Facebook and many other forms of Internet social media offer us a unique opportunity to enhance what should be a carefully crafted image for ourselves and our business. There is currently no cost for having a Facebook page.
Facebook offers an instant opportunity to communicate; your intended audience need not be sitting at computers to get the message. When a summer concert had to be canceled because or rain last year, we turned to Facebook to get the word out. We also used local print and broadcast media. It's certainly safe to say that online social media give us one more channel of communication.
So why do some people misuse this relatively new channel? I'm talking about the people who take personal beefs public by using Facebook. If you are perturbed with someone, call them, e-mail them, or write a letter. Keep it between the two of you. But don't put it out there for the whole world to see n Facebook.
When you do, the message you deliver is: "I'm so angry I can't see straight and I'm going to embarrass the person or persons I'm angry with by posting it on Facebook."
Few people would argue that this particular approach is just not professional.
Don't sabotage your career or your company image by letting your anger show. We still have other means of communication at our command. Use these to resolve problems and disputes. You only hurt yourself when you make it public.
Use Facebook to reinforce your company's brand and to communicate essential messages, including public thank you notes (do you still send written notes?). But it's not the place to argue with or embarrass someone.
Keep it businesslike!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Family Talk about Future Careers
When I was a teenager, most girls had no idea how broad their career choices really were; we grew up in two-parent families with mothers who rarely worked outside the house. If they did, they were teachers, secretaries, nurses or retail workers. Not one girl in my high-school graduating class became an engineer, welder, architect or builder.
But they could have. Today, the choices for boys and girls are broad and wide and exciting. There are careers - web designer, for example - we never dreamed of a few decades ago.
There's a lot of talk and action in our community today that centers around training local people for local jobs. Company leaders say they want to hire local. But they - and we - need parents to talk to this children about the wide choices of jobs available locally. From CNC machinist to chemist, from welder to college instructor, our community offers a vast array of employment opportunities for people with the right training.
And we've got training, whether it's at UW-Marinette, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, in high-school shop classes, or on the job. You can get trained for a good solid career (and as a result, experience a high quality of life) right here in Marinette-Menominee.
But, kids and parents, you've got some exploring to do. And the holidays are a good time to start the process by talking and thinking.
Parents, find a natural opening in the conversation to bring up the subject of careers. Kids, think about what your interests are, what you like to do and how you want to live. Use the Internet to check local job listings. Check our Web page at www.mandmchamber.com for a list of jobs and a list of local companies.
Check with NWTC or UW-Marinette about training and education. Both campuses have experts on staff who can give you information to get you started. Don't forget the guidance office at your own school. Talk to neighbors and relatives. Call the chamber (715-735-6681) and we'll talk to you.
I'm betting most local companies would love to give you information about the jobs they offer. They may offer you a tour or hook you up with a job shadow or mentor.
It's never to early to start thinking about the future. It should be a conversation for parents AND children.
Get started now over Christmas dinner.
And Merry Christmas to you!
But they could have. Today, the choices for boys and girls are broad and wide and exciting. There are careers - web designer, for example - we never dreamed of a few decades ago.
There's a lot of talk and action in our community today that centers around training local people for local jobs. Company leaders say they want to hire local. But they - and we - need parents to talk to this children about the wide choices of jobs available locally. From CNC machinist to chemist, from welder to college instructor, our community offers a vast array of employment opportunities for people with the right training.
And we've got training, whether it's at UW-Marinette, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, in high-school shop classes, or on the job. You can get trained for a good solid career (and as a result, experience a high quality of life) right here in Marinette-Menominee.
But, kids and parents, you've got some exploring to do. And the holidays are a good time to start the process by talking and thinking.
Parents, find a natural opening in the conversation to bring up the subject of careers. Kids, think about what your interests are, what you like to do and how you want to live. Use the Internet to check local job listings. Check our Web page at www.mandmchamber.com for a list of jobs and a list of local companies.
