{"id":71,"date":"2026-02-09T23:39:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T23:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/?p=71"},"modified":"2026-02-19T20:48:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:48:49","slug":"this-is-why-we-invented-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/this-is-why-we-invented-it\/","title":{"rendered":"This is Why We Invented It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t\t\t\t\"Picture2\"\n

\n\t\t\tWhy We Invented\t<\/h1>\n

\n\t\t\tBuilding Communities\t<\/h2>\n

\n\t\t\tNew Solutions to Old Problems\t<\/h2>\n\t

For generations, economics has been referred to as the “dismal science.”\u00a0 Communities try to focus on the future but it does not seem to make a difference.\u00a0 Effort goes unrewarded.\u00a0 In the meantime, nothing changes.<\/p>\n

It does not have to be this way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The table below shows how Building Communities has developed tools and a planning process that leads to…<\/p>\n\t

Overcoming the 8<\/em> Biggest Problems<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tBig Problem\t<\/h2>\n

\n\t\t\tBuilding Communities Tools and Processes\t<\/h2>\n\t

#1:<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Vision Statements <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

and<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mission Statements <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

are often generic<\/strong><\/p>\n

and worthless.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Community Elevator Speech<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Stephen Covey recommends “beginning with the end in mind.”<\/p>\n

We add that you should “end with the beginning in mind.”<\/p>\n

We do not begin<\/em> by gathering 20 or so people around a conference room table with flipcharts and spend hours only to generate a paragraph or two.<\/p>\n

Rather, we end<\/em> our process by asking very specific and penetrating questions to the people who care most about their community.\u00a0 By the end of the process, \"\"everyone has fully considered the challenges and possibilities for their community.<\/p>\n

Why do you care about your community?<\/p>\n

What is unique?<\/p>\n

What strategies\/initiatives\/projects are you most excited about implementing?<\/p>\n

The result becomes “Page One” of your plan.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

This captivating, concluding conversation becomes the stage-setting content that not only engages the plan’s reader, but also sets the community in motion.<\/p>\n\t

#2:<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Loud voices<\/strong><\/p>\n

frequently<\/strong><\/p>\n

smother<\/strong><\/p>\n

thoughtful ones.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Electronic Clickers<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

\u00a0In a group discussion, extroverts almost always dominate introverts.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Dominant people usually drown out thoughtful ones.\"\"<\/p>\n

Yet everyone who desires to participate in the strategic planning process wants their voice to be heard.<\/p>\n

Building Communities utilizes electronic response cards <\/strong><\/p>\n

(or “clickers”) to give everyone equal input into the process.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The result of the inputs are instantly projected on a screen so that everyone<\/p>\n

has immediate and valuable content on which to base decisions.<\/p>\n\t

#3:<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Capacity is<\/strong><\/p>\n

important…<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

…but very few<\/strong><\/p>\n

people know what<\/strong><\/p>\n

capacity is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Community Organizer Assessment<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Simply stated, capacity is the ability to get things done.\u00a0 In the context of community and economic development, this requires human, financial and technical resources.<\/p>\n

Communities have significant ability to invest in-and increase-community and economic development capacity.\"\"<\/p>\n

But how do you objectively measure this capacity?<\/p>\n

Building Communities invented the Community Organizer Assessment which asks a series of questions, each designed to measure and prescribe needed capacity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because we have incorporated capacity questions into our DASH™ software, the “next question” always depends on previous questions asked.<\/p>\n

The result: a tailored set of questions and<\/p>\n

“multiple choice” responses unique to every community.<\/p>\n

Building Communities takes the guesswork out of addressing capacity issues.\u00a0 Rather than just having a subjective conversation, communities immediately understand their capacity level, and what they can do to increase it.<\/p>\n\t

#4:<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

leaders are<\/strong><\/p>\n

unaware of all of<\/strong><\/p>\n

their options.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Strategy Wheel<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

All too often, communities only focus on the classic “Big-Two” community and economic development strategies: Business Recruitment<\/em> and \"\"Business Retention and Expansion<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Some communities may consider Entrepreneurial Development<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Most communities stop there.<\/p>\n

With the experience gained through facilitating the development of more than 60 community strategic plans, Building Communities has concluded that there is a menu of 25 viable strategies to consider.<\/strong>\u00a0 They are all presented on the strategy wheel.\u00a0 All strategies are reviewed and considered by all communities.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many communities may come into the process with a pre-conceived set of strategies they want to focus upon.\u00a0 That is okay.\u00a0 The time it takes to consider the remainder of the menu is presented very efficiently.<\/p>\n

And, who knows? Selecting and implementing new strategies and initiatives may be exactly what your community needs.<\/p>\n\t

