Catching Up With Koios

While I am woefully behind on my blogging (as with many other areas of my life, it seems), I thought I would at least try to catch up on reporting about the new members of the Chamber whom I've been welcoming.

Back in April (April??? Was it that long ago?), I met with Mark Robinson of Koios Consulting Group, LLC. Mark has an office in downtown Ann Arbor. It's a neat old building on Washington Street and he's up on the fifth floor with a window looking out on the city.

Mark doesn't get a chance to look out that window very much because Mark is busy. He works developing economic evaluations of a company's intellectual property. Sometimes this is for lawsuits (perhaps where one company is infringing on the IP of another) and other times it is to help with the valuation of a company. Either way, as you can imagine, there is a tremendous amount of paperwork associated with these efforts. While the desks and tables in his office were organized, they were groaning under the load of work he had. Obviously he's providing great service and is much in demand.

It's always good to see someone thriving in these "challenging economic times".

Anyway, if you see him walking around downtown, be sure to say hello and ask him how business is doing.

BTW, watch this space for a completely underwhelming announcement next week!

So, how are you thriving in these "challenging economic times"?

Do I Smell Bacon?

A few months ago I wrote a post about a new member in the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce, James Macsay of Radio Free Bacon. Well, after wowing them at the Chamber's networking breakfast, RFB has now started their second season.

For those who aren't familiar, RFB is a local audio variety show -- think "Prairie Home Companion" with an Ann Arbor flair -- performed live at one of Ann Arbor's landmarks, Zingerman's Roadhouse every Sunday from 3-5pm. If you can't make the live performance, you can always tune your radio to 107.1 as they will be broadcasting live. If you aren't local, you can still tune them in as 107.1 has a live streaming feed from their website.

You don't have to take my word for it. Everyone that I've talked with who's seen the show raves about how much fun these folks are. Be sure to check them out if you get a chance.

So, when was the last time you were at a live radio presentation?

The Future for Artrain

I was out at a Chamber of Commerce networking event tonight at Katherine's Catering. Lots of fun people and, not surprisingly, piles of delicious food. While I was there, I ran into my friend Brian Tolle.

Brian, in addition to running the Tolle Group, a business leadership consulting firm, is also the Vice Chair of Artrain USA's Board of Directors. He was the one, some months ago, who first told me that Artrain would be leaving the tracks and going on the road.

Brian introduced me to Debra Polich, the President and CEO of Artrain and the three of us spent some time chatting about the future of the mobile museum. Ever since I found out that Artrain wouldn't be on a train anymore, I've been intrigued by the solutions they were considering. As I mentioned in a previous post, they were looking at putting them on semi trucks -- and not just any semi trucks...

... transformer trucks.

No, really. I know it's hard to imagine, but these vehicles can roll into any large parking area and before you can say "Optimus Prime", they will convert into a full-fledged museum.

I can see that you're having trouble visualizing, so you might want to check out the video of how it will all work.

So, would you go to see Artrain if it rolled into your town?

Baskets and Bags

Mary D'Alessandro

I had the opportunity today, in my role as an Ann Arbor Chamber Ambassador, to welcome a new member to our boisterous group. This time, the lucky recipient of the coveted Welcome Bag was Mary D'Alessandro, owner of Baskets and More, here in Ann Arbor.

Now before you say "Oh, another gift basket company," you should take some time to check out her offerings. I took just a few minutes to look over her online catalog and was amazed by the variety of different baskets she offers -- and these aren't just your average fruit baskets. From food (of course), to pet toys, to garden hoses, her products hold almost everything under the sun.

If you can't find the perfect basket for your needs, she will work with you to build a custom masterpiece. She told me that one executive actually had her create baskets with complete steak dinners in them. Wouldn't that be a nice surprise?

Well, OK, not for me, since I'm a vegetarian, but you get the idea, right?

I chatted with Mary for over an hour. In talking with her I found that she really knows how to build her business and always has an eye out for opportunities. We were glancing over her complimentary copy of the Ann Arbor Business Review and not a page went by where she didn't find someone for whom she's made a basket. Obviously she knows how to keep her customers happy.

