YPs and the Old School

Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory intends to put together a kitchen cabinet of young professionals (YP s) to advise on keeping the city youthful and energetic in the areas of commerce and culture.

Something needs to be done. The urban core is losing population and key business districts are gradually in decline. One obvious example is blogger and businessman Nick Spencer, who recently decided to relocate his nightclub from the crime-ridden Over-the-Rhine neighborhood to nearby Kentucky.

For people who are not familiar with the area, the northernmost parts of the Bluegrass State along the Ohio have a long history of playing the opportunistic hustler to Cincinnati’s stodgy, top-hat traditionalism. For decades now the cheapest whiskey and most topless girls could only be obtained by taking a bridge south. Now the place is really booming - even "reputable" businesses prosper and attract commerce away from the Ohio side. Combined with the explosive growth of Cincinnati’s northern and eastern suburbs the impact is severe on the heart of the city.

Will a kitty pile of YP s be of any assistance when it comes to getting politicians to effectively turn the tide? The idea sounds reasonable, but some like Brian Griffin at Cincinnati Blog think the key is diversity. In addition to his role as blogger and media critic extraordinaire he is the president of Cincinnati Advance. He suggests the same faces are seen over and over again on the young professional circuit, and fresh blood is needed.

My suggestion is that diversity shouldn’t always mean “young”. In the words of Perry Farrell, "All the guys That really have the money / are too old to have a good time with it". People in their 50s and 60s have wealth and business acumen to know what works, and while many of them don’t have the energy to pursue new businesses themselves, they are often willing to be silent backers or patrons of the arts. I’ve heard of groups locally, of retired executives from P&G or Chiquita who are willing to review business plans and put young entrepreneurs in touch with others who can help get ideas off the ground. And there’s always a crazy old lady who wants to write a check to the theater – if only you can find her.

Maybe it’s a traditionalist, social fabric thing, but YP s only seem like one part of the overall equation. We’ll need many productive relationships across boundries - partnerships between private and public firms, parents involved in schools - and the wisdom and generosity of the old-school business mensches. If we can broker those interactions, with or without the assitence of polticians like Mallory, then we have a chance to really get this city moving again.