Ready When the Phone Rings

An invitation came awhile back to speak on a “Small Town Success” panel at Northwest Oklahoma Alliance’s Teeny Tiny Town Summit in Woodward.

I asked, “What specifically do you want me to talk about?” The organizers had outlined a few of our economic development projects and said, “Just explain how you make it happen.”  Right. Got it. Yikes.

I thought about that conversation and remembered telling a friend that successful economic development is really just common sense. The challenge is putting that common sense into practice, especially when the stakes are high. That became my panel topic: Ready When the Phone Rings.

The principles aren’t earth-shattering or revolutionary. We know them. But knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things. In our community, we’ve been navigating two very different calls simultaneously: One announcing a regional employer’s impending closure and significant job losses, and another from a company with tremendous potential wanting to expand in our community.

One call brings uncertainty and the need to respond quickly. The other brings opportunity and the need to act quickly. Both require three things: Preparedness, adaptability and teamwork.

Preparedness. Build relationships locally, regionally, statewide and nationally before you need them. Economic development is an uphill battle if you can’t work effectively with people in your own community. Know your resources. Build relationships with bankers, investors, state agencies and grant partners. When opportunity knocks—or crisis arrives—you won’t have time to start from scratch.

Adaptability. Economic development has plenty of dead-end roads. A dead-end road is simply a great place to turn around. Too often, people reach one and stop. Successful communities turn around, find another road and keep moving. Funding falls through. Plans change. Projects hit obstacles. The ability to adjust without losing sight of the goal is essential.

Teamwork. We currently have a project involving more than 150 team members. No single person or organization can do it alone. Bring the right people to the table, communicate, share responsibility and trust one another. And accept that the team will make mistakes. Plan for missteps, learn from them and keep moving forward.

Small towns may not have the resources of larger cities, but we have assets that matter: Relationships, determination and people who care deeply about their communities.

We cannot control every phone call that comes our way. We can control how prepared we are to answer it. Economic development isn’t always about having the perfect plan. Sometimes, it’s about having the right people, the willingness to adapt and the determination to take the next step.

Be prepared. Be adaptable. Work together. Be ready when the phone rings.

JaNae Barnard, executive director of Major County Economic Development Corporation, can be reached via phone at 580-227-2512; or email at [email protected].