I believe there is every possibility of making money if we apply the
right principles, understand how to use the resources we have available, and have faith in
each others ability. We will certainly do much better than we are now, relying on outside
corporations, government subsidies, and fluctuating prices for farm and ranch products.
Lets start by reading Michael Kahn's book The Tao of Conversation.
In it he talks of a barn raising seminar, where someone brings the group an idea or asks a
question. Even if these ideas are not thought out it doesn't matter. The community gathers
to build on that idea and put it together.
Kahn relates this community spirit with frontier barn raising where
the entire community would gather to help a family build a barn because they lacked labor
and other resources. The community would offer suggestions and improvements as they went.
This would mean there are no criticisms or attacks. In fact, once
the idea is brought forth, the individual who came up with it has no need to defend it.
The others in the group are to be the advocates of the idea. This way we are not fighting
each other's ideas but moving forward to a common goal. We are each other's advocates.
Of course, all the attitude and conversation change in the world
will not matter if everyone does not have a stake in the outcome. Everyone must be
stockholders. In this renewal plan everyone wins or everyone loses together or it will not
work. Only in this way will we utilize all our resources and work toward the common goal
of improving the small town economy. Let everyone have a stake in this claim!
There are many examples of these ideas at work today in the most
successful corporations in the world: Herb Kelleher's Southwest Air, Andrew Grove's Intel,
Sam Walton's Wal-Mart. These people know how to eliminate obstacles and get the job done
more efficiently. Everyone has the opportunity to be important contributing members of the
organization. As the organization grows, through this team effort, everyone has the
opportunity to make money and prosper.
Small towns can show the same initiative as these successful
corporations. We need some basic rules of conversation to change our attitude, a plan for
everyone to invest in so everyone can be a stakeholder, and faith in ourselves and each
other to utilize the resources we have. This way a small town economic renewal plan can
become a reality. Are we ready to begin raising the barn together?
