Continuing our series from previous months – Read below about Chapters 9 and 10 of the book, 13 Ways to Kill Your Community.
Chapter 9—Shut Out Seniors: Seniors are often considered a cordial and easy-going group. That is incorrect. They are a dangerous lot who can cause a riot of success in your community. They have worked hard to build a successful community for themselves, their kids and their grandkids. They don’t want to see their work disappear. They have the time to volunteer in your community and often still want to. Sure, they vanish for a bit to travel and play golf, but when they return they want to be part of something that offers them social opportunities and a chance to help the community. Many of them also have money and are ready to enjoy the retired life. If you don’t provide opportunities for what they are looking for, they will move to somewhere they can get it. If you are looking to kill your community, shut out seniors so they leave and take both their time and their money with them.
Chapter 10—Reject Everything New: Have you ever been in a meeting, offered up a new and creative idea, and the argument against trying it out is: “But we have never done that before.” If you have, then you know what this is about. Far too many communities refuse to try anything new, so they re-implement the same thing over and over. A popular definition of insanity is: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results every time. There are communities willing to share their strategies for success. In fact, most openly advertise their success to attract new people and businesses. Somewhere around the world some community has found a solution to a problem or challenge you face. You need only find it, adapt it and implement it. If killing your community is your goal, however, you need to keep doing what you have always done so you can keep getting what you have always got. Don’t look to the world and you won’t see the world of opportunities waiting for your community.
Stay tuned for next month’s recap of Chapters 11 & 12.
This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s June 2024 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.