Not everyone loves Charlotte and I wish more people would talk about it
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Allie Papajohn charlotte-skyline-from-fahrenheit cover
Not everybody loves Charlotte. And that’s okay.
What’s not okay is that nobody criticizes this city out loud. It’s just whispers. I hear it. And I wish people would yell what they’re thinking instead of just whispering it.
People tell me this stuff, all the time, but always off the record:
“The startups in this city suck, so all the good entrepreneurs don’t plug into the local community. We need to stop broadly applauding entrepreneurship.”
“The rich are getting richer in this city, and it’s never been more segregated.”
“The Charlotte Chamber is so stuffy. They don’t actually help small businesses and they never take a stance.”
“There are way too many nonprofits in this city and most of them are pointless. We need to consolidate them and make them more effective.”
“I guess it’s better than our political leaders, but developers run Charlotte.”
“Nobody in city government has a vision for the city that they can articulate to the general public.”
“Our education system is so messed up. There are no big ideas and leadership.”
When you’re too nice, a city doesn’t move forward. Instead of slapping each other on the backs, we need people that yell. Yell about issues they see. Yell about things that they care about. Yell about the big ideas they have.
This includes the Axios Charlotte. If we continue to be as polite as we are, we’re going to fail our mission – make Charlotte the smartest, most human city in the world.
Sometimes I feel like our city is a holiday dinner party where people have shallow conversations and talk about how delicious the ham biscuits are.
Just beneath the surface, this city is full of people that yearn for bold leadership. The type of leadership that’s not afraid to piss people off.
Are you that leader? Stop applying for grants. Stop being nice all the time. Stop doing coffee meetings to learn more. Stop thinking that only you have those thoughts.
GO LEAD.
People follow big ideas. People follow authenticity.
It’s time for Charlotte to grow up. I can’t wait to follow and report on our city’s next generation of great leaders. I just don’t know who they are yet.