Every year, l have the
privilege of taking businessmen from all over the world to Chicago for an annual Business Conference. People wonder why we
go to Chicago
and not any other city. Well, besides
the fact that it has some of the most beautiful people and breathtaking scenery;
it’s really the story behind this great city that we go to not only see and
hear, but experience and learn from.
A great fire once destroyed
most of the city. Legend has it, a cow in Mrs. O’Leary’s barn kicked over a
kerosene lamp, burning down the barn and quickly spreading a devastating fire
throughout the city and in its wake all of Chicago’s wooden buildings had been burned to
the ground. Chicago has overcome its
challenges! It has been rebuilt to become one of the world’s most beautiful,
leading cities. The tragic events motivated the people of Chicago to rebuild, restructure and above all
reform the way they do things. Today the memories of the challenging past are
commemorated at the water towers (the only two buildings - made of stone - to
survive the fire) in the heart of the city. These serve as reminders and
lessons to inspire future generations of the lessons learned.
In 1900, Chicago successfully
completed a massive and highly innovative engineering project – reversing the
flow of the Chicago River so that it emptied into the Mississippi
River instead of Lake Michigan. The army corps of engineers redirected the flow of
the Chicago River, a feat thought to be naturally
impossible. In so doing the city of Chicago
brought a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘think outside of the box’.
Chicago has become a model city for others to follow. The
people and leaders of this great city have shown what a community can do if it
comes to together and focuses on the future. It’s no wonder it is home to more than thirty ‘Fortune
500 companies’. That’s why I take as many people to Chicago each year as I can. Some things are
better caught than taught.
