is that you can’t sing to the wrong crowd. What he wanted to play was not what people wanted to hear. But still, he survived, based on the people who understood his simple but powerful music.
Why am I telling you this? Because there’s a moral to this story. You can’t play to someone who is not willing to listen. And this brings us home to this:
WHO HAS THE POWER?
We wonder a lot about who holds power in the County. Is it Council? Is it community groups? Is it developers? Is it local residents? Fact is, power is not the issue. No-one holds it, yet everyone cited here feels they have it.
This is not a pathway to proper, purposeful exploration of our future. This is a schoolyard battle: “Oh, yeah? That’s what you say!” And the inevitable reply: “Yeah! Well, you suck,” followed by “You suck more.” Clearly, this is not a clear-thinking journey to our County’s success.
[BTW: In public school I should never have said “You suck more” to a guy way bigger than me. I’m sure I bruised his fists badly in the ensuing beat-down.]
Something to consider: Power comes and power goes. Enormous businesses have netted billions, yet fell into bankruptcy. Business agreements that look like gold can quickly turn into coal.
So power is not really on the table. Sure, we may have encountered power on a personal level, like when your boss tears you down for being five minutes late to work. But that’s not real power; he/she is just a dick. Wait for it. Your boss will be late someday soon, and you can lean back and look smugly at your watch, and maybe tap your watch with your finger just to drive the point home. Not that I’ve ever done that. That would be rude and unprofessional, and intensely gratifying.
VISION
Vision is a large part of what holds sway here. Vision = Direction. We all have different visions of our future, and different directions we want to travel. Trust me on this; I burned down some great relationships based on this concept—when directions differ. Sadly, this is not an option here. We can’t cite ‘irreconcilable differences’, and tell our Council to pack their things and ship out, “but please leave that Elton John album I love.”
These situations tend to evolve into ‘you versus me’ and ‘us versus them’. In my experience, nobody ends up happy. But lawyers get rich.
Jumping back to “Who owns the Power?” it might be more appropriate to say, “Who owns the Vision?” Read that again (it’s only one sentence, you can handle it).
That is not up to me to determine, but differing visions of our future is at the heart of our local angst. Different visions = No direction. For me, my vision is to wake up in the morning and say, “Hey, I woke up this morning. That’s better than I expected when I went to bed last night. This should be a good day.”
INFLUENCE
One more factor in the equation. Power + Vision + Influence = one ugly stew. Separately, not a problem. Joined together, big problem. So let’s take a look at Influence.
Influence is Power disguised. Vision has little to play in the equation, because influence trumps existing power and local and municipal vision.
Let me invent a scenario [The following paragraphs do not reflect any activities by humans or other earthy creatures, and are not based on anything factual or non-factual in the world as we know it today. Also in the past and the future. Also, I do not have a law degree, so this is kind of what I put together, based on TV shows. Also, if you read this, please consult your doctor if you have any ill effects, such as dizzyness or sudden brain tumours. End of disclaimer.]
Influence is a kind of subtle means to gain something you want. It may be an offer which, on the surface, seems to be mutually beneficial to both parties. It often involves money or some other irresistible enticement, like regular hookers and cocaine. Not here in the County of course, you need to go to Belleville for that.
Here, it’s usually about the money. Who offers it; who wants it; who needs it; who is influenced to be romanced by it. This has nothing to do with budgeting, but much more to do with deal-making. That’s where influence shines.
Deal-makers, but their very definition live to make deals. Make no mistake—they don’t do any deals that won’t make them money. So how do they get in? Influence, and they are masters at it.
Don’t get me wrong, not all plans for the future are suspect. Base31 has stepped up to put their money in, up front. Port Picton also has a good rep for basically doing what they said they would do. I also see a pile of names I don’t recognize and, being a somewhat paranoid person, I like to see a rock-solid commitment—not promises, but cash— before I make a deal.
I’ve been in business over 40 years, and I’ve rarely been burned by a client. Because I trust them before I deal with them. They also know I know everyone in the County, and I can destroy them Godfather- style if they don’t pay up.
PLANNING
Notice ‘planning’ is not on the list of important things to consider. That’s because planning is a joke. It’s an illusion. I took a free course on ‘cost-flow projection’ years ago and, surprisingly, I could be rich, according to my projection! If ever any of it turned out. Which it didn’t. So I’m not.
The lesson I learned was to count on me and my team. Look at today, deal with what’s at hand, and think a couple of weeks ahead. I will not be teaching seminars on this, because I don’t give a damn about Excell printouts and powerpoint presentations.
The point here is that—no matter how many experts, professionals and consultants pile up on each other – planning for the future is just a big dice roll. I used to make plans, but plans didn’t work for me. Buy concert tickets? Snowstorm; 401 blocked in both directions. Picnic? Guaranteed rainstorm. Wedding? Huge rainstorm with hurricane winds. This why I do not believe in planning. It always turns out bad.
Okay, seriously stopping writing now. Trust me on this. No more for a while. I swear, because I always never plan ahead.
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