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Jason Dorsey on Gen Y and small towns

September 23rd, 2011

Yesterday I sat in on a live chat video interview between Jodi Schwan of the Sioux Falls Business Journal and Gen Y expert Jason Dorsey. It’s been my experience that most Gen Y experts either trash rural communities or show a lack of understanding about what rural communities have to offer.  With that in mind, I didn’t expect much from Dorsey. 

But after listening for about fifteen minutes to what seemed like good advice, I decided to use the chat feature to ask:

What advice do you have for small, rural communities who are trying to communicate the value of living of living in their community?”

Rather than bumbling through the question, Dorsey nailed his response. 

Market around lifestyles and relationships

In a nutshell, he said:  Since Gen Y is all about lifestyles and relationships, rural communities need to showcase those aspects of life in their community. 

Help people recognize how they can experience outdoor activities and enjoy a more relaxed pace of life.  Make sure they know that your school offers children a great education.   And emphasize the friendships that people build within your community.  And use social media (especially a Facebook Page) to show what makes a small town special.  (Hopefully, regular readers of Reimagine Rural have heard that before.)

Watch and listen yourself

Dorsey offers greater details during the interview.  I’ve embedded the Sioux Falls Business Journal’s recording of the interview below.  (He addresses my question around the 18:00 minute mark.)

Watch live streaming video from sfbusinessjournal at livestream.com

 

I think the video has more to offer, however, than just his response to my question.  For instance, Dorsey addresses what small business owners can do help maintain employees when other businesses can offer more money.  That’s definitely a message small town businesses owners should pay special attention to. 

I’ve not heard of Jason Dorsey before today, but I’ll pay closer attention in the future.  It’s nice to hear from a Gen Y expert who understands small, rural communities and offers good advice.

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Here’s to you, on Valentine’s Day

February 14th, 2011

I received a surprise Valentine’s Day message today, and it wasn’t from my wife.   If you’ve signed up for the Rural Learning Center’s online newsletter, you might have received one yourself. 

The message was short and to the point.  You can check it out to the right.

Whether it is from the organization you work for or someone you know, receiving a message like this makes a person feel good.  At least it did me today. 

If you haven’t already done so, I’d encourage you to take a minute and send out a Valentine’s Day message to someone you know.  Thank them for their work and let them know you appreciate their efforts. 

It will go a long way to brightening their day.

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Is Local Food Elitist?

January 6th, 2011

Rebecca Terk at Big Stone Bounty recently asked an interesting question:  Is local food elitist?  It’s a question that I wrestle with quite often. 

In her post, Rebecca writes:

Out here in the rural areas where I’ve been living for the vast majority of my life, the local food craze might seem like more of an urban fad than a legitimate lifestyle choice (and out here, even the phrase, “lifestyle choice” will raise some eyebrows)….

With a background steeped in sit-down family meals and gardening as a form of both sustenance and competition (my mother and her father vied for the first full-sized bell pepper of the season), it seems to me that urbanites are really just catching on to what rural people have known all along-food from your farm or garden is fresher and tastes better.”  (source:  “Is local food elitist?” Rebecca Terk, Big Stone Bounty, Dec. 29, 2010)

This last phrase stuck with me.  “It seems to me that urbanites are really just catching on to what rural people have known all along.”  Is that really true?  I hope it is. But I also know that some rural residents are critical of local food initiatives. 

 

Where does this tension come from?

Reading Rebecca’s post prompted me to remember a passage from Kent Meyers book The Witness of Combines (1998).  Meyers writes about his life growing up on a small farm in southern Minnesota.  In one of his stories, he reminisces about his mother’s canning experience, and how she would grow irritated at hearing young mothers brag about the enjoyment and fulfillment they received canning ten quarts of tomatoes from their garden. 

Meyer’s mother would can 120 quarts each year. 

As a fulltime farm wife that was her job.  It was hard work. And she did it because the family needed to save money.  It was also work that she gave up as soon as she was financially able to do so. 

 

How would Michelangelo feel?

Meyers goes on to compare his mother’s canning expertise to that of an artist like Michelangelo.  We often forget the blood, sweat, and tears that artists put into their work.  Hearing others talk about how easy it is to replicate that work must be a bit demeaning. 

Thinking in these terms, I wonder if that’s how some modern agricultural producers feel when they hear talk about the local foods movement. Often the stories we read and hear make the local foods initiatives sound easy and cool.  If that’s the case, I understand the tension that sometimes exists in rural communities about local foods initiatives. 

So, is local food elitist?  I don’t think so.  Readers here know that I’m a firm believer that rural communities should consider a local foods initiative as an economic development strategy.  But I do understand the tension that exists among food producers.  And I believe that both Rebecca Terk and Kent Meyers can help people on both sides of the fence understand each other a bit more.

