An expanded "web-only" version of the feature article from the Winter/2001 issue of the ZEITGEIST Client Newsletter
  
 
In far too many communities, the Big 3 (Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Council) rarely cooperate on anything more than the most mundane of projects.
 
The reasons are really pretty basic: Turf Protection (or envy), Visibility and the very unattractive (but, oh so prevalent) Machiavellian need to bash the "other guy" in the knee so that you look bigger. While it's all pretty petty...it's all pretty common. What to do to "stop the madness?"
 
Colorado Springs CVB CEO Terry Sullivan has the answer...and it is brilliant in its simplicity. Break Bread.
 
Once a month, Sullivan and his counterparts get together at one of Colorado Springs' best restaurants for drinks, dinner and visionary conversation. And while the talk usually centers on the future of the community, the real vision comes from the relationships that are forged over these meals.
 
So important for the community are these dinners that the restauranteur picks up the tab for the meal. "The drinks are on us," Sullivan smiles. Why the benevolence of the owner? "He knows that the ideas that are discussed and the relationships we are building will benefit the community. If the community benefits, his business will grow." So it's not benevolence...it's an investment.
 
Called the "Fab Four" by those around them, Sullivan and the CEOs from the Chamber, Economic Development Council and the Sports Commission make the monthly dinner "a high priority," says Sullivan, noting that it is extremely rare for one of them to miss. "It's right up there with Board Meetings on the importance scale," he says. Today, he calls them his 'wagon masters.'"They're there for me, as I am for them, as friends as well as business partners," he says. "That means that we can always count on each other."
 
Like now, as the City looks to the CVB to take the lead on a proposed convention center project. While many CVB CEOs would be elated that the City recognized them as the logical choice for heading up such an important project, Sullivan knows that making a project like this look like a tourism issue could doom it to defeat. Indeed, one can hear the no-birds now, wailing, "it's not for us and we're not paying for it!"
 
But thanks to the existence of the Fab Four, the Chamber has offered to take the visible lead on the project by establishing a committee that takes the heat off the CVB. Now, the community sees that its not just a tourism issue but a city-wide issue. And the not-so-subtle threat to those that would oppose the project is clear. It won't just be the CVB they'll have to battle. They'll have to go up against all four.
 
"We get the job done without seeking the profound credit," says Sullivan. And that is where these kind of alliances have their most significant roots. For the fleeting satisfaction of glory that one may garner from winning a major project pales in comparison to the internal satisfaction of knowing that you left a legacy for your community. And partnerships win more often that lone rangers.
 
While the monthly dinners are key...they are an outward display and function of a deeper process at work. Sullivan and his counterparts have worked, over the years, to be involved with each others' Boards in the hiring process. "Ultimately, we're going to have to be able to work together if the community is to benefit," he says. "That means that our compatibility will be extremely important." So, 3 members of the Fab Four made it their business to be involved last year in the search for the new Chamber CEO.
 
"To let such an important hire for the community happen in a vacuum would be criminal," Sullivan maintains. "We certainly didn't strong-arm the hiring process...but we let the Chamber Board know who we thought would be the best fit for the community. And I believe that is our responsibility to the community."
 
So uniquely and effectively partnered, the Fab Four is talking about the unspeakable: shacking up. Sullivan confirms that the four are discussing the possible purchase of a building in which they can all reside, sharing administrative costs and board room space. And making the ties that bind even stronger.