Politics and personality conflicts have a natural talent for standing in the way of progress, and it doesn’t just happen in government. Chances are good that you’ve seen this same problem raise its head in places like factories, stores, schools, or even sports teams. Someone tries to lay claim to every success and then quickly circles the wagons when there’s bad news. Fingers get pointed, people stop talking, and everyone loses.

As much as we hate to admit it, this scenario can also play out among a community’s economic development groups. Staying relevant in public perception is important to survival, and that sometimes leads to competition instead of cooperation. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Some of our team here at CommunityLink recently visited a nearby chamber of commerce to discuss the start-up of their upcoming book. When we walked in the building, we found three doors to choose from: the chamber office, the county’s development corporation, and the city’s convention & visitor’s bureau. During our meeting, the executive director of the chamber made it clear that he wanted his “neighbors” both involved and prominently mentioned in the new publication. He told us it was no accident that they were all under one roof, and that their camaraderie plays an important part in their community’s success.

As he spoke, I was reminded of two stories we published in the latest Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce Viewbook. In a section of the magazine entitled “Division of Labor – Singularity of Purpose,” there are two articles that point out how the economic development entities in this Georgia community are working together for the common good. Chamber President Myrna Ballard and VP of Business Development & Expansion Tara Nichols share insights as to how these relationships can and should work. Check these stories out at http://communitylink.com/us/ga/valdosta/book/ on pages 32 and 33 of the electronic version of the magazine.

Hopefully your chamber and the other economic development agencies in your region are working in concert as well, but if that’s not the case, it’s time to knock down some walls and start building trust. It may not be easy, but developing a cooperative relationship that makes the most of each organization’s strengths may be the most important thing you do this year to lay groundwork for future growth.

You’ve got enough competition outside your community, so show them a unified front from within.

Economic Development, Teamwork, Valdosta