In the realm of community growth, 13 Ways to Kill a Community by Doug Griffiths stands out as a guidebook for small towns. Despite its title, it’s not about destroying communities but highlighting pitfalls and providing solutions. Griffiths, an expert in this field, details thirteen critical mistakes, like neglecting downtown areas or resisting change, that harm towns.

The book offers a unique approach: showing what can hurt a community in order to help build a remarkable one. Communities often unknowingly make choices that hinder success. But by stopping these actions, aligning attitudes with goals, and believing in our community, success becomes attainable.

We all do things that undermine our opportunities for success, consciously or not. Communities are no different. They plan for success and work hard, but daily make choices or adopt attitudes that ensure failure. If we simply stop doing what encourages failure, ensure our attitude is aligned with our goals, and believe in our community, our communities can and will prosper for another generation.

Stay tuned as we kick off this series and explore each of the thirteen ways, discovering how we can overcome these obstacles to foster a stronger, more connected, and prosperous region.

Our goal is to empower every member of our community – residents, leaders, business owners, and visionaries alike – to take an active role in shaping the destiny of our community. We believe that by understanding these challenges and implementing the solutions, we can pave the way for a more vibrant, resilient, and united community.

Our local library has copies of this book available, or you can find it online and in audible to tag along. Happy reading!

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s January 2024 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.