Finding The Resources You Need (Step Two of Three)

The following post is part two of three. Taken in order these three steps will help you get the resources you need to accomplish what's important to you... even making our local economy more resilient and prosperous.  

Step Two:  Be Specific!

"When we leverage, we aggregate and organize existing resources to achieve success."

-Richie Norton

Clarity about the desired outcomes of a resilient and prosperous local economy is the next step in getting the resources we need to make it a reality.  Be specific.  Ask questions that promote your best thinking on this important issue.  For example:  What outcomes are important?  What do they look like?  What advantages will they provide us?  

Consider a time frame: 90 days from today...  How has building a more resilient and prosperous economy improved our lives?  What advantages and benefits are we experiencing?  What about 6 months from today?  12 months?  2 years?  5 years?  10 years?  Why are these important?   

Again, the key is, be specific!  Only by creating a clear vision of our desired outcomes can we effectively move toward and achieve them.  "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." (Proverbs 29:18).

Let's focus on just three of the many areas vital to our local economy: Quality Employment, Attractive Community Amenities, and Inspiring Education.  

Quality Employment

Creating an environment that provides quality employment for our residents and attracts others to our community is certainly essential to a sound economy, if not the cornerstone.

So how do we define quality employment?  Is it more jobs?  How many?  What kind?  When?  Who will create those jobs? Where will we find individuals to fill these positions?  How much econimic value will these jobs create inside and outside our community?  Why will such quality employment move us toward a more resilient and prosperous economy, now and in the future?  How agile is our local workforce? How will they fare over the next 5 to 10 years and beyond?

Who will be the entrepreneurs that start companies that create products and services that are in high demand throughout the world and provide our residents and others with rewarding, high-paying careers?

Attractive Community Amenities

What community amenities are important to you?  How will they attract others that can help our local economy become more resilient and properous? Our community swimming pool, for safety and financial reasons, has been closed.  How does that affect the attractiveness of our community to others and ourselves?

What are other amenities that make for an attractive community; the reasons why we and others want to live here?  Is it our parks?  What about more shopping options?  Is it well paved and maintained streets and roads, well-landscaped sidewalks?  What are the things that we want to offer our children and that will attract others to our community?  How can a more resilient and prosperous local economy help provide these amenities?

Inspiring Education

What kind of atmosphere promotes a culture of inspiring education?  Above the basement entrance to the Snowflake Stake Academy Building is the quote, "Self-effort Educates".  What can we do to insure that education in our community is inspiring, whether it be "formal" or "informal"?  How can we insure that we are promoting life-long learning that encourages a resilient and prosperous economy for our residents and others?  What kind of learning models will help our residents (children, youth, and adults) develop their talents and abilities and make contributions to prosperity not only on the local level, but regionally, nationally and worldwide?

******

Being specific about our outcomes and committed to achieving them are essential to identifying and securing the resources we need.  It is not only important, but necessary to "drill-down" to the details!

"When we deal in generalities, we will never have a success, but as we deal in specifics we will rarely have a failure."

-Thomas S. Monson, President LDS Church

Next Post

Finding the Resources You Need (Step Three of Three)

What Do You Think?

As always, your constructive comments are welcomed.

******

The Silver Creek Economy 2014 blog is sponsored by Partnering Technologies, an Arizona-based Learning & Development Company.  Their focus is helping individuals and organizations learn, consistently apply, and master a skill-set that is always in high demand, always highly valued, and always highly paid.  Its founder is Jim Sanderson.

Visit their website at www.partneringtechnologies.blogspot.com and find out what they are doing to build a more prosperous economy for our community in 2014.