A New Years Wish

As a young boy growing up on the far southside of Chicago (so far south that my town’s unofficial slogan was “it’s not the end of the world…but you can see it from there”), I would spend hours (if not days) crafting my wish list for Santa.

I haven’t as much time to invest in such an exercise this holiday season…though my list is no less important to how I’ll view the upcoming year as it was then. Unlike birthday wishes that are not to be revealed under punishment of disappointment, I think it’s OK to share holiday wish lists. Clearly Amazon thinks so…so, that must make it right.

So Santa? My wishes don’t involve supply chains and a lack of workforce to deliver. No, mine are the kind that may simply involve the deployment of your magic dust. So…here goes:

I want to wake up Christmas morning to a world with no pundits. No one to tell us what it means; no one to tell us what they think is coming. Let’s be clear, we wouldn’t all believe there is a recession looming if someone wasn’t droning on about it on “the news.”

And yeah, the News. For Christmas this year, I want a news channel that is straight down the middle; one of which Walter Cronkite and John Chancellor would approve. One like ACN on the sensational series “The Newsroom.” With an anchor like Will McAvoy.

Oh yeah…and a media that isn't covering bat-shit crazy loons for no other reason than ratings. 

This Christmas, I want Apple to fix the bug that causes my iPhone to display album art that is not remotely close to what’s playing. And, I want Delta to upgrade what once was the best airline app around from what is now one of the worst.

I want DMO Boards to lean in and actually lead. Damn…it was such fun to spark with Boards prior to the ’08 recession as we led them through strategic conversations. Since that time, we've seen a waning of passion and vision…and their communities are less for it. It's the reason that a number of this sector's top consultancies are staging a symposium on Board Leadership for Destinations next month in Irving TX (and, only a handful of spots remain).

My Christmas list includes an exhortation to DMO CEOs to be honest with yourselves…and be vulnerable to you trusted friends. If you get a whiff of danger in the air, rely on your instincts and call a peer. Because a whiff of danger will, nine times out of ten, turn into a serious stink that you’ll not be able to shake. Talk it through. Find the path forward. We’re here for you.

And, there’s always that shoot for the moon, what-the-hell ask, right? I remember one year in high school asking for the obligatory stuff…and a pinball machine. My parents obliged with a handheld pinball machine. Yeah…I shoulda seen that coming.

My big ask this year? That our governmental leaders are blessed with an epiphany about what drives an economic eco-system. It’s the Visitor Economy. And, if that’s what makes the cash registers sing, the non-resident taxes flow and draws workforce and investment to our communities, the restriction of DMO funding to hospitality taxes is universally understood as short-sighted, artificially reducing a community's competitiveness and Quality of Life.

In fact...Santa, if you're reading this? I'm good with just the last one...we can save the others for next year.

Here's wishing you all a healthy and happy Holiday Season.