If you find yourself in need of a unique gift for a loved one or a business contact, you could do far worse than giving Mary a call. Tell her Greg sent you...

... It won't get you anything special, but I'm sure she'd get a kick out of it.

So, what was the best gift basket you've ever received?

Welcome Bag and a Small World

I'm slowly catching up with my life now. It's cool, because that means that this story is only two weeks old (OK, two and a half). But seeing as my story about the Black Belt graduation was two months, I figure that it's progress.

I had a chance to sit down with another new member of the Ann Arbor Chamber a couple of weeks ago. Bill MacConnel of Next24, Inc was a lot of fun to chat with. He has a boundless energy and positive outlook about him that just couldn't help but lift your spirits.

Bill had started his company only days before we met, but I could tell that, with the kind of enthusiasm and "dive in" spirit he has, that the customers of his advertising media firm will undoubtedly be very happy they decided to go with him. Of course, Bill has actually been in the ad business for many years, but finally decided that he was ready to commit to the next chapter in his life. Hmm. Sounds familiar.

Ironically, when we were talking we hit on the subject of the martial arts. It turns out that his son is taking Judo classes from Nick Suino down at the Japanese Martial Arts Center. Nick was the same guy who helped me prepare for one of my black belt tests. Nick also happens to be a lawyer who specializes in the needs of small business and who will be helping me with some aspects of Cyber Data Solutions, LLC.

But, back to Bill. If you do happen to run into him at one of the Chamber events, be sure to say hello. I guarantee that if you catch even the smallest amount of his energy you'll be ready to climb mountains!

So, whom have you met recently that re-energized you just by setting a great example?

The Old Song and Dance

Victor Herbert, Composer

OK, well, the song, anyway.

I was chatting today with a good friend of mine, Tom Petiet, whom I had met through the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce (he and I are both in the Ambassadors group together). In his day-job, Tom is the designer and illustrator extraordinaire behind Concept Studio, a local commercial arts services firm. In his free time, though (and I do mean all of his free time), he is the managing director of Ann Arbor's Comic Opera Guild.

It turns out that the COG has a production next weekend. For anyone who's been a part of a stage production, you know that things are pretty much at their craziest right now. Tom did take some time, though to let me know what was going on. I thought I would let everyone know the details, just in case any of you might be interested.

They're performing a concert presentation of "The Fortune Teller" by Victor Herbert (the same composer who brought us "Babes in Toyland"). They'll be holding the shows on February 8th and 9th at 8pm both nights. The venue is a little outside of Ann Arbor, but well within reason, as they'll be at the The Village Theater, 50400 Cherry Hill Road in Canton, MI. You can check out the theater website for purchasing tickets. Tom said that the shows will very likely sell out, so if you are interested, you might want to pre-order now.

I'm not an aficionado of light opera (though I do enjoy it), but apparently this is a pretty special showing as, according to the COG website, this will be the first time in over a half a century that any group has performed this work in its entirety. I guess it's pretty unusual for classics like this to be revived. So, if you are in the mood for music, fun, and comedy, be sure to check out "The Fortune Teller" next weekend.

So, what was the last stage performance you attended? When was that?

Speedy Bag Delivery!

... If not a speedy reporting of such.

Well, life seems to have fallen into more of a groove now. On the personal side, we were able to locate a nanny for little Kaylie. Cara has been an absolute god-send for us. Now I can slowly dig myself out from under all of the tasks that have been piling up on my desk.

The first thing I wanted to get off the pile is more of a joy than a "task".

Just before the new year, I got a chance to chat with and deliver a welcome bag to one of the newest member of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce, James Macsay. Now, when James gave me his business card, it was for "Macsay & Associates, Inc." and it claimed that he specialized in "Organization Development and Communication".

Pretty exciting stuff, right?

It may well be, but the reason he joined the Chamber was in his persona as "Jimmy Mac", one of the ringleaders who produces and hosts "Radio Free Bacon".

Yes, you read me correctly. That's "Radio Free Bacon", as in the breakfast side-dish. RFB is a group who presents a series of live audio shows, somewhat reminiscent of NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion". In this case, though, the variety is definitely home-grown Ann Arbor. In fact, they recorded the last series at Zingerman's Roadhouse, a popular local eatery.

