Culture. 

With today’s talent war and workforce struggles, this single word is now getting discussed, picked apart, and acted upon in companies with more rigor than ever before. 

The companies that have a great culture and are known for being the kind of place people want to work are doubling down on their efforts to continue to lead the pack in what was historically thought of as “soft skill” development opportunities and “nice-to-have” benefits and amenities.

I hope it goes without saying (but you know I’m still gonna say it) that having an intentional people development strategy is not soft; it’s also becoming an expectation rather than some one-off benefit.

The companies that have never given a thought to who they are, what they believe in, or why they even exist are likely struggling far worse than their culture-aware counterparts in this tricky workforce environment.

With the steep rise of remote working, companies are starting to realize that the job itself isn’t going to be enough anymore; as newly attuned generations enter the workforce, they are demanding more from their employers—if seeking traditional employment at all—and it’s basically, an “adapt or die” kind of situation. 

I could talk all day long about the ways companies could (and arguably, should) think about their culture now that everyone’s fighting to remain relevant and attract top talent. 

But in this post, I’m not here to talk about companies; I want to talk about small towns.

During the past couple of years, I’ve worked more deeply with my clients to nail down their culture because it matters THAT much. 

As I worked with them to deploy the kind of people strategies that will really make a long-term difference in their culture, I couldn't help but consider the implications for our small towns. 

Culture is essentially the “way we do things” around here. 

What if our small towns acted like a business?

What if we treated ourselves like we had a responsibility to create the kind of community culture that makes it hard to leave, attracts top talent, and allows us to remain relevant into the future?

Not only do I think it’s possible, but I believe the communities that take this seriously will put themselves in a position to grow in a more meaningful and long-lasting way than any latest economic development trend or guru-offered idea.

At Growing Small Towns—the organization I founded and now run to tackle this exact challenge—we believe in the power of growing our own. 

What does that actually mean, you ask?

Well, it means a few things; first of all, this idea is based on the premise that people are the difference. 

You can have the best strategy, the best technology, and even the best ideas, but if you don’t have engaged, motivated, competent people, you’ll never get ahead.

Our approach to community development is based on this belief. Everything we do is to help people. 

Help them grow, broaden their mindsets, shift their fears, and overcome their doubts. 

Help them communicate better, handle conflict more readily, and own their agency over themselves and their circumstances. 

So with that clear intention on the table, what does “our own” mean in “growing our own”?

There are already people that have chosen your community. 

There are already people who believe your community is great. 

Rather than being like a cell phone company that only offers discounts and benefits to new members, leaving the loyal customers to pay their higher fees every month, what if we chose to invest in the ones that are already here?

What if we actively chose to “love the ones we’re with”?

Our friend and fellow community development guy, Jeff Siegler of Revitalize or Die, put it this way, “Dance with the one that brought you. Make your residents the star of the show. Lift them up. Make them wealthy. Make them happy. Turn them into small business owners and developers. Give them the greatest place to live that ever existed and I promise all your other problems will fade into the past.”

So again, sounds great, right?

But what the hell does that actually mean?

First off, there are two sides to the people story in any company or organization—communities included.

There’s recruitment and there’s retention. 

While these often seem like two totally disparate strategies to develop and employ, instead, we could think of them as two sides of the same coin. 

You can’t have one without the other. 

But unless your existing base of residents is totally different from what you want your community to look like—which, technically, could happen, but then I’d suggest you think of all the reasons those people helped you get to where you are today and that will be addressed in a later blog post—it makes the most sense to start with retention before starting to think about attracting anybody new.

If we only focus on getting new people and spend no effort or time to keep them, what a painful hamster wheel of effort. 

Doesn’t that sound just awful?

Businesses get this. 

Businesses know that it costs up to 25 times more to attract new people than to retain the existing ones. (That’s not just the world according to me either…that’s straight from the Harvard Business Review and we all know they don’t get it wrong. Ever.)

We need to become resident-focused if we want our communities to grow.

Now, before you jump down my throat because I am known to talk about the importance of visitorship and bringing in external money to clean up the local economy pool as solid strategies, hear me out.

This isn’t an either/or thing. 

It’s a both/and. 

Every single person that lives in my community is already creating the culture that exists here. 

In the absence of definition, culture still gets created. 

This is true in companies and it’s certainly true in communities. 

We can’t force a culture shift upon people and if there is any flaw in this notion that business growth relates to community growth, this might be it. 

In small towns, we don’t have a “boss” and we can’t fire people.

It’s much harder to implement a culture shift when people are totally independent and it seems as if there are no clear consequences for “stepping out of line”.

But again, I’ll posit that a small town is simply an organization. 

There is something that draws us all together; it’s our zip code. 

We belong to each other and until we start thinking like that, we’re going to miss incredible opportunities to rise as a community.

