Today I attended Actionomics [DC] Fall Forum 2009, hosted by the fabulous Washington DC Economic Partnership Office, which is an incredible and valuable resource for small businesses in the city (everybody who works there is so nice).

Here is the [link I have yet to find-womp, womp] to the virtual home of Actionomics [dc] *sigh*.  There you can read all about this groovy citywide initiative that we have already set free. 

So what exactly is Actionomics [dc]?

In my interpretation, it is an offline crowdsourcing initiative designed to bring together community thought leaders inclusive of individuals and organizations (public/private sectors) who are directly or indirectly connected to DC’s Creative Economy.  This mashup of folks have been tasked to inspire, stimulate AND launch the ‘genius idea(s)’ that will address challenges in the community and essentially spark a ’new and emerging culture’ for DC. The idea is to be known for something other than politics, law and government. Teen Entrepreneurs…now that is a novel idea

What is it other than the politics, law and government that is going to attract, train and retain fresh voices and talent which ‘rallies’ around this new DC?

I heard lots of ideas, concepts, issues and challenges today…none that really stood out. But I didn’t hear this- the more you try to run away from things, the more you find yourself connected to them…oh the irony :) What I think will prove most fascinating is the way that all these diverse and dynamic groups will need to learn to RE-communicate with each other to address and solve issues for the community at large. The vehicle and model that will be used to start, facilitate and advance ideas and this dialogue, will need to stay innovative and current with all the latest and the greatest.  And in keeping up with this ‘larger than life thing’ I believe all the folks representing the different workgroups will remain engaged, by default and design, and constantly bring forth new ideas, resources and people who can provide value to the bigger vision.

DC is a ‘Government Town’ and there is absolutely no denying or getting away from that. The challenge with the label is the way people see ‘the Government’ and working with the government. If we could truly get some momentum on this Actionomics [dc] initiative and set several of these ideas in motion, I think it would bring a lot of respect and recognition to the DC Government and how they have embraced the community and ‘the people’.  If we can be seen as the ‘good guys’ for once and have our government and it’s collaborative relationships being used as a model by other cities….that just may be the best outcome that nobody projected!

p.s. I wanted to give a shoutout to Nicolette Pizzitola from Compass Point Associates (@NicPiz on Twitter). She was in our Entrepreneurship breakout group. I felt that she kept the energy in our group centered and even when we expressed our differences, she always recognized how we aligned. Much gratitude to her for assuring that possibilities and collaboration remained front and center.

@teenbizcoach