Don’t Bet the Farm – Collaboration in the Rural

There’s a piece of research I love by a scholar named Sim Sitkin called “the strategy of small losses.” In plain language, it means this: don’t bet the farm. Try small things you can afford to lose, learn from each one, and use what you learn to make the next move smarter.

If that sounds familiar, it should. It’s Idea Friendly through and through. The Idea Friendly Method is: Gather your crowd, build connections, take small steps.

For those of us working in rural places, we know there’s no extra money sitting around. There’s no endless supply of volunteers.

And when something flops in a small town, everybody knows.

That’s exactly why the Idea Friendly Method is so powerful. It lets you try real things without burning yourself out or betting everything on one roll of the dice.

Because here’s what happens when a group pins everything on one big opportunity: If the grant doesn’t come through, if the project stalls, if the moment passes, the whole thing can lose momentum in a heartbeat. People get discouraged. Meetings quietly stop. The energy just drains away.

The Story

Tionesta, PA is a town of 500 people. It’s between the Ohio River and the Allegheny Mountains. One entire block of their downtown had a large business on it, and it burned down. The powers that be were waiting on that one big ticket, that huge business that would come in and build and put people back to work again.

It sat empty for ten years. TEN YEARS. Imagine looking at your idea failing for ten years. There was no savior big business coming.

One day a member of the Economic Development group had a crazy idea. He proposed they put garden sheds on that empty lot. They could run electricity to them. They would be a small business incubator. Another member liked the idea but only if they put facades on the sheds to match the rest of downtown. The board decided this was a project worth trying. And they were tired of waiting for a large industrial concern.

This was 11 years ago, and the Market Village is still there. 11 garden sheds with matching facades hosting businesses like a man who makes fly fishing lures, local artists, a bbq place, a winery from out in the country, a baker from another nearby town and more. There is a grassy area where music is often played and folks come to town to enjoy the entertainment.

For the Economic Development folks, this was a small step they could try (and afford). The lot had already sat empty for ten years – they have nothing to lose trying a new idea.

The Lesson

The time comes when you just have to try something. Take a small step. Long-haul collaborations  stay together because they trust each other, they’ve built a network one small step at a time.