OK, so I’ve established that this is a soapbox kind of thing for me; now what the hell am I suggesting we do?

Fair point, dear reader. 

Let’s get down to some ideas about how we might go about this. 

But before I do, I want to reiterate that I’m not a government employee. I don’t think like one and I likely never will. 

I’m not on our city council. I’m not part of the city planning committee. 

Growing Small Towns currently has the economic development contract for my community and I approach this work through a people-centric lens. 

It’s definitely “out there” but I do engage with all levels of city leadership and the ideas I’m going to share are absolutely for any of those folks.

And they are absolutely NOT for just those folks. 

I made a decision after running Growing Small Towns for a year and meeting with hundreds of individuals trying to make cool shit happen in their small towns that I wasn’t going to ascribe to the notion that I have a “lane” I need to stay in. 

I want to support the individuals in every small town across America that wants more for their community and are fired up to make that happen. 

You don’t need an official title in your small town to do cool shit. 

These ideas are meant to be designed for anybody in their community who has the fiery passion and dogged determination to try.

I see you. I feel you. I get you. 

Let’s talk tactics.

• Be their biggest fans

This seems easy enough, right? 

Well, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen or heard this in your small town, but I’ve heard many people say to me that running a business in a small town is hard because locals are hard to please. 

I can’t say I always disagree but I also don’t think that should be the end of the conversation. 

There’s a tricky balance to customer service in a small town. 

It’s not uncommon for business owners to feel entitled to not only a successful business but the loyalty of local people because they’ve chosen to take the risk and open up a locally owned establishment. 

Even in the smallest of towns, it really doesn’t work that way. 

People have more choices than they ever have and we can’t ever take for granted that people have to choose us. 

This also means, we have to give them a reason to and the convenience of being right in our town might not be enough. 

If you wonder what that could look like, I encourage you to check out Episode 100 of The Growing Small Towns Show with Charlie Birch. We talk about this exact thing and it’s so important, especially now.

With that being said, this blog post is about how we, the people, can show our gratitude and fanaticism for the people making a big difference in our communities. 

Every day in every corner of your small town, people are stepping up to do things that make a difference. 

We damn well know that we know most people’s business most of the time, but asking you to acknowledge every cool thing that every cool person does is a heavy lift even for the nosiest of Meddling Mabels. 

No, I’m simply talking about paying attention to the people in your immediate circle and noticing them. 

Start with your own people. 

Here are a few random things one could acknowledge:

1. The mom at the bus stop who initiates singing Happy Birthday to your kid (true story)

2. The young gas station attendant who demonstrates a starkly contrasted set of customer service skills despite being in the i-Generation (We all know they’re entitled and have no work ethic, right?)

3. The volunteer who diligently waters the flowers on your Main Street because they’re so dang pretty and without water, they’d die and no one thinks dead flowers are pretty at all

4. The crossing guard at your school because well…safety first!

5. The government employee who actually shows up to their job with a smile and heart for service (looking at you, Post Office employees)

See what I mean here? 

This is a matter of paying attention. 

There are amazing things happening every day and they’re being done by people. 

Average, ordinary local people. 

We always say there’s this 80-20 rule; that 80% of the work in a community is done by only 20% of the people. 

Principles become cliches because there’s enough evidence to show a pattern, right?

But if every single one of us committed to acknowledging the little acts of every single person in our immediate circle, I’m suggesting that perhaps, that 20% can shift a bit.

Even 1%. 

What would happen if 1% more people got involved because they felt valued? 

Kind of cool to consider, yeah?

DO IT NOW:

Just take the five people you spend the most time with and start there. What are they doing that’s making a difference to you? Think about it and tell them, write them a note, or buy them a simple gift to show you that you appreciate their impact on your life. Try to identify the actual personality trait or characteristic they show that you love and appreciate. 

Cheer people on. Raw enthusiasm may be the cheapest (ahem, it’s FREE) and yet, the most underutilized way to show people we appreciate them. 

Be their biggest fan!

• Help them find their way

For people to feel seen, valued, and appreciated, they need to feel their unique talents, skills, and abilities are acknowledged and utilized. 

In my opinion, this is THE way forward for our small towns. 

Close your eyes and imagine the impact of every single person in your community being just slightly more “turned on” in their life. 

Can’t you just picture it?

Each person has a light to shine. This is the collective turning on of those lights! Our small towns would become beacons of awesomeness and hope! 

The Pareto Principle (the official name for the phenomenon mentioned above) wouldn't be a thing if more people felt like what they have to offer had a place to land. 

And it does! It SO does!

Our towns have so many ways for people to plug in and one of the biggest challenges here is to let our “set ways” be changed to allow for more people to get involved. 

So often, we get so married to the way we do things that we forget why we started the thing in the first place. 

If we can’t loosen up our grip on how things have to be done, we’re going to miss so many opportunities to engage locals in the cool stuff. 