They are gearing up for their 2008 series right now. The new shows will start on May 18 and will again be at the Roadhouse. There's also some talk that one of our local stations WKQI 107.1 may broadcast the shows. Check out the Radio Free Bacon website for more information and to listen to archived versions of the show.

So, does your community have it's own radio variety show?

Passionate Creativity

Tonua Brown of
Frog Island Creative Services

I had the opportunity to deliver another welcome bag for the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce today. This time I got to meet with Tonua Brown of Frog Island Creative Services.

Tonua (pronounced Tonya) and her partner Paul Stacy bill themselves as the "marketing department for small businesses". Their goal is nothing less than to make the little guys look like big guys. They apparently have the skills and resources necessary to do just that. In our conversation we talked about everything from the smallest "brochure" website, to presentations for trade shows, to making corporate videos. They can do it all.

And for them, it's not only all business. The Frog Island name also has an entertainment division, Frog Island Films. Over the past few years, Tonua and Paul have worked to produce (as well as write, film, edit, direct, cast, etc) a film with the intriguing name "The Friends Guide to Beer & Sex." According to the film's site, it's currently in post-production and they are in the process of finding venues in which they can screen their epic.

In chatting with Tonua, I was immediately struck by the enthusiasm and passion she has for whatever she's doing. Her response to me just telling her about the opportunities provided by the Chamber got me excited about being a member!

If she can do that to me in our brief conversation, I can only imagine the amazing marketing solutions she has for small businesses in our area.

So, who was the last person with whom you spoke who figuratively shone with enthusiasm?

The Evolving Networker

Back some years ago, I took the Certified Networker training course. It had a lot of great ideas and systems to help make business/social networking more effective. One of the concepts it tried to drill home was that when you join a group, whether it's the local Chamber of Commerce, BNI, or the Royal Fraternity of Weasel Trainers, it takes time and effort to make that association pay off -- usually on the order of six months to two years.

Good thing I have patience.

Those who've been following my exploits for a while know that I've been participating in the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce for about a year and a half now. Today I was acting as an Ambassador (read greeter and volunteer host) at the Morning Edition networking breakfast. I'd done this many times before, but today seemed different. In the past I could act confident. I would do my best to point people in the right direction and occasionally be able to connect two people.

Today, for some reason, I was confident.

It was like every time I spoke with someone, a little voice inside my head would tell me "Introduce them to Bob", "They need to talk with Carol", or "It sounds like they would really benefit from Leadership Ann Arbor." I actually felt like I had something that I could give to my fellow attendees beyond directions to the buffet table.

Why, I might even be a Networker!

So, in what groups are you a Networker?

Long Distance Radio

While I am still on vacation today, I did manage to get some work done. I made a few calls, did some programming and even cleared out an email or two.

And I recorded a podcast.

OK, to be accurate, I was interviewed as a part of someone else's podcast, but let's not quibble over semantics.

Debby Peters (yes, she is a relation) of CNP of Ohio, Ltd interviewed me as a guest on her biweekly podcast, Networking on the Chin. We used a pretty cool, free service called Talkshoe. It does everything for you except actually speak. It provides a central phone number where people can call in. It posts the description of the episode. It does the recording and streams it during the show and then provides it as a download afterward.

People can even choose whether they want to connect by phone or through the Web interface. All in all it's a pretty slick setup.

So, if you are considering immortalizing your words of wisdom, you might want to check them out.

Here's the recording I did today:



Or you can download the audio to listen later (9.4M)

So, have you ever recorded a podcast? What tools did you use?

Cleaning up the Computer

As I sat down across from Jeff Morris of Hybrid Technology and Training Partners, he struck me immediately as a very focused person with a keen eye for the details. When I later found out that he served as a police officer in Oak Park, Illinois for three years, I wasn't a bit surprised.

I'm sure that some of those skills he picked up from back then serve him in good stead when tracking down the problems his clients experience with their technology.

Jeff just recently joined the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce and it was my lucky responsibility as an Ambassador with that august institution to deliver his welcome materials. I do enjoy getting out to meet new people and getting a chance to connect with another techie is always a blast.

