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Putting Us Into Debt, for Fun and Profit, Part Five |
Bill Hudson | 2/1/12
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Read Part One
In Part Three of this article series, I mentioned the best-selling “self-help” book by Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People — written 80 years ago and still one of the most popular books in the Amazon.com Bestsellers List.
You can download the book here, as a PDF file.
The book deals with two important desires shared by many of us: the desire to be liked, and the desire to wield influence.
In my experience, those two desires often conflict with one another. If you really want to be "liked", you probably don’t want to spend too much time trying to change the minds of the people around you. Generally speaking, people get annoyed if you are trying to convince them of something they don’t believe. So if you want to have a lot of “friends,” you’ll probably try and avoid too much "wielding of influence."
Meanwhile, if your primary interest is power and influence, then you probably won't worry too much about having a lot of friends.
Curiously, Mr. Carnegie suggests we can have both: friends, and influence.
Mr. Canegie’s key principles for getting people to “like you" are pretty basic, though maybe not so easy to follow:
- Smile.
- Be a good listener.
- Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
- Make the other person feel important.
- Be sincere.
 Thinking back on the Reservoir Hill Task Force presentation of January 25, it seems to me that the Town Tourism Committee (TTC) members conducting the well-attended meeting were not really trying to get us to like them, even though the atmosphere was reasonably respectful.
I don't think audience member left that meeting feeling he or she was important to the task force. So, were the presenters trying to influence us instead?
Mr. Carnegie also teaches us how to influence people, and again, the basic principles are easy to state, but more difficult to follow:
- Never argue.
- Show respect for the other person’s opinions.
- If you’re wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
- Start with questions to which the other person will answer “Yes.”
- Honestly try to see things from the other person’s point of view.
- Let the other person feel the idea is his or hers.
- Appeal to the nobler motives.
- Throw down a challenge; encourage the spirit of healthy competition.
Again, thinking back on the January 25 presentation, it seems to me that the TTC was not much interested in influencing the audience. At least, the group did not seem to be closely following Mr. Carnegie’s principles, from what I could tell. No noble motives were appealed to. No new ideas coming from the audience met with clear acceptance from the TTC group.
I didn't hear any questions to which I could answer, "Yes."
Making friends while influencing people is not an easy task — but sometimes, we are simply not interested in making friends or influencing other people. Sometimes, our intention in calling a public meeting is much more simple: so we can say, later, that we called a public meeting.
What the TTC wanted to do on January 25, I think, was to establish that their development proposal already had popular support — through the display of “signed” petitions — and to establish that the input from the people in attendance at the meeting was essentially irrelevant. In other words, the Reservoir Hill group was "going through the motions of soliciting public input". I've seen that happen quite a bit lately here in Archuleta County.
Two huge problems were not discussed at the January 25 meeting — nor have I heard them discussed in much depth at previous TTC meetings I’ve attended. Those problems are: first, the absence of $4.3 million needed to build the amusement park, and second, the absence of an amusement park operator willing to run the park under the conditions being proposed by the TTC.
Regarding the question of the non-existent money, the TTC has made vague references to a risky tax reimbursement plan recently developed by the state of Colorado: the so-called Regional Tourism Act (RTA). Cities and town all across Colorado are scrambling to get their hands on the potentially generous tax refunds promised by this untested program, but so far, the state of Colorado has found only one community — Aurora — that seems to understand how to properly apply for the program.
You can read more about the confusing RTA program in this Denver Post article.
One huge problem with the RTA program — even if you can successfully qualify — is, you have to build the project with your own money, and then, if you're lucky, you can get reimbursed. Maybe.
From the comments made by Town Council member Bob Hart at the end of last week's meeting, it sounds like certain people expect the Town to put itself $4.3 million in debt to build this park.
Following the January 25 presentation, a group of interested local citizens decided to circulate petitions aimed at residents who want to see. for Reservoir Hill, a much more modest plan than what we saw presented last week at the Ross Aragon Community Center. I believe this group would also like to see more — and more balanced — citizen participation in deciding how much development belongs on the hill.
Our Daily Post readers can print out a copy of that petition and circulate it among their neighbors and friends. Click here to download the petition; the address for return of the petition is at the bottom of each page.
A pleasant, sunny day on Reservoir Hill, January 2012. A man awaits the arrival of the only sled using the sledding hill. Would Pagosa tourists — and locals — flock to this hill for a chance to pay $89 each for an amusement ride? |
I can also report that the Reservoir Hill Task Force has planned another “public information session” as stated in this recent press release:
The Reservoir Hill Task Force of the Town Tourism Committee will hold a public information session on Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 6:00pm in the South Conference Room at the Ross Aragon Community Center to review the recently approved conceptual plan for Reservoir Hill, funding options and answer questions about the plan.
Perhaps some of the task force members will download Mr. Carnegie’s book and give it some attention, prior to the next public meeting.
I might just do that myself. |
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