Last Friday marked my two years in this position and as I look back over it all, the question that has been playing over in my mind is not only are we doing things right, but also are we doing the right things. Are we at the Chamber listening to our business community and what they are asking for? Are we recognizing the pressure points that they are experiencing? It’s easy going through two disasters in the last 14 months to lose sight of your vision and why. The plans we started out the year with may not come to completion, simply because like everyone we are learning the true definition of pivot. Maybe though this is what needed to be. Maybe this is another way for us to step back and really start to listen and as Edgar Schein says in his book Humble Inquiry “remain curious about the other person rather than letting our own expectations and preconceptions creep in.”
As we pivot, we focus on the economic recovery of our county, we focus on building deep lasting relationships with each business. We work to become better not only doing the job right but also the right things at the right time. We work to really understand what each sector is facing and how we can advocate, support and lift up those businesses.
I don’t have the answers of where we go from here. One thing I do know is that we will only see success if we all work together. We may not all agree on how to get there, but I think listening without expectations can get us there. Another quote that I have been focusing on, from one of my favorite books, “Getting to Maybe” says, “There are no perfect people. There are no perfect projects. We are not measured against perfection, only called to do what we can, to set out on an exploration to an imagined destination, an imagined good.”. Let’s dream, talk, plan, build, listen, and most importantly move forward together on our journey towards our imagined good for Mills County.