 

Photo credit: Mike Gogulski – Flickr

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Hollowing out the Middle: The Argus Leader Reports

October 5th, 2010

Later today, I will be attending two forums featuring sociologist Patrick Carr from Rutgers University.  Regular readers here will recognize Carr as a co-author of Hollowing out the Middle, and an expert on the rural “brain drain” phenomena.  

I intend to share some of my reflections from the forums on Reimagine Rural tomorrow.  But an article in today’s Sioux Falls Argus Leader captured my attention and warrants a little attention. 

The article, written by Jon Walker and titled “Brain drain turns to S.D. gain,” highlights Carr’s presence at the Avera Rural Health Institute  this morning and the Theodore Schultz Symposium at South Dakota State University this afternoon and evening.

More importantly, however, the article acknowledges that as a state, South Dakota can now call itself a net importer of college-educated adults. 

Walker shares information that Dr. Gary Aguiar shared with Miner County residents a month ago during a Hollowing out the Middle book read.  He writes:

“The numbers have turned. A study of the state’s population and levels of education showed South Dakota with a net gain of 2,200 high school graduates and 2,700 residents with associate, bachelor’s or graduate degrees. The data are from the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau using data from 2007.

At the same time, the National Center for Education Statistics shows South Dakota has moved into a positive import-export ratio of college students. The rate was 0.9 in 1996, meaning 90 students came in for every 100 who left. The rate edged past break-even to 1.03 in 2000 and reached 1.23 by 2006.”  (source:  “Brain drain turns to S.D. gain,” John Walker, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, October 5, 2010) 

Information like this is to be celebrated.  I’m proud to hear that our mostly rural state has stepped over the line to become a net importer of talent.  Sadly, I suspect the information speaks more to the economy of Sioux Falls and Rapid City than those of the small towns Patrick Carr focuses on. 

One of the aspects that I appreciate most about Hollowing out the Middle is that it recognizes the educational system in our rural communities must change in order for it to better serve the needs of the rural communities where the schools exist. 

That’s why I’m going to the forums today.  I’m excited to hear Patrick Carr speak, but I’m really interested to hear what our educational, political, and civic leaders think needs to change.

Progress in our state’s largest communities is good, but a true cause for celebration will come when we’ve made progress in our state’s smallest communities as well.

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Who is the “Amazing Maisie” in your community?

September 14th, 2010

We all need feel good stories, and Maisie Devore’s story delivers.  Maisie spent thirty years picking up aluminum cans to raise money for a pool in her hometown of Eskeridge, KS (pop 589).  In all, she raised around $100,000, and the pool was built. 

I first heard of Maisie’s story some years ago when it appeared in a rerun on the CBS Sunday Morning show.  At the time, I didn’t think too much about it.  Today, I stumbled across the video again, and three lessons for community development work popped out at me.  Watch the video and see if you agree.    


 

Maisie’s lessons for community development work

1. Big problems are only rarely solved by big solutions. Dan and Chip Heath teach us this lesson in their bestselling book about how leaders can best initiate change (Switch). But Maisie takes the lesson to a new level. While community leaders looked at the lack of a pool as being too daunting to tackle, Maisie looked for a simple solution and succeeded through perseverance.

2. Determination. In his book Boomtown USA, Jack Schultz identifies “adopt a can do attitude” as a key element for successful small towns. I’m not sure if the town of Eskeridge displays the same determination, but Maisie’s 30 year quest certainly qualifies.

3. Leadership comes in different forms. Watching the video, one gets the impression that Maisie is not your typical community leader. I think there’s a tendency in many communities to overlook people like Maisie when they are looking to get things done.

I tried digging around the Internet to see if I could learn more about what’s happened in the community since the pool was completed in 2001.  Did Maisie’s story inspire the community to take further actions?  I couldn’t find any answers, but I’m not sure that it matters.  Maisie’s story stands as a shining example of what one person can accomplish.

Maisie’s story of small town leadership is not the only example of its kind. Although different in many ways, Muriel Krusemark’s work in Hoffman, MN comes to mind.  In Howard, SD, we can lift up Randy Parry. 

Who’s the Maisie in your community?

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Do you have a coach?

August 4th, 2010

I saw a post by Randi Buckley, leadership, partnership and team coach, the other day on Facebook.  She shared a video in which Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, tells about the importance of a coach.  This video is one in series of videos that Fortune magazine put together about the best advice different CEO’s, billionaires, entrepreneurs, NBA stars, etc. have received during their careers. 

One day a board member came up to Eric Schmidt and said, “You need a coach.”  A little taken a-back, Eric replied, “I don’t need a coach!  I’m an established CEO, why would I need a coach? Is something wrong?”   “No,” said the board member, “Everyone needs a coach.”