Jeff just recently started his business (about six months ago) and already he's developed a host of satisfied clients. Mind you, the folks he works with aren't stupid. They just don't have time to do the work to maintain and troubleshoot their own computers and networks. They call on Jeff to make sure that everything continues to work efficiently. As Jeff pointed out, most of us could probably change our own oil, it's just that it makes more sense in time and effort for us to pay someone else to do it.

If you've ever had computer trouble (and who hasn't?) then you know the great feeling of relief you get when someone comes in and, seemingly miraculously, makes all of the bad stuff go away.

So, if your computer or network is acting like the "bad side of town", be sure to give Jeff a call. No matter what the nature of the evil-doer, whether virus, software failure, or a vulnerable local network, he will bring the problem to ground and make it safe for you to work and play once more.

So, what was the biggest problem you've ever experienced with your technology?

Impact 2007

Bhushan Kulkarni and Andy LaBarre listen
while Trenda Rusher leads our discussion

I spent the first part of my day today at the Impact 2007 conference put on by the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce. This is a meeting of minds of those who are interested and concerned about the state of Michigan in general and about the Ann Arbor area in specific. This is the second year I've attended the event. Last year I was there because it is also the kick off for the Leadership Ann Arbor class.

First off, Impact is just a great networking event in a great venue. A lot of local business people show up to hear what's going on and Kensington Court does a great job making sure everyone is comfortable and well-fed. Beyond that, though, as with last year, the organizing committee sets up some interesting speakers. Of course, Michigan is going through some hard times right now, so not all of the news was positive. Still, we all tried to look for the best and, further, tried to look for ways that we could help to solve some of the area's problems.

To that end, this year we broke out into several groups to examine some of the bigger issues going on right now. The group I was with looked at the "Talent Wars" -- the fact that many of our most talented workers are leaving the state -- and what we can do to turn that tide. We had about forty of us in the room, so we actually came up with many actions which might help in a variety of areas, including attracting and retaining talent, developing career paths which keep talent in the area, and developing leadership to oversee all of this activity.

Of all the solutions, though, the biggest one -- and the biggest challenge -- was communication. Many of the root problems we uncovered already have solutions in place. Unfortunately, the population whom we need to address regarding the problem seems not to know about the solution, whatever it is.

I'm not sure there is a silver bullet for this one. I'd love to say that all we need to do is build a great website, but there are already a ton of websites out there with this information. What it may require is actual personal coordination between industry, education, and community organizations and I'm not sure what the mechanism is to make that all work.

Ah, well, I guess the first step to wisdom is admitting you don't know.

So, what forms of community communication do you have in your area?

In Search of You

Andrew Miller
The Finder's Keeper

This was a banner month in my participation in the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce as an Ambassador. Last week I delivered a welcome bag to Dan Kotwicki of Dakotech, Inc. Yesterday I had the rare opportunity to deliver a second bag. This time it was to someone who can really help you be found -- Andrew Miller of Your Search Advisor, LLC.

Andrew and I met at the local Panera Bread for our chat. We spent part of the hour talking about the numerous benefits of Chamber membership, but then spent most of the rest of it talking about his business and what he does for his customers. What does he do? I can tell you're dying to know.

He helps you be found.

Andrew works on websites, but he doesn't work on the beautiful pictures and great layout like a web designer, nor does he focus on the back end programming and database support, like I do. What he does is work with you to craft your whole Web presence, from the content of your site, to your profile and positioning on the numerous social networking services around the Net. He does this all to make it easier for other people to find you.

I've dabbled a bit in the search engine optimization (SEO) area myself, but compared to what he can do for you, I would be ranked somewhere between "pathetic newbie" and "rank amateur." If you want to know more about how to make yourself more visible on the Web, you should definitely get in touch with Andrew.

When I asked him about the most difficult part of what he does his answer was pretty much what I expected. The main challenge is simply managing client expectations. In the world of SEO and SEM (search engine marketing), nothing happens quickly. It can take months for any adjustments you make to be reflected in your position in the search engine results. Especially in the "I want it now" world of the Internet, the capacity for patience can be a bit hard to cultivate.

