Crupi says VCU helps, not hurts, Richmond community

The president of consulting firm
Strategic Leadership Solutions revealed
the findings of a study last Monday that
attributed VCU’s aggressive development
with boosting Richmond’s success.

The study, presented at the Stuart
C. Siegel Center, looked at Richmond’s
strengths and weaknesses.

The president, James A. Crupi, said
Richmond would not have the economic
prosperity it enjoys today without VCU’s
dynamic growth. He listed the university
as a strength in his 55-page study, which
was handed out to the audience after the
presentation.

Crupi, who advises Fortune 1000
companies, such as Coca-Cola and
IBM, conducted a similar study about
Richmond in 1993.

Crupi said Richmond must realize
“shift happens,” and the community must
embrace it to propel into the future.

“If your entire life’s history tells
you change is good, why fight it?” he
asked.

The changes the city has made
in recent years are positive, he said,
recalling the study he conducted in
1993 that marked Richmond as a “glass
half-empty.” Now, he sees Richmond’s
progress as a “glass half-full,” with
emphasis on the “half” because there is
still room for improvement, he said.

Richmond’s growth is also a result of the
diversity of its leaders, Crupi said. White
leaders tend to think with their heads while
black leaders think with their hearts, he
said, and Richmond benefits best from a
mixture of both styles of leadership.

Among Richmond’s black leaders,
Crupi mentioned L. Douglas Wilder,
former Virginia governor and now
Richmond’s mayor, and Henry Rhone,
VCU vice provost for student affairs.

Crupi criticized the Richmond area’s
lack of vision, directing his remarks
mainly toward businesses and the government.
He also emphasized the importance
of involvement from college students.

A vision – created with everyone’s
involvement – is essential to leadership,
he said.

“If the vision of the task is clear, it
will assume the burden of leadership,”
Crupi said.

He also placed heavy emphasis on of-
ficials being more strategic than tactical.

“Making a living is tactics,” he said.
“Making a life is strategy.”

What does all this mean for VCU
students? Crupi encourages students to
get more involved with organizations
such as the Greater Richmond Chamber
of Commerce, which commissioned his
report. This will give students a chance to
become involved in Richmond’s growth
while creating credibility when they
finally join the workforce, he said.

It is important for young adults to
become involved in the process now, he
said, because many of the community’s
key leaders will retire in the next five
years, including VCU’s president, Eugene
P. Trani.

Leadership waits for no one, Crupi
said, and the time to become an effective
leader is when the community thinks it
will not need leadership.

Richmond needs leaders with vision
who will stretch the community to
accomplish more than it ever dreamed
it could, he said.

“We who have been privileged enough
to lead other people should never . be
afraid of helping them understand the cost
and the price of becoming the best.”