Unconsciously She Clips Their Little Wings

I had just been doing some work with a City Council who were determined to help their poor (whether they wanted help or not). We had talked at some length about Schumacher's first principle of aid - 'If people do not wish to be helped - leave them alone' - but was not sure that they had really heard me. It was just such a long way from their world!

When I got home I picked up the Ipod and the dog and went walking. When I walk I often just select 'shuffle songs' and enjoy whatever pops up. The first song was 'Mother Glasgow' by Hue and Cry and it just resonated - even though I only understand parts of it. (Can anyone shed light on the second verse?)

Mother Glasgow

In the second city of the Empire
Mother Glasgow watches all her weans
Trying hard to feed her little starlings
Unconsciously she clips their little wings

Mother Glasgow's succour is perpetual
Nestling the Billy and the Tim
I dreamt I took a dander with St. Mungo
To try to catch a fish that could nay swim

Among the flightless birds and sightless starlings
Father Glasgow knows his starlings well
He won't make his own way up to heaven
By waltzing all his charges in to hell

And the tree
And the fish
And the bird
And the bell…

Let Glasgow Flourish!

What is the Sirolli Institute?

“We are an advocate for a civic economy, a model of development that supports the creation of wealth from within your community by nurturing the intelligence and resourcefulness of your people. We champion the development of community pride through the passionate mentoring of local talent.

We promote quality local enterprises that

• diversify the economic base,
• create jobs,
• respect the natural environment and
• infuse the community with local vigour and content.

We support home businesses, mixed use areas, liveable cities and the emergence of a civic society.

The methodology we use in achieving indigenous growth is Enterprise Facilitation® a social technology that is recognised as a viable complement and, at times, an alternative to traditional top down economic development strategies.

Enterprise Facilitation is based on the passion, entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity and the fundamental needs for love, respect, quality and beauty found in every community. It maintains that every object we use, the clothes on our backs, our houses, our food, our music, our beliefs and our pathways in the forest are the result of passionate people transforming their talents and visions into good work.

The “economy”, to us at the Sirolli Institute, is nothing less than millions of people doing beautifully what they love doing. The better they are at it, the better the economy! The difference between poverty and riches is the presence, or not, of civic society, i.e. the combination of social conditions and reciprocity which allow creativity and intelligence to blossom or to wither and die.”

Dr. Ernesto Sirolli

Zen Entrepreneur: The Bootstrapper’s Dilemma

Zen Entrepreneur: The Bootstrapper’s Dilemma

This is a great post that I think describes well a dilemma that is experienced by many new starts. For me the acid test is: Would this be work that I would love to do, and can I do it really well? If the answer to both of these questions is a genuine and resounding YES - then perhaps the marketplace is trying to tell you something?

The Growth Entrepreneur

"The most valuable new firms tend to be those with high growth potential."
Kauffman Thoughtbook 2007 p 121

Most valuable to whom is the question.

Recently I have met three small business owners who are all resisting the pressure to grow. They have the potential - but not the aspiration. They are all small businesses employing people, paying mortgages and feeding families. And their owners are people doing beautifully what they love to do - and they want to keep it that way.

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Deficient or Sufficient?

You may be interested in a new Brookings Institution report, "Restoring Prosperity", that makes the case for the state's role in the revitalization of older industrial cities -- indicating that parks were used in the past to shape cities, and can be used to help remake them today. Here's an excerpt:

"states need to recognize and leverage the physical assets of cities that are uniquely aligned with the preferences of the changing economy, and then target their investments and amend outmoded policies so as to help spur urban redevelopment. States should focus their resources on upgrading crumbling infrastructure in cities and older areas; provide support for major
projects—such as waterfront redevelopment or improving large public parks—that have the potential to catalyze reinvestment in the core; and implement laws and policies that encourage, rather than inhibit, the management and marketability of vacant and underutilized urban properties."

To read the entire report or an executive summary, see the link : http://www.brook.edu/metro/pubs/20070520_oic.htm

Now this is a great example of a 'deficiency led' approach to regeneration. The underlying belief is that

"our city is not doing as well as it could because it does not have enough of the 'right kind of people'. If we can attract more of the 'right kind of people' to make us economically prosperous then everything will be all right. So let's beautify the parks, build wonderful office spaces with subisdised rentals and then attract the 'right kind of people' into the city. Once we have done this they will create jobs and the wealth will trickle downwards and outwards to local people as they get jobs. As long as we can attract more of the 'right kind of people' than competing cities we will indeed 'move up a league'."

The logic is, on the surface at least, sound. This thinking results in large scale investment and visible improvements in the city (which developers and politicians like). Along with the great office space, modernised railway station, growing airport and the investment in parks may also come a half dozen or more lap-dancing clubs and a night club and bar scene that is at best a 'mixed blessing' but well that is the price of prosperity in a modern city.However the money does not trickle downwards and outwards. Local people on the whole do not benefit from the jobs created - certainly not the well paid ones - and the gap between the rich and the poor in the city continues to widen.