So, the next time you are at a Chamber event, keep your eye out for Andrew. If you want to know why you can't break into the first page of search results, he probably has an idea or two.

So, when you "google" your name, on what page do you appear? How did that happen?

The Voice on the Radio

As I mentioned last week, I showed up on the local radio station -- WAAM 1600 -- for the Chamber of Commerce Business Buzz. I still haven't gotten the official audio from WAAM, but, thanks to my lovely wife, Lisa, and her trusty clock radio, here is a recording of the radio show that I was on last Monday.

Personally I can't stand listening to myself. My voice just sounds funny to me outside my head -- if that makes any sense. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the show.

For those who care, I don't show up until about 2 and a half minutes into the recording.


Original audio file (13.5 M)

High Tech Success

Daniel Kotwicki, President
Dakotech, Inc

I was out yesterday in my capacity as an Ambassador for the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce. My goal? Deliver a welcome bag to one of our newest members, Daniel Kotwicki, President of Dakotech, Inc.

As I usually do when I'm going someplace where I'm not completely confident of the locale, I plugged his address into my GPS-enabled cell phone and off I rolled.

And stopped about 3 minutes later.

It turns out that Dakotech is based in Daniel's condo, about a quarter mile from my own home. In fact, Lisa and I have walked past it almost every evening this summer, never realizing that behind his door is the one-stop shop for all of your computer and network support needs.

While Dakotech's headquarters benefit from the comfortable, homey feel of a residence, it's operations are every bit as professional as other IT support firms. Daniel has come up with an ingenious way of keeping things as efficient as possible, saving himself and his customers time and money. Instead of having a main office where his technicians show up each day to get their assignments, he does the whole thing remotely.

His techs, scattered throughout the metro-Detroit area, receive their marching orders before they even leave home in the morning. This allows Dakotech to cover much more area than would otherwise be possible. He can also change those orders at any time. A client may suddenly need them right then and there. Daniel can re-route his techs on the fly so that the least amount of time goes by before they show up like superheroes, ready to solve the clients technical problems.

He says that his next goal would be to have all the techs tagged by GPS so he could actually keep track of their current locations on a map on his computer -- easier and more efficient.

Daniel seemed pretty excited by all of the opportunities to which he has access now that he's a Chamber member. If you see him at any of the networking events, be sure to stop and ask him about how he can help you with your recalcitrant IT infrastructure.

So, have you ever had recalcitrant IT infrastructure?

We're On The Air!

Lucy Ann Lance

Today was my big break into the world of radio. I don't have the audio ready just yet. Hopefully that will be coming in the next couple of days. I know some of you must be a little curious about what it's like to be on a radio show, so here's my experience. Hopefully, this will give you an idea of what to expect should you find yourself in a similar position.

So, what happened?

Well, the show was set to start at 7:35am, so I, being of the "better 30 minutes early than 5 minutes late" set, arrived at the WAAM 1600 station at 7am. I actually hadn't intended on being quite that early, but I didn't realize exactly how close it was and I forgot that there wouldn't be much traffic at that time of day.

I walked into a tiny lobby -- dark paneled, with just enough room for a couple of chairs and a display table. Much of one wall was taken up by a window looking in on the producer's station. Drew Priebe, the producer, saw me as I came in and waved, but obviously had to keep his mind on the show. I settled into one of the chairs to await my "co-stars", Cheryl O'Brien, the Membership Director of the Chamber of Commerce, and Jesse Bernstein, the President of same. I was also working hard to get the butterflies in my stomach to fly in formation.

Cheryl arrived about ten minutes later. We sat and chatted about Chamber business until Jesse showed up around 7:30. He's apparently done this so many times that he was feeling pretty relaxed about the whole thing. For Cheryl and I it was the first (though she had actually met Lucy Ann before).

Suddenly, the door to the studio opened and Drew was there to beckon us in to the broadcast booth, where our host, Lucy Ann Lance, was waiting for us. My doom was approaching, as I was certain that as soon as I opened my mouth on the air, something idiotic was bound to come out.

