The Nature of Community Dialogue

Several months ago, I received this chart, "The Nature of Community Dialogue" from another concerned person who was interested in creating a more positive outlook in Hernando County. This chart lists community interests through participation, whether it is in the capacity of an elected official or just the average citizen. It breaks down the population by interest group and I thought you would enjoy reading the information, so I listed it below:

The Nature of "Community Dialogue"

• 3% Visionaries - a thoughtful leader but not necessarily in a position of power or influence.
• 10% Primary Leaders - people who by virtue of position, or placement, represent the decision making structure.
• 20% Thoughtful Leaders - people who inquire to learn, can appear at times to be initially skeptical but look for positive outcomes.
• 60% The Busy Middle - busy people living their lives in their community, wanting to know that things are being taken care of. They often have no reference point, or time to establish one, given the other day to day challenges that they face.
• 7% Naysayers - people who appear to be negative about everything or who posture for very narrow self interest. Their skill in framing their perspective, or selfish interest, within the context of "community interest".

The "community dialogue" is more likely to be one of hope and possibilities if Visionaries and Primary Leaders spend their discretionary energy communicating with the Thoughtful Leaders. The Busy Middle tend to generally be bandwagoners who naturally gravitate to where the "action" is regardless of merit. Visionary Leaders and Thoughtful Leaders often spend 50% of their discretionary energy attempting to address Naysayers and the "community dialogue" is often one of "despair" and "terribles".