Check with NWTC or UW-Marinette about training and education. Both campuses have experts on staff who can give you information to get you started. Don't forget the guidance office at your own school. Talk to neighbors and relatives. Call the chamber (715-735-6681) and we'll talk to you.
I'm betting most local companies would love to give you information about the jobs they offer. They may offer you a tour or hook you up with a job shadow or mentor.
It's never to early to start thinking about the future. It should be a conversation for parents AND children.
Get started now over Christmas dinner.
And Merry Christmas to you!
Monday, December 19, 2011
A Sense of Place - and a Sense of Belonging
These days, nearly every city of every size has some combination of well-known "Big Box" stores and smaller franchises. These businesses offer value and give us a sense of comfort when we travel. We know what we'll find there.
But downtowns offer something different - a sense of place, or at least the place that once was. Because many downtowns have lost their retail stores and have turned into service centers. That's OK, because we all need those services, whether they sell insurance, offer the latest hair styles, or dinner on the town.
We're lucky here, because our local downtowns have retained more than a smattering of retail, along with those essential service outlets. In Marinette and Menominee, you can buy a book, a fashionable sweater or handbag, a piece of unusual jewelry or a home decor item. The merchant you buy from is your neighbor, your friend, your friend's neighbor, or the spouse of one of your son or daughter's teachers.
When you buy from them you are ensuring that 68 cents on every dollar you spend stays here in the Marinette and Menominee area. It goes to other local merchants, to non-profits, to church collection plates.
It builds community - that sense of belonging to something bigger, in our case, a lovely little town that happens to straddle a state line.
True, downtowns don't do what they used to do: Give you a chance to see everyone you know out shopping. But they still retain that sense of place, that unique feeling that says Marinette, Menominee, Peshtigo or further afield.
So in these waning days of the shopping season, please visit our downtowns as well as other local retail outlets scattered around Marinette and Menominee. There's no better way to recapture the feeling we had as kids, the wonderful feeling of wishing Merry Christmas to someone you know who happens to sell dishwashers or bracelets or paint - or whatever.
And remember that shopping doesn't end on December 24!
But downtowns offer something different - a sense of place, or at least the place that once was. Because many downtowns have lost their retail stores and have turned into service centers. That's OK, because we all need those services, whether they sell insurance, offer the latest hair styles, or dinner on the town.
We're lucky here, because our local downtowns have retained more than a smattering of retail, along with those essential service outlets. In Marinette and Menominee, you can buy a book, a fashionable sweater or handbag, a piece of unusual jewelry or a home decor item. The merchant you buy from is your neighbor, your friend, your friend's neighbor, or the spouse of one of your son or daughter's teachers.
When you buy from them you are ensuring that 68 cents on every dollar you spend stays here in the Marinette and Menominee area. It goes to other local merchants, to non-profits, to church collection plates.
It builds community - that sense of belonging to something bigger, in our case, a lovely little town that happens to straddle a state line.
True, downtowns don't do what they used to do: Give you a chance to see everyone you know out shopping. But they still retain that sense of place, that unique feeling that says Marinette, Menominee, Peshtigo or further afield.
So in these waning days of the shopping season, please visit our downtowns as well as other local retail outlets scattered around Marinette and Menominee. There's no better way to recapture the feeling we had as kids, the wonderful feeling of wishing Merry Christmas to someone you know who happens to sell dishwashers or bracelets or paint - or whatever.
And remember that shopping doesn't end on December 24!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Dedicated to Making a Difference.
Jon Kukuk of Nestegg Marine is retiring from his post as chamber representative on the Marinette County Tourism Alliance.
He will be missed.
Jon has been an integral part of the chamber for at least two decades. He has served on the board of directors and as the board’s president in 1998-99. He also chaired the tourism alliance, and has helped the chamber and the county work together through a contract to promote tourism, funded by a half-percent sales tax the county levies.
Jon been my go-to person for all things related to tourism since I joined the chamber staff in July of 2007. Did I mention that he was the first volunteer to pay me a visit on my first day of work? He was so early that I wasn’t even there yet.
That’s Jon – always above and beyond. He’s the best.
