Trust and Transform
We live and work in an amazing community with unbelievable potential and deep history that inspires us to dream big. I’m inspired to envision Wichita in 10, 20, even 100 years from now. As I find myself dreaming about the future, I also find myself imagining what might be required by each of us to move into this new transformational future.
- We need to grow trust by using hope and community against polarization and isolation.
Toxic polarization and isolation feed off each other when they’re ignored. This makes our challenges exponentially harder to solve as people find themselves more polarized and more alone. Avoiding debate, instead of embracing it, will only make the problem worse. Toxic polarization and isolation are negatively impacting us, our families, our organizations and our civic culture. It costs productivity and is negatively impacts our businesses and the economy.
- We need to build transformational alliances that boldly collaborate across difference.
Using our personal stories and our own journeys can help us find common ground in our relationships, our vocation and our hope for families and friends. The Chamber is uniquely qualified to bring together unique perspectives and create a shared vision of a flourishing community.
More trust helps bring solutions to the biggest challenges facing our community – recruitment and retention of talent, mental health and addiction support, pride in our community and poverty reduction. It will take all of us intentionally working past our differences to create impactful solutions to these challenges and others our community faces. Our plans will be more powerful if our teams are more diverse.
As we build trust, there are many opportunities to find common goals and collaborations that could be absolutely transformative for Wichita’s businesses and families. I ask you, in what ways can the Chamber be a bridge for you to new friends, new networks and new innovations? How can each of you take a step of intention to innovate across differences? Our Chamber is ready to work and collaborate with you.
Damon Young
Chief Business Officer, Kansas Leadership Center
2022 Board Chair - Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce
