Trust: Are You a Key Broker in Your Community?

Is your chamber viewed as a trusted entity in your community’s health and well being?

As stated in the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Horizon Initiative: Chambers 2025, the chamber can play the key role as the convener of business community, the public and local government.

As chambers, our role is to advocate on behalf or our small business members and what all small business members want is a thriving community where all can prosper and grow.

When a community (businesses, public and government) all work together to improve the lives of all is a place I’d want to live, wouldn’t you?

Part of being that convener is having the trust of the community and to be able to play the role of identifying the issues that need to be addressed in a factual and non controversial way.

I’ll finish with the word relevance!

We talk a lot about this in the chamber space.  Are you relevant?  Well, what better way to be relevant than to be the “trusted” leader in the community that gets a seat at the table whenever an issue needs to be addressed.

For a copy of the Horizon Initiative: Chambers 2025 go HERE.

Until next time!

Communicating the Value of the Chamber

What are you doing to keep the program of work your chamber is doing in the public’s eye in your community?

Do you have a regular communication tool that is informative and can be spread through social media?

There is no better entity than the chamber in telling the story of the community and how the chamber is playing a vital role in the health and growth.

Have you had a chance to review the great Horizon Initiative: Chambers 2025 report produced by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE).  It’s a great starting point to focus your chamber on what issues chambers are facing all over the country.

While we have the saying “if you’ve met one chamber, you’ve met one chamber,” that doesn’t mean we don’t have common areas of focus.

The key to all of the reports and stories you may read on chamber management and the trends, you’ve got to ask yourself a question, “What do you want to be.”

And then spend some time on how you can maximize your resources in attaining that goal.

I’m reminded of the Hedgehog Theory in Jim Collin’s book Good to Great, focus on what you can be or are the best at, what you have passion for and where you make money.  That’s the business you should be in for your members.

Always remember, you can’t be all things to all people, so stop trying to please everybody!

Focus on your mission and the strategic plan your membership has set forth.

Good luck!