Three years ago, Jon gave up a weekend to build an office for our tourism director. He recruited a helper - an experienced colleague - and the two worked for several days to make two rooms out of one, building a wall and move numerous fixtures, including a door. Jon gave up a weekend to work on the project. A weekend just before Christmas, I should add. How many people would do that?
In my experience, Jon is a rarity.
He is persistent, works hard and tries always to take the high road. It is my understanding that he wrote our current chamber bylaws, which were approved about 18 months before I came on board. He’s a part of us and always will be, even though he's more involved now in professional marina and clean water projects.
Jon has truly made a difference for the chamber and the tourism community.
-Mary Johns, IOM, Executive Director/CEO
He will be missed.
Jon has been an integral part of the chamber for at least two decades. He has served on the board of directors and as the board’s president in 1998-99. He also chaired the tourism alliance, and has helped the chamber and the county work together through a contract to promote tourism, funded by a half-percent sales tax the county levies.
Jon been my go-to person for all things related to tourism since I joined the chamber staff in July of 2007. Did I mention that he was the first volunteer to pay me a visit on my first day of work? He was so early that I wasn’t even there yet.
That’s Jon – always above and beyond. He’s the best.
Three years ago, Jon gave up a weekend to build an office for our tourism director. He recruited a helper - an experienced colleague - and the two worked for several days to make two rooms out of one, building a wall and move numerous fixtures, including a door. Jon gave up a weekend to work on the project. A weekend just before Christmas, I should add. How many people would do that?
In my experience, Jon is a rarity.
He is persistent, works hard and tries always to take the high road. It is my understanding that he wrote our current chamber bylaws, which were approved about 18 months before I came on board. He’s a part of us and always will be, even though he's more involved now in professional marina and clean water projects.
Jon has truly made a difference for the chamber and the tourism community.
-Mary Johns, IOM, Executive Director/CEO
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Business lessons from Steve Jobs, the Beatles and Wayne Gretzky
Being an unabashed fan and supporter of all things Apple and Macintosh, I joined the rest of the world in mourning the all-too-young death of technology entrepreneur and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs two months ago. I’ve never met the guy and I rarely gave him a second thought, even while using an iPad, an iPod and a Macbook Pro on a daily basis.
But in the last two months I’ve learned a lot about him.
Turns out he was quite a layered character, at times both mercurial and deliberate, churlish and kind. Complex, as we all are.
Blunt and sometimes plainspoken, Jobs was had an interesting and often unconventional approach to both business and life. He was highly quotable. Arguably his most popular quotation is probably the advertising slogan “Think Different.”
These two words – though technically grammatically incorrect – can be applied to our changing and challenging life today. The past several years and the worldwide economic crisis have changed our lives, at least temporarily while we weather the storm. Our expectations may need to be adjusted; to meet whatever challenges face us, we need to think different, be more creative, try new strategies.
Sometimes our focus needs to be narrowed, our mission honed in on, in order to achieve success. Jobs understood this and when he retook the helm of a weakened Apple in the late 1990s, reportedly cutting back on the many items Apple was then producing, to concentrate on doing a few things well.
Early in life, I was exposed to this approach. My father, who was in the restaurant business, one told me to beware of restaurants with menus that went on forever. “The smaller the menu, the higher the quality,” he told me.
Sometimes – but not always – it is best to focus on what your company does best, and resist the urge to diversify. To do this takes a thorough understanding of your company’s product or service, its values and its customer needs. Listening to your customers is key.
(That wasn’t necessarily Jobs’ approach, I should point out. He eschewed focus groups, and considered himself and his company as tastemakers. “We’ll tell them what they should like,” was his philosophy.)
Jobs, a Beatles fan, once pointed out how the Fab Four worked as a team, complementing each other and working together to produce a great product: Music people of all ages know and love.
The Beatles were successful because they worked as a unit, Jobs noted.
“Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people,” he said.
One more thing: A few years back, Jobs said, “There's an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.' And we've always tried to do that at Apple.”
