One BIG Reason Communities Lack Growth

If small towns want to grow, they must begin welcoming new ideas.

I recently read an article covering a hospital board meeting. The topic of building a new building was brought up.  Someone commented that even though there would be pushback, they needed to start having the conversation about building a new building. The old building was costing too much to maintain. They also were not able to bill and get reimbursed properly due to the location of some of their doctors and equipment. This was causing them to lose even more money.

A little piece of my heart sank as I read this article.

Board members were hesitant to even discuss the possibility of a new building due to backlash from the community. Backlash over a discussion. Think about how ridiculous that sounds.

Why can’t we talk about change in small communities? Why is this always perceived as a threat vs. a proactive and important move? Can you imagine if we approached business this way? A business that never embraced change or welcomed a new idea would not survive! 

Boards hire smart people to run their organizations. These professionals are paid to be proactive and think about the future. But, when a new idea is floated, it is usually shot down pretty fast or seen as taboo.

If a town is going to grow, it must be proactive.

Nothing changes without new and different ideas being discussed.

Small communities that welcome new ideas are going to be the ones that grow and prosper. People should not be afraid of the backlash that is going to come to them or their local business if they even so much as breathe a new idea. Employees should not have to worry about being fired if they are bringing new ideas to the board. It should be the opposite! They should be expected to bring new ideas.

This is likely the number one reason a community lacks growth. It is not money and resources.

If you serve your community in any compacity, start changing the conversation. Stop being satisfied with the status quo. Start asking your paid staff and volunteer board members to push the envelope and come up with fresh new ideas to run their corner of the city/county/hospital/school, etc., a little more efficiently. Ask them to bring a news article about a town that is doing something different that is working well. Ask them what they see that could be done better. And, listen to them. Crunch the numbers. Ask the questions. Explore the probability. Dream a little!

Maybe it will work or maybe it will not, but that is what people want to be a part of. They want to be part of something bigger. They want to give their time in energy to things that matter. 

That is how you grow an organization. That is how our small towns become better and foster more opportunities. 

I know what you are thinking: Change costs money.

This can be true. But the lack of change could cost a lot more. In the long run, being proactive is always a cost-saving over being reactive.

New ideas equal growth, and we should always be growing.

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