In his book Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, Sebastian Junger writes about the lessons we can learn from soldiers and tribal societies about loyalty and the importance of community.

During the past 12 to 18 months our inner-city businesses have been very similar to soldiers doing battle. No guns, thankfully no deaths, but a battle to survive. Their enemy is ‘construction and its inconvenience’, their friend ‘change for the better’.

Their battlefield…time.

As a business owner and board member of a Business Improvement Association in the CBD, I have experienced firsthand the situation of business enterprises battling time. Some have lost, some have survived, and some have scars (debts) that will take time to heal.

I have also experienced a community that has dug in to support their own. Why would business owners volunteer their time to assist their competitors? Surely if a cafe fails it is of benefit to the one still standing?

In pure economics this may be so, but in communities, it is not of benefit. It means we have lost a member. We have lost one of our own.

This is the subtlety of new economics, the ‘triple bottom line’ – profits, people, planet. 

Of all of the meetings, workshops, strategy teams and policy lobbying I have been involved in within the business community over the past 18 months, the single most effective value I witnessed was community.

When times are tough, being aware that you are not alone is priceless.

Associations, be they armies of soldiers, churches of believers, fellow hobbyists, dapper gentleman bike riders, or footy teams, are an evolutionary reminder that we are not alone. That our values are valued by others.

To repeat Junger: “Being part of a community gives people a psychological buffer against their own demons”.

But, more than this, the like-mindedness, the sharing of common values and beliefs give us a sense of purpose unavailable to the isolate. If someone else holds similar key values, then I may not be the fraud or failure I think I am.

This feeling of belonging cannot be reigned down from on high. It cannot be synthesised by sound bites, photo opportunities and press releases from communications departments.

Spin doesn’t stick. And we Novocastrians have acute ‘spin meters’.

What sticks is the sense that you are among your tribe. And that the tribe members care for you. They would miss you if you weren’t around.

I have witnessed it during this recent disruption, and I am proud to have been part of an association that values its own. Armies of volunteers like myself are looking out for members of the tribe who need help. We sense the fears and anxiety because we are in the same tribe, small business.

Have we been able to ‘fix’ everything? No. Frustration has dogged us every step of the way.

The state government created a major problem deciding to shut off the entire strip of Hunter Street with no notice. The original plan of ‘block by block’ for 13-week periods would have been a challenge, the complete closure was, for many, unbearable. Lobbying the state to generate a Hardship Fund failed.

Meanwhile, being in business has an annoying financial environment that requires addressing certain priorities.

The rent, the power bills (wow), rewarding wonderful loyal staff for their work (pay), supplier payments.

However, no amount of money can buy a sense of belonging. No amount of promotion, spin, or publicity will generate a legitimate tribe. It generates itself. That is its strength, and why it is so hard to destroy.

Associations of humans with common beliefs and values are strong, and necessary.

I happen to serve within a Business Improvement Association, and I’ll admit it’s for a very selfish reason.

“When you live in a modern society and you’re not making any contributions to the group welfare, in an evolutionary sense you’re in a very vulnerable place. It means you are in danger. In evolutionary terms, being needed means that you’re safe”.

Thanks for the reminder Mr Junger.

Reflecting on revitalisation I have rediscovered values that are truly vital.