OK, first of all, at least on first impressions (and from what I've heard, those impressions are completely accurate), Lucy Ann is one of the sweetest, kindest, most generous souls you ever will meet. She was a complete delight getting us seated and making us feel right at home with a little small talk. She asked me a few questions about myself -- this was all off the air -- and joked around with Jesse whom she obviously knew quite well.

For the next twenty minutes or so, broken up by traffic reports, weather, and the occasional commercial, we had what felt like a private chat with Lucy Ann. She would be a great addition to any social gathering because she has the wonderful ability to draw a person out and make them feel like they are just the smartest, most interesting, and most important person around. I was further amazed by her ability to do all of this while signaling to her producer to do a variety of things that I'm assuming involved the technical aspects of running the show.

Twenty minutes literally flew by. I couldn't believe it when it was suddenly time to go. Lucy Ann thanked us and said goodbye as we filed out the door. Out in the sunshine of a beautiful summer morning, it all felt like something out of a dream. Honestly, I'm not even sure what I said, for the most part. Lisa assured me that I didn't sound like an idiot, so what more could I ask?

So, let me say, if you ever have the opportunity to be on the radio and especially if your host is Lucy Ann Lance, be sure to show up and be assured that you have nothing to fear. In fact, you'll probably have a great time.

So, have you ever had a chance to be on the radio?

Speech Follow-up

I gave my presentation today at the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce "Networks!" lunch. I thought it went pretty well, though sometimes it is hard to tell from behind the podium. The focus of the speech was on how to make the Power Mingle part of the lunch work for you. This is the time after we have all made our public introductions where we try to chat with whomever caught our interest.

I hit on three topics:

1. Be specific. So many people when describing what they do are far too general. Telling me that you are a real estate agent, or a mortgage broker doesn't tell me for whom you are looking. Telling me that you can help anyone looking for a loan doesn't help me either. I don't know what that person looks like. Tell me that you want to meet couples who want to move into a house on the old west side gives me a lot more with which to work.

This point seemed to have very limited impact. I heard several "I help people who need loans" during the Mingle. The biggest problem is that folks think that if they are too specific then they will lose out on opportunities that don't fit into those constraints. Ironically, the opposite is true. When I used to tell people that I helped nonprofit and charitable organizations develop their website, I invariably had folks come up to me and ask if I would do work on a corporate website. Icing on the cake.

2. Be focused. Coming to a networking event it's quite easy to spend a lot of time, eat your lunch, and then walk out to the car feeling like it was a waste of time. The solution to this is just to set yourself a goal. Some folks set goals to hand out twenty business cards -- not terribly effective, unless you want to be remembered as the highly horrible networker. Far better would be to meet and have great conversations with two people from your target market and get their cards so that you can set up a meeting with them (or set up a meeting right there and then).

It was hard to tell if this point sunk in at all. The folks who came up to me seemed to be more likely to chat, though one person actually interrupted a conversation I was having with an acquaintance in order to force her business card upon us (without finding out anything about us other than that we weren't really interested in what she had to offer).

3. Be a host, not a guest. Since the goal of a networking event is really to be memorable, what better way to accomplish this than by making other people feel comfortable and looking for ways to help them. So many people show up at a networking event and give into their ingrained aversion to talking with strangers. By pretending to be the host, we have a tendency to look around and find those folks who can use our help. After all, you wouldn't ignore a guest who came to visit you in your home would you?

As I said, I felt like the presentation itself went pretty well. I didn't get lost in my words, nor did Tom Denk, the host of "Networks!", have to get out his hook to drag me off the stage. I'll let you know if I receive any feedback at all.

So, what tips do you have for working a networking event?

Speech! Speech!

A couple of weeks ago, Barbara Davenport from the Ann Arbor Chamber called me to ask if I would be interested in helping out with the next "Networks!" lunch. Now, I've helped out in the past as an Ambassador. My responsibilities mainly included welcoming people, pointing them in the right direction and making introductions whenever possible. This time, she wanted me to do something a little different.

She wants me to give a speech.