Now supposing that we had made some different assumptions? That local people have passion, skill and aspirations? That if we develop a process that enables local people to explore and develop their own skills and passions, and use them to make a living doing work that they love - then who knows what they might achieve? This model of development assumes that all of the resources that a community has for its own sustainable development are already there. They just need to be harnessed.

This is based on an assumption of sufficiency. And it can work.

Sirolli Institute Volunteer of the Year Award

The Sirolli Institute - International Enterprise Facilitation® Inc. is proud to announce the Sirolli Institute Volunteer of the Year is:

Mr. Bret Mills of Anton, Texas.

Mr. Mills is the Chair of the WesTex Allied Communities Enterprise Facilitation project operating in Lamb County and Anton, Texas and he has been nominated by Mrs. Laura Harding, the Enterprise Facilitator servicing the project.

The nomination read as follows:

“With an absolute passion to improve the lives of those who live in his communities, and with a complete understanding of the Sirolli model, Bret has worked tirelessly to make WesTex Allied Communities an unrivaled success in Texas. Further, Bret’s belief in this project has prompted him to work with other communities to expand the Sirolli Enterprise Facilitation model throughout this great state, sacrificing personal time to do so, so that others can live the transforming experience and restoration of hope that Enterprise Facilitation can bring to them and their communities.
It is my honor to nominate Bret Mills for this prestigious award.”

Laura Hardin, Enterprise Facilitator.

The Volunteer of the Year Award has been created by the Sirolli Institute to allow Enterprise Facilitators to honor the individual who has helped them the most during the often challenging initial months of their new careers. Only Enterprise Facilitators undergoing training can nominate Chairs, Board Members or community mentors to be considered for the award. The Sirolli Institute, in making the final adjudication, considers not only the services in supporting the Enterprise Facilitator but also the volunteer “passion” for Enterprise Facilitation and their advocacy among the community at large.

Bret Mills has been an indefatigable champion for Enterprise Facilitation and we are proud to present the Inaugural Sirolli Volunteer of the Year Award to him.

As recipient of the award Mr. Bret Mills is the official Sirolli Ambassador for the year 2006/2007 and will be offered the opportunity to visit a community in training, either nationally or internationally, at his convenience and in consultation with the Institute, all expenses paid.

We sincerely hope that Bret will enjoy sharing his passion and considerable experience with communities that are celebrating their own Enterprise Facilitation projects and that he will take some of that special “can do”, Texan approach, with him!

Rise of the Creative Class

Richard Florida's Rise of the Creative Class (2002) argues that regional/community development depends on: novel combinations of knowledge and ideas, that certain occupations specialise in this task and that people in these occupations are drawn to areas providing a high quality of life Therefore Florida argues that an essential development strategy is to create an environment that attracts and retains these 'Creative' workers. An analysis of recent development in rural US counties, which focuses on natural amenities as quality of life indicators, supports the creative class thesis.

Evidence from urban areas also shows a strong relationship between creative class presence and growth, although natural amenities play a smaller role.

It seems to me that the focus of Enterprise Facilitation is less on attracting the creative classes by providing great amenities. It is more about valuing and developing the creative and collaborative potential in local people.

Wasn't it Schumacher who said that all of the resources a community needs for its own development are always already present?

Enterprise Facilitation: Growing Entrepreneurs One Contact at a Time

Article by Patty Clark
Director of Community Development
Kansas Department of Commerce

Owning your own business is the dream of many Americans, and more Americans than ever are taking advantage of opportunities to become entrepreneurs. This trend is especially promising for rural communities, where homegrown businesses are fuelling economic growth a handful of jobs at a time.

Like other rural places in the Great Plains, many small, agriculture- based Kansas communities have been losing population as the next generation chooses not to return to the farm. However, new and exciting efforts are under way to create economic opportunities in Kansas from the inside out. Many of these initiatives began at Prosperity Summits – interactive workshops held around the state about the future of economic development in Kansas – at which there was a resounding call to focus time, energy and resources on the rural communities that are the state’s backbone. One of these initiatives is “Enterprise Facilitation,” a concept the Kansas Department of Commerce implemented in 2001 to help rural entrepreneurs get started and keep their businesses thriving.

Few people had heard of Enterprise Facilitation at that time. The brainchild of Ernesto Sirolli, founder of the Sirolli Institute in Sacramento, California, Enterprise Facilitation is a model that cultivates a “barn-raising”mentality among citizens, which can then be applied to business development. Sirolli’s program is being used successfully in rural areas throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. The Kansas Department of Commerce contracted with the Sirolli Institute to use its regional approach to economic development in Kansas.

