Town Building is a Higher Form of Art

Don’t even be fooled for a minute by that “Aw Shucks” demeanor of Casey Roloff, visionary founder and CEO of Seabrook, a beach town on the coast of Washington State.  Okay, be fooled for a minute but then let’s really get the root of what makes Casey so admiringly inspirational.

Casey is a town builder.  He saw a rugged landscape on the coast of Washington and envisioned a town, where people could gather, play, learn and grow.  He saw a place that captured the spirit of new urbanism, where the sight lines of a community were about grass and sidewalks and cottages, not cars and noise and concrete.  He has been a national leader in designing the communities of the future and it’s awesome!

When Casey agreed to contribute as a Designer in One Life to Lead, to share an aspect of his life for the service of others, I wanted him to talk about his principles.  Why?  Because principles represent the code of how we navigate our life.  For Casey, his principles are manifest in the towns that he builds.  In the book, he shares:

At Seabrook, we make decisions based on the principle that town-building is like art. Most of the industry thinks about it as what’s inside the home and the lot. But it doesn’t harmonize with the rest of the community. So when you take an urban planning approach, it’s more about what is outside of the building. We work on how to organize buildings in a way that creates an incredible experience for the pedestrian.

I kind of describe it like a chef, where the difference between a good chef and a great chef is that a great chef knows not only how to make amazing food but also how to put it together with other foods that complement each other, and then they know how to create a beautiful package on a plate where you’re just like, “Oh my gosh, I don’t even want to eat it. It’s so beautiful.” But then you eat it, and it’s even more amazing, right? And then you can take the quality of the table and just keep going further and further out. You go to the entrance and outside the building and to the parking lot and the street.

For Casey, you see the principles employed in what he has built.  If he wasn’t clear on his principles, what kind of town would he build?  For most of us, our principles lie beneath the surface and we apply them in hundreds of different circumstances all the time.  But if you aren’t clear on your principles, then what kind of life are you going to build?  Is it one of your own design or is it one that is based on the design of others in that moment?  

This is the challenge we are called to address in One Life to Lead.  Establishing your principles is fundamental to being in control of your life design.  

You can learn more about Casey and other designers in One Life to Lead:  Business Success Through Better Life Design.  Order today!

Russell Benaroya is an entrepreneur, coach, speaker and author of One Life to Lead and Free Yourself to Work on Your Business.  To learn more, visit www.russellbenaroya.com.