Disconnected community business advisors
Refer to the Case Study by Peter Sergeant in the Knowledge Base.
Where is the practical experience?
Two extremes plague ineffective community leadership and community developers. Either they nod their heads in agreement with the person at the head of the table. Or a dominant person ends the conversation, and the status quo remains. Disconnected people and businesses need to be brought into the fold.
What if I told you that becoming connected isn’t about doing more? You’re already working hard, putting in the hours, and following all the “right” steps. But the outcomes do not match your effort. Every marketer tries to sell you their blueprint for success and promises the “secret formula” to grow your organisation and the community.
People ask, “How can I improve my lifestyle, organisation, and community when the entrepreneurs are achieving amazing things and aren’t working 10X harder?” Entrepreneurs think differently, and they don’t obsess over what to do. They focus on the WHO and find the right business advisors.
We all have stories to tell, a skill to share, or a message to deliver. In today’s world, expressing your thoughts, ideas, and feelings has never been more effortless. The thing is to have the right advice at the right time in the correct format. It can’t be carried out forcefully from the armchair or the big city office; you must become involved and get your hands dirty.
Nothing much ever seems to happen.
Due to a lack of practical experience, new projects are started with much fanfare but are either delayed or never finished. Plans and projects always seem to stall before there are any beneficial outcomes.
Rumours of discontent are commonplace among self-proclaimed experts with no practical experience. Poor advice passed on to unsuspecting people desperate for action has created an era of discontent and even hostility towards community leaders and external advisors.
These self-proclaimed experts have little or no real-world business or regional community experience. Often, they have worked in government, big corporations, or financial institutions based in big cities. They have likely left their jobs to pursue a life in a regional area. Some hope to start an advisory practice or advise others about what is best for them based on their limited regional experience.
While these individuals may have valuable and valid advice to pass on, they are not prone to getting their hands dirty and prefer to work behind closed doors. They become like someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time.
It becomes essential to spot the red lights and understand them.
In today’s competitive market, communities are looking to create organic growth through operational improvements to maximise the value of their available funds.
While digital and content marketing have changed the face of community advisors and allowed external advisors to become more intimately involved, they still need practical experience.
What is needed is a more critical analysis.
An analysis should be followed by better problem-solving and decision-making skills, rather than just repackaging hearsay, and what the loud noises suggest should happen. The answers are in improving problem-solving and decision-making:
Many community advisors have vision statements that put people to sleep. If you handed your vision statement to a stranger, would they know what you intend to do?
Quotable Quotes
“Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines”. Robert Schuller
“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others”. Douglas McArthur