 

 

Coaches are not just for athletes.  Coaches see what you are working towards and do their very best to help you reach that goal.  Coaches help you stay on track and can see the mistakes you cannot, because they are coming at your goal from another angle.  As Eric says in the video, “The one thing people are not good at is seeing themselves as others see them; a coach really helps with that.”

Do you have a coach?

Can’t view the video?  Click here to view it on the original website.

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Are You Promoting a Ghost Town?

July 6th, 2010

In Miner County, we are having a photo contest, but this is no ordinary photo contest.  We have some amazing photographers in Miner County, and we want to be able to showcase their talent.  By hosting the contest via Flickr.com and printing winners in the county paper, we are showing off their talent both locally and globally.   But, that is not all.

The goal of our work through the Rural Learning Center and this blog is to give a new image to vibrant, rural communities.  Besides showing off local talent, we want to show to the world what a great community Miner County is to live in.  We want to show that there is more to this place than beautiful prairie vistas and wildlife.

With the help of our local photo club and newspaper, we strategically chose three contest topics that would promote pictures with people enjoying themselves.  Turns out, we are not alone in this strategy.

According to Becky McCray at Small Biz Survival, “Putting people in your pictures gives you instant social proof. It draws your potential visitor into the story.”  She goes on to point out that often times tourism websites post pictures of lots of wonderful things, but the pictures are void of any people.  She warns that these websites start to advertise “ghost towns” instead of vibrant communities.  She gives two examples in her post.  While these photos are not the type of professional photos a community would use for advertising, they illustrate the importance of people in photos.

The first picture is a beautiful hotel lobby, but not a person in sight.  You only see the stained glass skylight and the grand staircase.  Her next picture is of the exact same lobby, but with about 7 people walking and sitting throughout the room.  The difference is huge. 

In her second example we see an arching palm tree overlooking blue waters and a lighthouse in the background.  Directly below the first picture we see another palm tree on the same beach, but with a father and son feeding seagulls.  Becky says, “Suddenly, there is a human story, an activity, an interest.  A photo with people is able to tell a story. That’s a story the thing alone could never provide.”

Communities want to show off the “things” that make it great: the park, the stores, the great restaurant.  But, when you ask, people often say that the people themselves are the best part of living there.  All of the “things” are great, but if you can’t showcase the people enjoying those parks, stores, or restaurants, others won’t be able to see it either.

West Central Initiative Foundation of Minnesota had the same idea for their photo contest.  They challenged their photo contest participants, “Show us what YOU think will make a difference to the future of west central Minnesota.”  I’m happy to report that just about half of the pictures submitted so far feature the people of west central Minnesota.

Is your community promoting a ghost town or a vibrant place to live?  If you could enter one of these two contests, what would you say is the future of your community?

 

Photo:  Becky McCray on Flickr

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Archimedes, Daydreaming and You

June 18th, 2010

I have a tendency to daydream.  I will be listening to, or participating in, a conversation and before I realize that instead of listening, I’m in my own little dream world.  I try not to, but sometimes it happens.  As it turns out, my daydreaming might be a good thing.

Many people say their best thinking often comes in the shower.  Archimedes is said to have jumped out of his bath tub, running naked through the streets, yelling “Eureka!  I got it!”  While I don’t recommend running naked through the streets, I will promote taking a break to daydream, leading to your own “Eureka!” moment. 

According to various studies, we spend almost one-third of our time daydreaming.  When we give our brain a “break,” it is actually activating areas of the brain associated with complex problem solving.  Kalina Christoff, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia says, “People assumed that when your mind wandered it was empty. .. mind wandering is a much more active state than we ever imagined, much more active than during reasoning with a complex problem.”  She goes on to say that an unfocused mind connects new ideas and unexpected associations better than analytical reasoning.  

Over the last five years, two researchers at Northwestern University have used brain scanners and EEG sensors to find out what causes that “Eureka!” or “aha” moment.  They studied people who were stumped with a word problem and suddenly came up with a solution they knew to be right.  Turns out the brain sends signals from its right hemisphere, which controls associations and putting things together, a third of a second before the “aha” moment strikes.  That is immediately followed by a set of signals from the visualization part of the brain.  This second set of signals allows you to really solidify the idea in your head.

While we don’t know what kinds of topics or problems can trigger an “aha” moment, researches say a positive mood can increase the chances of coming to an insightful thinking.  As Dr. Jung-Beeman says, “How you are thinking beforehand is going to affect what you do with the problems you get.” 

So, you may now be thinking, what does Arcimedes have to do with rural communities?  Often I think our rural communities think too logically and are too pessimistically about their futures.  It seems like they don’t want to risk getting their collective hope up only to be let down when their dreams don’t come true.  In doing so, they deny the creative juices that work their way to the surface.  When we try too hard to fix a problem, the solution seems harder and harder to grasp. 

