What do Weyerhaeuser Company’s closing of two mills in Columbia Falls and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, (better known as Brexit) have in common? Both are examples of the consequences of overpromising but under-delivering.
Just a few months ago, right before the merger was approved by the shareholders, a senior executive for Plum Creek said about the Weyerhaeuser acquisition, “Once the merger is complete, Weyerhaeuser plans to continue manufacturing operations as they are in Montana right now … It will remain business as usual for all the mills.”
There’s lots of fingerpointing now about whether the mill closures are because of federal/EPA policies regarding timber harvesting, weakened demand for timber, or other reasons. But, if you’re one of the 200 folks about to lose your job because of a multi-billion dollar merger of two industry giants headquartered in Seattle, you probably don’t care too much. You probably care that someone else got richer at your expense and deceived you, for whatever reason, by saying you could expect business as usual.
A day after the announcement of the mill closings in Columbia Falls, Great Britain voted on whether to remain in or leave the European Union. In a surprise outcome, Britain voted to leave. Early analysis indicates that the vote appears to have broken down along increasingly familiar lines: older, less educated, rural and small town voters were more likely to have voted to “Leave” while younger, urban voters and those with more schooling voted to “Remain.”
Richard Cohen of the New York Times summed it up this way, “A majority of Britons had no time for the politicians that brought the world a disastrous war in Iraq, the 2008 financial meltdown, European austerity, stagnant working-class wages, high immigration and tax havens for the super-rich.”
There’s a lot to unpack here and it will take time to do so. I have no doubt that Columbia Falls will rally and that its future is bright. Columbia Falls’ folks are smart, resilient, and hardworking – a winning combination that I’m proud to be part of. As for Great Britain, well let’s hope that its independent future is bright, too.
But whether you’re in a small town or one of the world’s most distinguished countries, this overpromising/under-delivering thing … well, it’s proving to be a pretty bad strategy.
Diane Smith is the founder and CEO of American Rural where she works to create greater awareness of the growing opportunities for those who choose to live, work and prosper in rural and small town America. Learn more about Diane by following her column here or visit American Rural at AmericanRural.org.