#5:<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

People do what<\/strong><\/p>\n

they want<\/em> to do…<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

…not necessarily<\/strong><\/p>\n

what they should<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

do.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Key Success Factor Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

All too often, communities behave like individuals.\u00a0 They only do what they want to do.\"\"<\/p>\n

Being strategic, however, means selecting strategies with the greatest chances for successful implementation.<\/p>\n

For example, there are 17 Key Success Factors to successfully implement a Business Recruitment<\/em> strategy.\u00a0 Without comparative advantages for many of the factors, successful implementation of this strategy is difficult, if not impossible.<\/p>\n

In the first two hours of Plan Week, planning participants consider their\u00a0 <\/strong>community’s comparative advantage on all 88 factors <\/strong>relevant to successful community and economic development. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Considering Key Success Factors should not necessarily eliminate strategies from consideration-this important planning step simply identifies the “challenges which must be overcome,” if such strategies are selected.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\t

#6:<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

People do not like<\/strong><\/p>\n

the proverbial<\/strong><\/p>\n

report sitting on<\/strong><\/p>\n

the shelf…<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

…but reports still<\/strong><\/p>\n

sit on the shelf.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Essential Action Steps Planner<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

\"\"No one embarks upon a strategic planning process simply to build the plan.\u00a0 Everyone wants to experience the benefits they anticipate from implementing the plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Yet invariably, plans sit on the shelf.\u00a0 The four months that elapse immediately after the plan is adopted becomes the Bermuda Triangle of economic development.<\/p>\n\n

Building Communities solves this problem with its Essential Action Steps Planner.<\/p>\n\n

The Planner<\/em> is an on-line tool where planning participants chronicle their action steps, implement them, monitor them and report the results to the community, governing bodies, funders and other interested parties.<\/p>\n\n

The Planner <\/em>engages the planning participants to identify and chronicle their action steps-who<\/em> is going to do what<\/em> by when<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

But this is not a document that can sit on the shelf.\u00a0 There is no shelf.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

It is impossible for a Building Communities-based plan to sit on the shelf.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Welcome to effective strategic planning in the 21st<\/sup> century!<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

#7:<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Public input <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

and plan content<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

are often two <\/strong><\/p>\n

different things.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Voice of the Community Meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

\"\"From the onset, generic strategic planning is set up to fail.\u00a0 An out-of-town consultant, typically with little or no background on the dynamics and possibilities of a community, shows up and asks the generic question:<\/p>\n

“What do you want?”<\/p>\n

The feedback is then seasoned with the experience of the consultant, yielding a plan that may seem foreign to many of the planning participants.<\/p>\n

The result: a vast gap between public input and plan content.<\/p>\n

Building Communities has designed the public participation element of the process, the <\/strong>Voice of the Community Meeting, to integrate public input with plan output.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Planning participants are asked three questions.\u00a0 The first two questions relate to their thoughts about the desirability and feasibility of the 25 strategies.\u00a0 The third question allows for a more free-flowing conversation about “what is impacting the quality of life in your community?”<\/p>\n

Not only do planning participants have the expertise to contribute to the content of the plan, but their voices are always heard by the local Steering Committee members who use the input to select and refine strategies.<\/p>\n\t

#8:<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

Some communities<\/p>\n

are simply<\/p>\n

not conditioned <\/em><\/p>\n

for success.<\/p>\n\t

Civic Condition Assessment<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

This is the hard part.\u00a0 Anyone who has ever been forced to break a bad habit ultimately must come to the realization that “it is up to them.”\u00a0 That \"\"is, no form of intervention will be successful if there is not a firm internal commitment for change.<\/p>\n

The same is true for communities.\u00a0 This is called Civic Condition…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

…and we wrote the book on it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why Some Communities Succeed, Why some Fail-<\/em><\/p>\n

and What to do about It<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In our book, we not only discuss Civic Condition, but we relate it with civic capacity, civic strategies and initiatives, and civic action.<\/p>\n

Civic Condition is a touchy subject we do not take lightly.\u00a0 Depending on the community, we can administer our Civic Condition Assessment before, during or after\"\" the process.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Think of it as the “Mayor’s Crystal Ball” –a way to forecast the desire and ability of a community to successfully implement a strategic plan once it has been developed and adopted.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why We Invented Building Communities New Solutions to Old Problems For generations, economics has been referred to as the “dismal science.”\u00a0 Communities try to focus on the future but it does not seem to make a difference.\u00a0 Effort goes unrewarded.\u00a0 In the meantime, nothing changes. It does not have to be this way. The table…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97,"href":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions\/97"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildingcommunities.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}