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FACING THE OBVIOUS

Writer's picture: Kenny McDonaldKenny McDonald

By Columbus Partnership President and CEO, Kenny McDonald - RDG Guest Blogger


"Nothing is so treacherous as the obvious." 

– Joseph A. Schumpeter


Communities are constantly measuring themselves against one another. Economic development teams typically know their strengths and weaknesses because they analyze them regularly and receive feedback from clients and site selection advisors. These hard truths can be difficult to hear, but they are rarely unexpected.

Good communities recognize their strengths and build upon them. They also acknowledge their weaknesses and tend to work around them. Great communities build upon their strengths and directly address their weaknesses, often turning them into a positive part of their growth narrative.

 

If your community faces issues like a housing shortage, limited water capacity, or underperforming schools, it’s reasonable for a site selection advisor to ask: What are you doing about it? It is also fair that if they come back a few years later and nothing has changed they question your commitment to fixing the issue. Most problems are obvious—we see them, and we often understand their cause. The question then becomes: when will you take the necessary steps to resolve it? As the quote above suggests, these problems can be treacherous to face and to fix. Are you ignoring the obvious as you build your economic development strategy? 

 

Let’s have a great week, face our most obvious challenges, lift each other up and move forward together.


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