Think different, work together and skate where the puck is going to be.
-Mary Johns, IOM, Executive Director and CEO
(Reprinted from Memo, the chamber's quarterly newsletter.)
But in the last two months I’ve learned a lot about him.
Turns out he was quite a layered character, at times both mercurial and deliberate, churlish and kind. Complex, as we all are.
Blunt and sometimes plainspoken, Jobs was had an interesting and often unconventional approach to both business and life. He was highly quotable. Arguably his most popular quotation is probably the advertising slogan “Think Different.”
These two words – though technically grammatically incorrect – can be applied to our changing and challenging life today. The past several years and the worldwide economic crisis have changed our lives, at least temporarily while we weather the storm. Our expectations may need to be adjusted; to meet whatever challenges face us, we need to think different, be more creative, try new strategies.
Sometimes our focus needs to be narrowed, our mission honed in on, in order to achieve success. Jobs understood this and when he retook the helm of a weakened Apple in the late 1990s, reportedly cutting back on the many items Apple was then producing, to concentrate on doing a few things well.
Early in life, I was exposed to this approach. My father, who was in the restaurant business, one told me to beware of restaurants with menus that went on forever. “The smaller the menu, the higher the quality,” he told me.
Sometimes – but not always – it is best to focus on what your company does best, and resist the urge to diversify. To do this takes a thorough understanding of your company’s product or service, its values and its customer needs. Listening to your customers is key.
(That wasn’t necessarily Jobs’ approach, I should point out. He eschewed focus groups, and considered himself and his company as tastemakers. “We’ll tell them what they should like,” was his philosophy.)
Jobs, a Beatles fan, once pointed out how the Fab Four worked as a team, complementing each other and working together to produce a great product: Music people of all ages know and love.
The Beatles were successful because they worked as a unit, Jobs noted.
“Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people,” he said.
One more thing: A few years back, Jobs said, “There's an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.' And we've always tried to do that at Apple.”
Think different, work together and skate where the puck is going to be.
-Mary Johns, IOM, Executive Director and CEO
(Reprinted from Memo, the chamber's quarterly newsletter.)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Building Community - by Committee
December used to be a fairly quiet month here at the chamber. That is no longer the case. In fact, we have no quiet times - too much going on.
Our work increased - and we're happy about this - recently when our board decided, yes, we do want to build a strong committee structure. So we are asking our board members to serve on committees and task forces that help build a stronger chamber and a stronger business community.
Some people dread committees - I'm not one of them. I like working with people and I like the give and take that produces innovation and new ideas. Last summer, I took a bonus course at Institute for Organization Management that I think will help us organize and implement productive committees - and build teamwork along the way.
By its very definition, a chamber is an organization of people working together to help businesses flourish and to build the kind of community that fosters successful businesses. The latter is the very underpinning of good economic development. We've got to create the kind of community that nurtures success.
And our board members - the people who govern the chamber - will become leading participants in this nurturing process.
In addition to our executive committee, which is made up of chamber officers, and our Education & Business Partnership, which is made up of educators and businesspeople, we are creating a Business and Development Committee, a Chamber Development Committee and a Public Affairs Committee.
From these new groups will spring sub-committees and task forces that will help us build a chamber of substance and significance that truly serves the business sector and the community as a whole.
I'll keep you posted on our progress. Meanwhile, we are seeking chamber members to staff these committees. Please call me at 715-735-6681 if you would like to help.
Happy December!
Our work increased - and we're happy about this - recently when our board decided, yes, we do want to build a strong committee structure. So we are asking our board members to serve on committees and task forces that help build a stronger chamber and a stronger business community.
Some people dread committees - I'm not one of them. I like working with people and I like the give and take that produces innovation and new ideas. Last summer, I took a bonus course at Institute for Organization Management that I think will help us organize and implement productive committees - and build teamwork along the way.
By its very definition, a chamber is an organization of people working together to help businesses flourish and to build the kind of community that fosters successful businesses. The latter is the very underpinning of good economic development. We've got to create the kind of community that nurtures success.
