Talent is key to the success of any endeavor, team or business—or even a city and state. Right now in America, there is a war for talent, writes Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister in his new opinion piece.
We want to congratulate our young talent honored in the “2019 Forty Under 40” who are featured in the Nov. 19 edition of Business Report, McCollister writes. They all have talents that have benefited our community—and much more potential. Our city and region need them, and others like them, to build our future—a global future that will be different from the past and “the way we’ve always done things before.”
On a separate note, Mayor Sharon Weston Broome’s disparity study by Keen Independent Research was presented last week to the Metro Council, and it doesn’t seem like the outcomes were surprising. But it does raise more questions.
One council member said, “We should be able to hit the ground running tomorrow on this. For far too long, our small businesses have been left out of this process.”
But the issue of disparity among business owners has been around for a long time, so why have these elected officials not built partnerships and created initiatives to address this issue before now? Why have they not held accountable the numerous government agencies funded to help address this situation?
These issues affect all of Baton Rouge, and we all must share in the responsibility, McCollister writes.
Switching gears, that LSU win over Alabama was something to behold and celebrate for all LSU fans,
Joe Burrow, the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, was sensational.
But another “Joe” deserves kudos for hiring our beloved Coach O, who is doing a fantastic job, writes McCollister, referring to former Athletic Director Joe Alleva.
One must give credit where credit is due. Former Chancellor Mark Emmert got credit for being the one to hire Nick Saban, who brought the Tigers a national championship.
It’s ironic that Alleva’s critics are now celebrating Coach O’s accomplishments and basking in LSU’s success.
What they don’t acknowledge is what Coach O shared with McCollister, “I will always be grateful to Joe Alleva for giving me the opportunity to have my dream job as the head coach of the LSU Tigers.”
Read McCollister’s full column for more of his thoughts on talent in Baton Rouge, the disparity study, and LSU’s big win. Send comments to editor@businessreport.com.
