Are you new to your chamber job?
If
you're not from the area, how should you go about identifying the leaders in
your "new" community?
At the very least, the following exercise will give you a chance to identify who the community leaders are on your terms, not just from a sheet of paper someone at the chamber gave you in your CEO orientation packet.
Here's a place to start:
At the very least, the following exercise will give you a chance to identify who the community leaders are on your terms, not just from a sheet of paper someone at the chamber gave you in your CEO orientation packet.
Here's a place to start:
- Identify board members of the other local business and community groups;
- Identify business sectors and size (retail, manufacturing, health care, etc); and
- Finally, meet with the leaders of those sectors (i.e., hospital CEO, plant manager of the biggest manufacturing plant in town, etc.).
Once you've collected this information see where the lists overlap. That's a
great place to start.
From that list, meet with them individually and ask them questions about the community. Find out who is in their inner circle of friends by asking them if there is someone they know that you should meet.
Sound familiar, we have a circle of friends in the social media space.
This time meet face-to-face with these folks. You might find that some of these individuals are not current members of your new chamber.
Ask why?
Let them know you're the new leader of the chamber and invite them to join or rejoin.
For a previous blog post on a new chamber CEO's first hundred days go HERE.
From that list, meet with them individually and ask them questions about the community. Find out who is in their inner circle of friends by asking them if there is someone they know that you should meet.
Sound familiar, we have a circle of friends in the social media space.
This time meet face-to-face with these folks. You might find that some of these individuals are not current members of your new chamber.
Ask why?
Let them know you're the new leader of the chamber and invite them to join or rejoin.
For a previous blog post on a new chamber CEO's first hundred days go HERE.
