Last week, Robert Scoble, Jason Calacanis and Hugh MacLeod talked about their purpose as corporate bloggers who support and nurture talent. Scoble summed it up eloquently:
Making other people stars
It’s that simple. So imagine how thrilled I was to receive an email from Chartered Accountant Stuart Jones telling me he’s been invited to be an advisor in the re-development of Cumbria Vision’s website. He’s accepted. Stuart’s a star. Here’s why I see him as a star:
When I first came across Stuart, he was struggling to find direction for his blog efforts and I got the impression he was on the verge of throwing in the towel. I’d been through that experience and knew how he felt. It’s clear he has passion for his local community, its issues, economy and people. This is a CA who truly wants success for those around him. At the time and ever since, I’ve tried to encourage him – especially in his campaign to make local bureaucrats accountable for the money they spend. Here’s a recent example:
Having destroyed Kendal’s economy by closing Provincial Insurance’s head office, AXA are continuing to cut jobs in Cumbria.
More than ever Cumbria needs successful small businesses.
What concerns me is that the only help available in the south of the county is this. Advice from bank employees and a training organisation that doesn’t even mention IT (Information technology) once on its five day Basic Business Training Course other than using it to “promote” your business. Well that’ll guarantee you hit the ground running!!!
There’s plenty more where that came from. In the invitation email, North West Development Agency (NWDA) said:
I discovered your blog through an article in PC Pro and thought I would drop you a note to see if you would consider lending me some assistance.
I notice from your postings that you are a strong advocate of regeneration in the region, but often critical of the approaches the various public bodies take, including the NWDA and Cumbria Vision.
This is reminiscent of how Robert Scoble came to work for Microsoft. So you see it pays to be passionate, constructively critical but above all sticking with it.
Stuart – you’re not just a star, you’re a hero. Congratulations. Thank goodness NWDA has the sense to see all of that and not simply view him as a whiner. I know plenty of outfits who would take that alternative view. I hope they see the value of two-way communications as a requirement for their re-design. But here’s the twist.
Now it’s Stuart’s purpose to pass on the baton and make NWDA and Cumbria Vision heroes and stars. If that happens then regeneration WILL happen. I’m guessing he’ll do a fine job.
Disclosure: Stuart Jones is a fellow blogger with whom I have no commercial relationship.
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