Maybe, instead, a community can get together and encourage all members, from the youngest to the oldest, to come up with ideas.  Ask, if we had unlimited resources and visitors and time and volunteers, what could we do?  Encourage the positive, creative thinking that comes from daydreaming about a future.  Maybe then a community can finally see what they have been missing and start working towards a new solution.

To learn more, check out this article by Newsweek magazine and this one from Psychology Today.

 

Photo Credit:  Ashley R. Good

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Building the Case: Greening Our Schools

June 4th, 2010

Going to school at Howard High was pretty good.  The building was built in 1969 and in fairly good shape for a building now in its 40′s; almost every classroom had a window and the library had skylights, but the temperature controls weren’t quite right and often window blinds were shut tight.  I didn’t particularly enjoy the building, but it wasn’t bad and could have been much worse. 

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) says the average American spends 90% of their day indoors.  Often little thought is put into how the built environment impacts our daily routine.  As a socially minded architecture student, I think good buildings should enhance our daily lives and not only be available to those with a fist full of cash.  I start to wonder if it really is that unrealistic to build green schools in rural areas. 

Currently there are numerous schools being housed in what appear to be tin sheds or leftover trailers.  When I hear that “green” schools improve the health of teachers and students, raise test scores and decrease student absences, I ask myself why our schools aren’t doing more to help our students.

The USGBC defines green schools as, “… a school building or facility that creates a healthy environment that is conducive to learning while saving energy, resources and money.”

According to Air Quality Sciences, Inc, Turner Construction, and the USGBC-Green Schools, there are many reasons why schools should be built using “green” practices.

 In our rural school districts, it can be hard to find enough money for textbooks, let alone a new building.  But when given the opportunity, are we providing our students and teachers with the best possible opportunities to succeed?

 If the statistics I found are correct, this means our decision to build schools goes far beyond financial or environmental factors. 

 Stay tuned next week for a post looking at different case studies about rural “green” schools.

 Photo:  Howard High School in Howard, SD

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Broadband: should you need to want it to get it?

March 25th, 2010

Dupree, SD (pop. 434) made the news last Tuesday.  The town’s mayor is quoted in a Slate magazine article saying that the community is 30 years behind the times and that the town residents probably aren’t interested enough in broadband internet to pay for it. 

That’s not the kind of inspiration   community residents usually want to hear coming from their mayor.  But in fairness to the mayor, I suspect he was quoted a bit out of context.  I reach that conclusion because the author of the article uses Dupree as a case study in the argument against bringing broadband to rural communities.

The Argument against Broadband

Most people are aware that the Federal government is implementing a program that would help bring broadband to rural areas previously lacking it.  Completing the task of wiring Rural America with ground-based broadband could cost the feds as much as $24 billion; but the plan is generally well supported.

Chris Wilson, the author of “What’s wrong with the FCC’s plan to bring high-speed Internet access to rural America,” makes the case that there are better places to invest this money.  In doing so, he hides behind the statement, “Before the federal government invests billions in extending high-speed Internet to such areas, it ought to make sure people want it-and are ready for it.”

Do Rural Communities Need Broadband?

Do we want it and are we ready for it?  Using these questions as the basis for one’s argument against broadband is a bit like asking, “Do you want healthier foods and are you ready it for them?”  Well maybe, maybe not.  But does that mean they shouldn’t be available to everyone? 

Yes, I know that analogy is a bit cheesy, but the point is broadband internet is a vital part of every community’s infrastructure.  Without it, I doubt rural communities have the ability to survive.  Wilson may be willing to write off some rural communities because he doesn’t think they are worth it, but he shouldn’t hide behind the argument that rural residents don’t want it.

It’s about raising awareness

A couple weeks ago, I shared that Lindsey and I have been hosting a series of social media classes in Howard.  Our reasons are many, but primary among them is the idea that we need to encourage local residents and business owners to use social media more effectively as an economic development strategy for Miner County.  That starts with teaching them how to use it at all. We’ve had a fun and exhausting time with these classes, but just yesterday we were reminded again why we’re really doing it. 

We had lunch will a local business owner who has been developing a social media strategy for her business as well as two community organizations she’s involved in.  She’s using Facebook, and recently generated some buzz by mentioning a new product line on the Miner County Facebook Page.  The bottom line is social media (and the broadband access that’s needed to facilitate its use) encouraged sales at a local business.    That was good for the business and good for the community. 

We’re lucky in Howard, SD and most of Miner County, SD to already have pretty good broadband technology.  It would easy for me to say, I’ve got mine, so I don’t care about you.  But I won’t.  And I hope you won’t either.

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