When Silicon Valley's top venture capitalist moved to a small Montana town, his colleagues thought he'd lost his mind. "You'll be irrelevant within a year," they warned.
Three years later, when rolling blackouts hit California and supply chains shattered, his former colleagues were calling him for advice. He'd mapped and integrated into the local power structure while they'd been optimizing for a world that no longer existed.
Understanding Local Power Dynamics
Formal Power Structure: - Mayor and city council - Business association leaders - School board members - Chamber of commerce
Informal Power Network: - The contractor who employs half the town - The grandmother who runs the informal childcare network - The retired sheriff everyone still calls for advice - The farmer who controls local food distribution - The mechanic who keeps everything running
Mapping Your Local Terrain
Susan created her local power map like an anthropologist studying a new culture:
Step 1: Observation - Attended every public meeting for two months - Visited local businesses during slow hours - Volunteered at community events - Listened 90%, talked 10%
Step 2: Documentation - Who speaks? Who do others watch when they speak? - Who solves problems? Who creates them? - Where do people gather? What do they discuss? - What are the unspoken rules and hidden alliances?
Step 3: Integration - Started where she could add value - Aligned with positive forces - Avoided existing conflicts - Built slowly but steadily
The Five Local Power Nodes
Node 1: Resource Controllers Those who control physical assets: property, equipment, supplies. In crisis, physical resources trump digital assets every time.
Node 2: Information Brokers The people who know everything about everyone. Usually long-term residents with deep roots and wide networks.
Node 3: Skill Masters Those with irreplaceable abilities: medical knowledge, repair skills, food production, security expertise.
Node 4: Connectors The social glue of communities. They might not have resources or skills, but they know who does and can make introductions.
Node 5: Influencers Not Instagram influencers. Real influence: the pastor whose word carries weight, the teacher everyone trusts, the business owner everyone respects.
Strategic Local Positioning
Mark identified five key players in his town of 8,000: 1. Janet - Runs the food bank and knows every struggling family 2. Bob - Owns the hardware store and extends credit broadly 3. Dr. Patricia - Only doctor accepting new patients 4. Miguel - Leads the informal Hispanic community network 5. Sarah - Coordinates homeschooling co-op for 100+ families
His approach wasn't to use them but to serve them. He volunteered at the food bank. Helped Bob modernize his inventory system. Connected Dr. Patricia with a telehealth platform. Taught computer skills in Miguel's community center. Provided curriculum resources to Sarah's co-op.
Within a year, Mark wasn't connected to the power structure. He was part of it.