Enterprise Facilitation uses the best resource rural Kansas has – its own citizens – to jumpstart the process of increasing local capacity. Business owners are motivated by different needs, but those taking advantage of entrepreneurial networks such as Enterprise Facilitation generally fall into these categories:

• Lifestyle entrepreneurs – individuals with a desire to live in or move to rural communities and would like to see their quality of life and communities prosper through more job creation.
• Growth entrepreneurs – existing entrepreneurs who want to enhance their communities by expanding businesses to create more jobs and better resources.
• Immigrant entrepreneurs – second and third generation immigrants who possess a desire to become successful business owners and operators.
• Transitional entrepreneurs – agricultural producers who must transition to more value-added and direct marketing business creation, and former employees of manufacturing firms who have lost their jobs to out sourcing or downsizing.
• Youth entrepreneurs – enthusiastic and less risk-averse youth who want to start their own businesses.

Through Enterprise Facilitation, communities take ownership of their future and create an entrepreneurial culture in a system-based, accountable approach to business and job creation.While still in their early stages, these projects are already showing promise not only as a way to create new jobs but also as a way to create a renewed sense of community.

There are now five separate Enterprise Facilitation projects throughout Kansas, organized in groups of five to six counties:Western Kansas (including Wichita); Prairie Enterprise Project, in central Kansas; Sunflower, in south central Kansas; QUAD, in the Southeast; and Northeast Kansas. Each region faces unique challenges and opportunities, but by drawing on local resources, they are finding success.

How Enterprise Facilitation works

Enterprise Facilitation operates under the premise that an individual possesses the skills and passion to perform one or possibly two functions of operating a business – marketing, production or financial management – but can’t operate a business effectively without assistance in those areas where talent or passion are lacking.

Communities start by forming an Enterprise Facilitation board that is a broad representation of the communities and various stakeholders within their region. Citizens are invited to serve on this board and are interviewed by consultants from the Sirolli Institute. Between 35 and 50 citizens are selected and each citizen must attend board training sessions, which are the first step in developing local capacity. The board is engaged, in a confidential way, to use local knowledge and resources to help entrepreneurs create a product or service, market it, or build financial management capacity.

The board receives training from the Sirolli Institute on developing policies and board member responsibilities and on recruiting an Enterprise Facilitator. A professional search is conducted to hire the Enterprise Facilitator, who along with the new board members, receives one-week, in-depth training to build local capacity. Key among the responsibilities of the board is the personal commitment board members make to introduce the Enterprise Facilitator to 10 people each. This creates a network through which potential entrepreneurs can learn that a free, confidential service is available, and the Enterprise Facilitator can learn of entrepreneurs who are looking for assistance. The goal is not only to make connections in the short-term but to create a sustainable, long-term network for entrepreneurship.

The Enterprise Facilitator makes connections between entrepreneurs and various people in the community who can assist with business development. Facilitators rely on the introductions of their board members to advertise their services and let the entrepreneur initiate the working relationship. The board training and salary of the Enterprise Facilitator are paid with funds raised locally from local public and private sources.

One example of Enterprise Facilitation at work is the experience of Diamond S Manufacturing in Eureka. Mark and Denise Stewart are not typical entrepreneurs. Mark owns a ranching operation and a manufacturing and welding business, while his wife Denise operates a family-owned retail store, a Laundromat and oversees several rental properties.

The Stewarts were familiar with the type of help available through Enterprise Facilitation. They saw the opportunity to combine what they were doing at Diamond S Manufacturing with the services provided by Denner Welding, a long-time Eureka business whose owners were ready to retire.Without a buyer for the business, the community would lose a shop for farm equipment repair and other services the Denners had provided.With the help of the QUAD Enterprise Facilitator, the Stewarts negotiated a deal to purchase all the assets of Denner Welding and expand their operation in Eureka. This helped retain jobs that otherwise would have been lost, and also maintained valuable services in the community.

The benefits for Kansas communities

Enterprise Facilitation creates jobs, draws together resources and helps companies prosper. Perhaps equally important, it also can provide a reality check for entrepreneurs who are looking to get started. They may realize after talking to the Enterprise Facilitator and putting a plan in writing that their business might not be profitable, an assessment that ultimately can save money and effort from being put into an enterprise that is unlikely to succeed. It isn’t the Enterprise Facilitator’s role to tell the entrepreneur if the idea will work or not, but the Facilitator can help the person to put the pieces of the business puzzle together to determine the chances of success for themselves.

To date, using $1.26 million in state investment and approximately $312,000 in local investment, Enterprise Facilitation projects have assisted 663 clients, created 64 businesses, retained 34 businesses, expanded 20 businesses, and created or retained 302 jobs. After initial setup of an Enterprise Facilitation project, the cost per job created averages less than $3,000. For rural Kansas, that’s money well spent.

See the original article online here