Posts Tagged ‘seth godin’

Are “red marks” teaching you to aim low?

July 21st, 2010

Lately, I’ve been writing about a topic – talent attraction — that I feel I don’t know enough about.  It’s a topic that I have both a passion for and a lot of ideas about.  Unfortunately, I still feel inadequate at sharing these ideas because I know that a lot of people are critical of the concept, especially as it applies to small, rural communities.

In short, I’m afraid of being told, “How dare you, this is terrible.”

Those words – ”How dare you, this is terrible” — by Seth Godin stuck with me as I watched a short video titled “Seth Godin on how schools teach kids to aim low.” The video highlights Godin’s thoughts about how we train the creativity out of young people, but it speaks to individuals of all ages. 

 

 

(Source:  PSCSvideos, “Seth Godin on how schools teach kids to aim low,” YouTube, May 5, 2010)

Watching the video reminded me that I need to have the courage to overcome the uncertainty created by the “red marks” of people who don’t believe in the future of rural communities.  It reminded me that it’s ok to stretch the boundaries of my writing, sharing ideas that may be a bit unconventional .  In fact, it’s reminded me that I have to take on this task if I hope to be a resource in the effort to build a deeper conversation about the future of rural communities.

My guess is that I’m not alone in needing this reminder.

In many ways, rural community leaders everywhere have been taught by decades of decline to accept criticism as “truth” and as Godin suggests, to “aim low.” 

Godin’s advice doesn’t give us permission to become modern-day Don Quixote’s;  we still need to listen to and learn from the “red marks” of our critics.  But in the process, we can’t let those comments bury the creativity and innovation that can emerge from a willingness to tackle the issues.

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Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (2)

Getting out of my funk

April 30th, 2010

(Note: It’s Friday, which means this post is a part of our “I Feel Fridays” project.  Our goal is to share stories from the past week that generated an emotional response.  We encourage readers to respond to the post or to share something from their lives in the past week. To learn more about “I Feel Fridays,” check out this post- and then tell us what you’re feeling.)

 

I’ve been feeling overwhelmed and discouraged this week, causing me to be in an unproductive funk.  As the week draws to an end, I’d like to share how I’m trying to get out of this funk.  And I’d also ask you to offer any advice you believe might help.

The fallout from vacation

The first of my negative emotions stems largely from an unmanageably large “to do” list, which grew exponentially while I was on vacation recently.  As the list has grown, a sense of hopelessness has set in, decreasing my energy when I need it most.  I bet many of you can relate.

Currently, I’m attempting  to deal with this issue by doing a better job of prioritizing my daily “to do” list.  More importantly, I’m trying to focus on some advice offered by Seth Godin in his latest book, Linchpin.  Godin tells us that Linchpins (people who make a difference) do a better job of “shipping” products than others. 

By “shipping,” Godin means completing tasks on schedule and sending them off to market.  It might be a software product you’ve been working on, a presentation you’re going to give, or a marketing plan that’s critical to your business.   Linchpins find ways to ship products on-time, even when they feel the product is not quite perfect.

That’s where I’m at right now.  As I prioritize my tasks and work on my products, I’m trying to not let my fear of imperfection get in the way of shipping. 

Discouraged about the future of rural communities

The second of my negative emotions stems from a general sense of discouragement about the future of small towns.  This emotion comes from many sources but is highlighted by the recently announced temporary layoff by Knight & Carver Wind Group in Howard, SD.

The temporary layoff at Knight & Carver is personal.  Not only is the business in Howard, but I helped the company establish itself here in 2007, when I was the community’s economic development coordinator.  Even though I’m not directly involved in that work today, I still feel connected to it.

Before going further, let me say that my heart goes out to workers and their families who are dealing with the financial and emotional uncertainty of the layoff.  I know the company’s leadership cares deeply about its employees, and I’m confident they are doing their best to meet the challenge.

And that’s where I know I need to focus my attention.  Just as businesses must overcome challenges, so too must communities.  This isn’t the first challenge confronting Howard since our community development efforts began in the late 1990s, and it won’t be the last. 

As Jack Schultz identifies in his “7 ½ Keys to Big Success in Small Communities,” rural communities that thrive are those who adopt a “can do attitude.” To some, this may sound trite, but I think it’s a critical element of success community development work.  Adopting a can do attitude will prevent community leaders from wallowing in the fear and self pity that causes them to do nothing.   

And that’s where I’m at personally as well.  Prioritize better.  Ship more regularly.  And refocus on a can do attitude.  That’s how I’m attempting to get out of my funk.   If there’s something I’m missing, I hope you will help me out. 

 

Photo Credit – Secret Tenerife – Flickr

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Posted in In the News, Rural | Comments (3)

Does your community have good “headlines”

December 16th, 2008

Seth Godin’s recent post reminds us that headlines matter.   This is especially true with blogs and websites because people typically don’t take time to read 2 or 3 paragraphs to figure out if they are interested.  A poorly written headline and they’re gone.

Godin also notes that our appearance is another type of headline.  People judge others they meet based exclusively on how they are dressed and look.  Similarly, people judge communities solely on their appearance.

How communities look is based on a lot of factors:  What’s the website look like? Is the town clean or dirty?   What is the community’s tag line?  Does Main Street look good? What does the billboard on the edge of town look like?

All of the above questions speak to “headlines” of sorts that people use to evaluate our rural communities.  If any one of them is bad, a community may not get the chance to prove what a great place it is to live.  Like it or not, headlines matter.

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Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (4)