There are benefits to working on business-led community and economic development, but many business leaders aren’t sure how to get started.
“We are at the forefront of the MIT Sloan leadership,” the MIT Sloan senior lecturer said at a recent convening of 70 business and academic leaders. Common principles to enable businesses to foster mutually beneficial development.
“As business leaders, we want our local economies to do well because it's good for business. And for some leaders who want to leave a legacy bigger than themselves or their company, that's about investing in the potential of people and places,” said Isaacs, who advises senior leaders and teams on organizational strategy and stakeholder partnerships.
In a follow-up interview, Isaacs spoke about ways to start investing locally in community and economic development.
1. Build a ladder to a bigger vision.
Start by identifying a specific goal to achieve or problem to solve. Imagine what the finish line will look like, then create small “ladder rung” goals with easy-to-remember names to help you get to your final goal, Isaacs says. This helps people set their direction and understand how they can contribute at each step along the way.
For example, consider the goal set by the late President John F. Kennedy in 1961 for the United States to reach the moon within 10 years. Rather than immediately attempting a manned landing on the first attempt, NASA began with the Mercury program, then the Gemini program, and finally the Apollo program.
Isaacs said a common oversight by leaders is to stop evaluating processes only when a problem arises or things have already gone off track. We also forget to celebrate and communicate small wins, which can be the start of complex change efforts. Incorporating pre-planned check-ins into project plans forces leaders to think about whether they are accomplishing what they set out to do and whether their investments are paying off as expected.
“Be calm when you don't reach your goals, and be equally calm about your progress,” Isaacs said.
2. Act with curiosity and good taste.
Once the vision and purpose are established, leaders must approach the local community with an intention to listen, curiosity, and an understanding or sense of the community and the context in which it operates. This approach allows business leaders to hear directly from members about what's going on in the community and understand their issues and concerns before proposing solutions and trying to get buy-in.
While there may be some common experiences and common trends across different communities, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and leaders can “cut and paste” what works in one place. It's important to remember that you can't expect it to work. I have had success elsewhere. Isaacs said business leaders need to recognize that their companies and communities are unique and must adapt their plans to reflect the region's history, culture, community and assets. said.
When Nate Streid began visiting Kroger's food manufacturing facilities as part of the grocery chain's sustainability leadership team, he wasn't sure how he could connect with local factory workers as a corporate leader. But Streid wasn't there for a cause; he was there as a student, to sense-make. In the mid-2010s, Kroger set a company-wide goal to achieve and exceed a zero-waste standard of 90% landfill diversion by 2025. As a first step toward action, Streid toured seven facilities identified as early adopters of this goal.
“He spent a lot of time listening, watching and asking questions to learn from local workers about food production methods and where waste comes from,” said Isaacs, who met with Strid in 2023. “He didn't dictate solutions, but instead asked questions, like, 'How would you do this differently?' The result was a variety of creative new waste reduction strategies specific to each community.”
Leaders act with curiosity, so they must be prepared to receive unpleasant answers. Isaacs said it's very likely they'll hear complaints when they open the door to be heard. However, “That's In fact, it’s even worse when people stop talking to you at all,” she said.
When leaders at Rush University Medical Center wanted to improve the health and lifespan of residents in the neighborhoods surrounding their Chicago hospital, they had to learn how to respond to neighbors who said, “We don't fully trust you guys” after experiencing other organizations' development plans that were over-promised and under-delivered. To build that trust, the medical center team met with local leaders on their schedules, in each neighborhood's space.
“If people want to talk, even if they're just venting their frustrations, that's actually a good sign. They're willing to engage,” Isaacs says. “Your job at that stage is to just listen and believe whatever their experience is. That's how you lay the groundwork for real dialogue.”
Isaacs said leaders who find themselves in situations like this should listen to the community and let it be known that they believe the experiences of community members.
“This is key to unlocking partnerships, especially when there is historical mistrust and trauma within the community. People feel like you are someone who is willing to listen and share their experiences. If you believe that is true, you have a starting point to build trust,” she said.
3. Bring the right people to the table to lead the effort.
The right people to lead these community and economic developments will be trustworthy and influential, foster relationships, act as mediators when trust begins to break down, and be people-centered and aligned with community values. A person with the perseverance and strength to drive change in the best possible way.
“Engagement is a dialogue between you and the world,” Isaacs says. “It's important to be clear about what you're passionate about and what you're good at, but not just impose your great ideas on the world as if you have all the answers. When you really listen to what people want and need, it sparks your own creativity and ultimately makes the solutions better. It's about business leaders and community leaders co-creating the future.”
