Ask the OA ... and We’ll Try to Deliver
Let me offer up two thoughts …
Thought # 1: Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Thought # 2: When I got out of graduate school, I was convinced that leadership revolved around knowing what to do, how to do it and getting people on board. By the time I became a senior executive in a major global organization, my years in the saddle and range of experience (not to mention getting kicked in the butt every now and again) taught me the best leadership style combines a bottom-up and top-down approach.
In short, I found the organization’s best ideas and operational know-how resided at the grassroots level. Senior management’s role was to observe, listen, take the most robust grassroots ideas, refine them and repackage them for a “top-down initiative.” Listening to our employees and stakeholders was the smartest, and at times, the most difficult thing to do. But the organization thrived when we understood the blueprint.
So how does that apply to The Orinda Association (OA)? As you know, the OA is a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to maintaining and improving the quality of life in Orinda. We encourage dialogue amongst our Orinda residents on critical issues and help mobilize volunteer efforts to enhance the beauty, character and security of our lovely town.
The Orinda News, social media, July 4 Celebration, Classic Car Show and Seniors Around Town meet two of the three objectives very well – beauty and character. Our community has recently voiced concerns about security, so The OA listened and recently hosted a Town Hall on the third issue – security and crime prevention – to support existing security crime prevention efforts.
While Orinda is fortunate to have a superb police department, and community efforts and statistics that suggest we are a “safe town,” it’s important (especially with all the challenges the Bay Area faces societally) that our residents become keenly aware of opportunities to strengthen the police-community partnership to mitigate future crimes and near misses.
The OA, supported by the City of Orinda, and in concert with our police department, hosted a two-hour Town Hall Forum on “Crime Prevention – a Community Partnership” April 18, in the Library Auditorium.
While we are post-Town Hall at this time, the dialogue continues, so bring us your solutions and vision as to how we strengthen our families’ and community’s efforts to continue to enjoy the serenity this town is known for! Email us at president@orindaassociation.org.
Darwin cautioned us that “resilience” is at the heart of a species’ survival. Let’s explore ways Orinda can be more resilient! Let’s connect, protect and thrive!
