By Bruce Henderson (Charlotte Observer)

Shannon Binns says he wasn't looking for a job when he started Sustain Charlotte, the nonprofit group that promotes long-term thinking in the city.

Trained as an industrial engineer, Binns quickly found he wasn't cut out for cubicle life. 

“I definitely see myself as a social entrepreneur,” he said. “I like to think I sort of inherited that from my grandfather,” who started an explosives firm.

In Charlotte, Binns sensed an opportunity in 2010.