One insightful question Rebecca Ryan asked at both of our recent world cafes was how many of the attendees were homegrown (from NEO), transplants (from elsewhere) or boomerangers (from NEO, left, and come back). In both the More Better cafe at the CIA and the Storm the Palace cafe at Playhouse Square the majority of attendees were transplants. In this clip, two transplants relate with Rebecca that they are here because they want to be here, rather than anywhere else in the world, and they "Believe in Cleveland". But will they stay? When Rebecca asked each cafe how many there planned to leave NEO within the next few years, most attendees raised their hands.

In my day to day work and life, most of the interesting people and change agents I meet - people who are excited and engaged to visit or live in Cleveland/NEO and make it a better place - are boomerangers or most often transplants. They are tourists, artists at/from the CIA, Ph.D.s at Case, and thought leaders recruited here because the organizations hiring them want change, and they want that from outside our community. I think that is great, and I don't feel we as a community do enough to attract and keep them here.

This video sees "Believe in Cleveland" as a campaign to convince homegrowns to be happy. That won't work... to many are SAD and need real help, rather than PR. New York is a great place because it attracts people from all over the world, because they want to be there, and it provides them a great place to live and work. Cleveland also attracts great people from around the world, but doesn't provide them a great place to live and work. We need to attract more more transplants and boomerangers (not by running a self effacing campaign like "believe in Cleveland" but by bragging "Cleveland rocks"). And, once we have them here, we need to show them a good time, and protect them from the bummer attitudes of the target believe in Cleveland audience.