On the flight to Tampa I sat next to an executive from a major engineering firm. We began talking about my interests, future goals and his professional work and lessons he has learned over the past 13 years. He then told me about his 11-introduction rule. Several years ago he was in a meeting with the President of China and the CEO of the company he works for. He and the CEO were trying to build a new factory in China and after laying out the plan for expansion the Chinese President said very slowly in English, “You both need to remember that you are in Beijing not Boston.” After further explanation my airplane neighbor explained that we as Americans have a tendency to go into neighborhoods and communities with grand plans without understanding for whom we are planning or to what extent we may disrupt the current environment. In urban planning this is especially important because the decisions that we make should be in the interest of the public good. Projects that are in the public good of one community may not be as beneficial to another community in the same city, state, or country. So how do we resolve this issue? The 11-introduction rule.

This is how the rule works. As we all know, planning is a process which involves countless stakeholders. Typically the stakeholders are groups that appoint one individual to represent the interests of the entire group. But with the 11-introduction rule you are encouraged to meet the people behind the representatives. Introducing yourself to 11 residents, children, service workers, whomever; will give you a greater advantage in satisfying public good over the planner who uses the word of one representative as law.

This rule applies to students as well. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Florida’s planning programs and the teachers guiding us through them are among the best in the country. But in addition to applying what we are learning in the classroom we need to speak with (at least) 11 planners around the state to fully understand the situations they encounter. The range of problems and solutions will enable students to understand how planning professionals within the 22nd largest state with the 4th largest population, 663 miles of beaches, more than 11,000 miles of rivers, streams and waterways, approximately 4,500 islands greater than 10 acres¹, and 9,632,840 acres of non-submerged conservation lands² manage the provision of services and infrastructure while dealing with growth at rates faster than any other state in the country.

I challenge each planner, politician and student that reads this article to begin applying the 11-introduction rule because you never know what you will learn from others. Unsure where to begin? May I suggest starting at your state conference. The English writer Douglas Adams once said, “Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.”

1 State of Florida.com – Florida Quick Facts. Retrieved July 11, 2007 from http://www.stateofflorida.com/Portal/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=95.