And our board members - the people who govern the chamber - will become leading participants in this nurturing process.
In addition to our executive committee, which is made up of chamber officers, and our Education & Business Partnership, which is made up of educators and businesspeople, we are creating a Business and Development Committee, a Chamber Development Committee and a Public Affairs Committee.
From these new groups will spring sub-committees and task forces that will help us build a chamber of substance and significance that truly serves the business sector and the community as a whole.
I'll keep you posted on our progress. Meanwhile, we are seeking chamber members to staff these committees. Please call me at 715-735-6681 if you would like to help.
Happy December!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
What We've Done for You Lately - and What We're Doing
I often get asked to define a chamber and what it does for business and the community.
This isn’t as odd as it sounds: Every chamber in the world is a little bit different from the others. It must be, in order to serve the unique community it represents.
Overall, a chamber of commerce is a business membership organization that promotes economic and community development, working in a collective manner through committees, networking and idea sharing.
Chambers of commerce bring people together to discuss and find solutions for common challenges. A good chamber works toward creating partnerships, so as not to duplicate efforts.
We do economic development, but it’s not necessary the part of economic development that you seen. It’s behind the scenes work, or as one of our Chamber Ambassadors put it, “It’s like an iceberg and what the chamber does is often below the surface.”
A good chamber evolves with the changing needs of the community and I think we’ve done a pretty good job in that area. One of the needs that we’ve been targeting lately is the need to make you people aware of all the training and job opportunities that exist locally. We’ve heard again and again that local industries want to hire area residents with a commitment to the community.
Our staff and volunteers work extensively with local schools to encourage connections between officials and business, teachers and businesses and students and businesses. One goal is to teach kids about careers, life management skills, business and local job opportunities.
We also strive to help young people develop valuable work skills and make connection with adults who can help mentor them or serve as role models. Another goal is to keep our young people in the community to get the education and training to fill local jobs.
The chamber supports buying locally and retaining local businesses. Our members have told us they want learning opportunities that give them the skills to keep their businesses well managed and their bottom line healthy.
The chamber supports tourism and small business as well as industry. We manage tourism under a contract with Marinette County. In 2008 we formed a small business council to bring learning and networking opportunities to small businesses. We work in tandem with NWTC and UW-Marinette to bring training opportunities and more to larger businesses.
A good chamber is a work in progress.
And we are.
This isn’t as odd as it sounds: Every chamber in the world is a little bit different from the others. It must be, in order to serve the unique community it represents.
Overall, a chamber of commerce is a business membership organization that promotes economic and community development, working in a collective manner through committees, networking and idea sharing.
Chambers of commerce bring people together to discuss and find solutions for common challenges. A good chamber works toward creating partnerships, so as not to duplicate efforts.
We do economic development, but it’s not necessary the part of economic development that you seen. It’s behind the scenes work, or as one of our Chamber Ambassadors put it, “It’s like an iceberg and what the chamber does is often below the surface.”
A good chamber evolves with the changing needs of the community and I think we’ve done a pretty good job in that area. One of the needs that we’ve been targeting lately is the need to make you people aware of all the training and job opportunities that exist locally. We’ve heard again and again that local industries want to hire area residents with a commitment to the community.
Our staff and volunteers work extensively with local schools to encourage connections between officials and business, teachers and businesses and students and businesses. One goal is to teach kids about careers, life management skills, business and local job opportunities.
We also strive to help young people develop valuable work skills and make connection with adults who can help mentor them or serve as role models. Another goal is to keep our young people in the community to get the education and training to fill local jobs.
The chamber supports buying locally and retaining local businesses. Our members have told us they want learning opportunities that give them the skills to keep their businesses well managed and their bottom line healthy.
The chamber supports tourism and small business as well as industry. We manage tourism under a contract with Marinette County. In 2008 we formed a small business council to bring learning and networking opportunities to small businesses. We work in tandem with NWTC and UW-Marinette to bring training opportunities and more to larger businesses.
A good chamber is a work in progress.
And we are.
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