Oh, I'm not the capital-S Speaker for the event. That honor goes to my sales coach, Joe Marr. What Barb wants me to do is talk about how best to make use of the so-called "Power Mingle" portion of the lunch. This is the ten to fifteen minutes after we do our introductions when you try to meet the people who tweaked your interest. Anyway, I get about a minute or two to make a few points about my vast skills as a networker.

How did I get this opportunity, you ask?

Well I doubt is was for my good looks or for the fact that I'm a pretty snappy dresser. She said that when they decided to have this bit, I was one of the first names that popped to people's minds.

Pretty cool.

So I guess all that Certified Networker training is starting to pay off.

So, if you are interested and are in the area, you can hear my presentation at the Chamber lunch on Thursday July 12 at La Piazza by Mediterrano over on State Street. I'd love to see you there!

So, when was the last time you were top of mind?

Dynamic Gathering

I just got back from a great networking event. Dynamic Edge, a fast-growing local IT company hosted the quarterly member reception for the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce. As an Ambassador to the Chamber, I like to attend these events whenever I'm in town.

What a party! Dynamic Edge really threw a tremendous bash. Great food, fun music, and an awesome crowd of guests and "DynEdgers". I saw a lot of friendly faces -- Angela De Smet of Vintage Financial Services, a classmate from my Leadership Ann Arbor group, Mark Schory of mschory consulting, LLC, whom I had welcomed to the Chamber when he first joined and who is now a fellow Ambassador, and, of course, my good friend Rebecca LopezKriss, the Director of Business Development at Dynamic Edge and the hostess of the party (yes, Rebecca, I did snag a few cookies on the way out the door ;-) ). Of course, this list doesn't even include all of my friends from the Chamber.

I met several new folks and reconnected with old acquaintances left and right. Some of us had crossed paths at prior networking events. Others I had met through friends. One of the DynEdgers even came up and shook my hand and told me that I had been his daughter's Karate teacher.

The funny thing is, prior to a year ago, when I first joined the Chamber, I didn't know any of these folks. If I hadn't made the effort to join and participate in the activities that this wonderful organization supports, my life (and my business) would have been that much poorer.

So, I guess it all comes down to this one question:

Should I be having this much fun building my business?

So, what groups do you belong to and how do they support you in your business and your life?

Graduation Day

Lindsay laughs as I receive my diploma

In the midst of my hustle and bustle last week, our Leadership Ann Arbor class had its final gathering. On Wednesday, June 13, we graduated.

Unlike the rest of the year, when we ran from location to location throughout the area, this time we spent our time together in one place -- Zanzibar, a restaurant down on State Street in Ann Arbor. Terry McGinn, our facilitator from back when we first started this whole thing, was there again to help us review our experiences and synthesize a larger viewpoint from everything we'd learned. Some of the surprising things that we had discovered, individually or in groups:

• The jail overcrowding situation and why we should be concerned.
• The presence of the African American financial community and the events that it promotes.
• The strain placed on law enforcement agencies due to those with mental health issues in the community.
• The length of time it takes for anything to change despite Ann Arbor having a diverse and talented populace.
• How many facets go into making Ann Arbor the city that it is -- and how the loss of any one of them would diminish the town more than you would think.

We spent some time in groups discussing possible changes for next year. While we did come up with a few suggestions, by and large we found that Lindsay McCarthy, our glorious and long-suffering leader, had really done an exceptional job with the program.

After a delicious lunch, we heard from Marianne Clauw, our classmate and an advisor to the BoardConnect program at the NEW Center. Now that we have seen a little more about how things work in this town, she wanted us to be aware of the opportunities for us to help one of the many organizations which help make this place a good place to live.

Then it was time for us to "walk the stage".

No, we didn't have a boombox playing "Pomp and Circumstance" over and over, just Lindsay calling out our names and us walking up to receive our certificates from Pat Davenport or Greg Bazick, the two co-Chairs for our class. Still it was a pretty significant time for us -- the capstone of nine months of shared discovery, education, and more than a few laughs.

What the future holds for our class is yet to be seen. We have had some movement toward working together on some sort of shared community service, but that is still in the planning phase. Until then, I guess school's out for summer. Time to sit back, relax, and maybe reflect on all I've gained from the experience.

So, what was your latest great achievement?