The Rookie Question
At those early meetings of the Illinois Council of CVBs, I pretty much kept my mouth shut. Like I noted in yesterday's post, I really had very little idea what the rest of them were talking about. And, as the classic Mark Twain quote holds: “It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt.”
About six months in, the conversation swung to how to remove the cap on the LTCB program. For those not familiar with Illinois Tourism, the Local Tourism and Convention Bureau grant program is the most successful of its kind in the nation. However, when it was established, the legislature capped the formula that dictated how much money would be available to local DMOs at $3 million. By 1986, it was clear that the formula was generating a significantly larger pool of revenue. Thus, we wanted the cap removed.
As the debate raged around the table, there were several voices that felt we didn't have the political capital to go up against the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association. Those voices were reticent to enter into a political fight that we were destined to lose.
At some point in the discourse, I raised my hand for the first time and said, “who is the IHLA and why do we care?”
You could hear the gasps at my perceived gaffe circle throughout the room. The then-IHLA CEO, Arnie Karr, was a legend. Like I knew?
And then, something really fascinating happened. One of the voices in the room said, “hold on. He may be onto something. Have we asked Arnie if he would support removing the cap? And, even if he doesn't, do we believe he would actively oppose us?”
It's why I always encourage rookies on a Board to use their voice. Sometimes a sensationally uninformed question can result in a significant re-imagination of a situation. Most times, those questions only come from rookies.
In this case, ICCVB approached the IHLA, earned their endorsement and got the cap removed. I certainly don't take credit for the initiative…but I did get the ball rolling with a simple question.