When people get engaged in their community, it fosters that sense of belonging that makes them want to stay. 

In Oakes, we recently did a leaf auction to raise funds for our Chamber to purchase and develop a pocket park on Main Street. 

The idea itself came about because a Chamber board member saw this idea in another community and brought it up to see how it could look in Oakes. 

A local business got involved and laser cut oak leaves (our town’s streets are all named after trees) and then businesses sponsored “artists” to design custom pieces of artwork that then were auctioned off. 

When we first launched this thing, our expectations were pretty damn low. 

These leaves were made of steel. 

What would people even do other than just paint them, right?

Boy, what a grand experiment in gettings others involved!

We had 26 leaves to auction off and the mediums used included hand-dyed fiber art, needleworking, oil paint, acrylic paint, and decoupage.

Each piece was totally unique and people that don’t necessarily consider themselves “artists” were able to get involved. 

Hands down, this was one of the coolest things we’ve seen to engage the public and everyone seriously loved it!

Even a word like artist can feel charged and people start to doubt their contributions. Find ways to give people that boost of confidence. Art isn’t and never will be about the end product only. It’s about the journey and we need far more people to walk the path with us.

DO IT NOW:

Consider the things you’re involved with and what specific types of talents, skills, and abilities would really make a difference to the work. Now, either make a social media post asking for those types of people OR think of people you know that possess those. If people respond to your post, invite them to lunch or coffee and talk to them about the project. For those people you already know and think would be great, invite them to a meeting to learn more.

People are hungry to share their gifts. And they’re also hungry to be wanted for them so if we really want to show people we see them, we need to step out and invite them to join us. 

Let go of the rules you’ve clung to for decades. Let others get involved. And let them change the process. 

You might just be surprised at how many people will step up.

• Quit waiting for permission.

Yup, I said it. 

Far too often, we think that the only way to get things done in our small towns is to work within the system of government rule-makers and policy enforcers.

Sometimes, that’s necessary, to be sure. 

And when it is, good luck. It can be brutal. The government can’t and shouldn't act with the speed and innovation of the private sector because that’s not what they’re for. 

Where they are slow, black and white, and rules-oriented, we (the private sector in general) are adaptable, flexible, and vision-oriented. 

The two just aren’t easily mixed. 

So, instead of expecting them to get on board with your idea, why don’t you find a couple of other people who want to see it happen and start there? 

In my experience, I think the place we get tripped up is when we approach a board or council with our big idea and expect them to “do it”. 

If it’s our idea and we really want to see it happen, we have to be willing to step out and do what it takes to make it happen. 

We can’t outsource the love of our ideas to other people, no matter how convinced we are that they “should” do it. 

We can’t shame them into submission on this. 

I often hear small-town folks talk about the nepotism they feel exists; if your last name isn’t “so and so” then you can’t make any headway. 

Now, I’m sure there is some element of that in all communities, but if we’re to survive and thrive into the future, at some point, the argument about having the “right last name” has to fall away. 

The best ideas are the ones that get done. 

So quit expecting other groups to grab onto your vision and find your grassroots people to make it happen. 

The best way to grow ourselves is to try new things and this includes the implementation of an idea that you want to see happen in your community. 

How can you test it out in a way that doesn’t require the full backing of your city council or economic development board? 

Who are 2 or 3 friends that want to see this thing happen? How can they help?

If you’re reading this and you’re a part of those traditional structures that can hold us back sometimes, here’s a question to consider: what if the “rules” we employ were less about what we “can’t” or “won’t” do and more about what we “can” and “should” do? 

That reframe alone would make such a difference in how we think about growth in our communities. 

Attracting a large employer that’s not locally owned and offers sub-par wages isn’t something to bet on. 

What if, instead, we focused our efforts on building up local business owners within our own community? 

We already have people who have chosen us; let’s now choose to love them back. 

Bringing this connection between company culture and community culture back around, I want to share a quote that I often have shared in working with my clients: 

The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay. 

— Henry Ford, Founder, Ford Motor Company

This is certainly true in companies; we don’t want unmotivated and untrained employees to stick around. 

By the same token, we don’t want disengaged, disgruntled, and unhappy people to stay in our town. 

The answer?

I wish there were a magic bullet to figure this out, but I do and will continue to believe that we are the solution. 

We need to recommit to the people who are already here. 

We need to grow our own. 

They already belong to us. 

Let’s invest in them.

Let’s help them grow.

Let’s help them succeed. 

Once we honor the ones who are already here then we can start thinking about who we need next.

If you love the ideas we share about how to put the people back in communities, we’d love to have you consider joining us in our oh-so-special Small-Town Growth Club launching October 1! 

Click HERE to learn more and join the Waitlist—you’ll get the need-to-know information to make sure it’s right for you!