What’s Killing the Dayton Region? Critical Element No. 1

What’s killing the Dayton Region?

Those who have been engaged in working to save our region know the answer.  Those who have studied the elements of successful regions know the answer.  The leaders in the regional community know the answer.  The media, especially the Dayton Daily News, knows the answer.

Critical common elements of regions that have become successful, many facing significantly greater challenges then the Dayton Region, are:

1. Unload the baggage of the past the most important being the old guard leaders that keep trying the same old failed approach. A small group of well intentioned community/business leaders cannot impact in a significant way the direction of a region.  Their approach to generating change using a business model, that may be effective in the business environment, fails consistently in the community environment.  The days when the likes of John Patterson could dictate direction to a community have long past.  But today’s business leaders continue to think using the John Patterson model through a small group of business leaders, meeting in private and deciding what needs to happen, can somehow effectuate change.  It simply doesn’t work!  All you need to do is assess the lack of progress of the Dayton Region over the past 30 years for confirmation. Regions that have become successful have dumped this model of community development and change long ago.