Forward Janesville - TheReport - First Quarter 2020

6 • W W W . F O R W A R D J A N E S V I L L E . C O M Dan Cunningham • Vice President of Government Affairs and Education • danc@forwardjanesville.com ENTRECON: Entrecon, one of the nation’s leading business and leadership conferences, featuring thought leaders from around the world. Here are some ideas from Entrecon: Workforce Development • Creating a Culture of Purpose can mitigate turnover rate issues. (Bob Murphy, Global Business Solutions Institute) • To develop a Culture of Purpose: • Serve the community, colleagues and customers. When employers are generous in their communities, employees are happier – on average, 13 times happier. • Install better and more thorough leadership training for supervisors. • Facilitate and encourage employee mentorships. • Overcommunicate. In the absence of understanding, people will make up their own narratives and answers. (Murphy) • Don’t compromise your company’s values or culture when hiring. Southwest Airlines has never wavered from its people-centric philosophy. Their culture has created a loyal following with happy employees – which translates to satisfied customers and shareholders. (Julie Weber, VP and Chief People Officer, Southwest Airlines) • Don’t be afraid to infuse a little courage and boldness in your existing culture. Southwest Airlines once refused to hire an exceptionally well-qualified pilot because he was rude to the receptionist. (Weber) Personal Development • Build your own personal board of directors. (Tiffany Pham, Founder and CEO of Mogul) • Reach out to fifty role models and ask for their friendship and guidance. (Pham) • Stay away from “still” people. (Chris Ryan- Lawrence, Principal and CEO, ARK Leadership) • Good things come…to those who work for it. (Ryan-Lawrence) • Perfectionism is a disease. Stop being your own worst critic. (Ryan-Lawrence) • When it comes to your reputation, every day is an interview. (Ryan-Lawrence) • Listen to hear, not to respond. (Ryan- Lawrence) • Change management is an emerging skill for leaders and will only increase in importance. (Quint Studer, Founder, Studer Community Institute) VIBRANT COMMUNITY PARTNERS BOOT CAMP: The Vibrant Community Partners Boot Camp featured leaders and community builders from over a dozen diverse communities across the nation. Here are some nuggets from the experience: What makes a vibrant community? • Get to know—and love—the companies from outside your community that are injecting capital into your community. (Studer) • Determine ways your community can support and nurture start-up businesses. Economic development should be organic— grow your own. Most developments will start with the people who are already in your community. (Studer) • Find a way to keep your talent home. (Studer) Talent is one of Janesville’s top exports—dozens of our young people move to Madison, Chicago, or the Twin Cities each year. Keeping them here (or encouraging them to return once they’ve had a few life adventures) is a key challenge. • History does not attract young people, so don’t expect them to flock to museums. (Studer) However, ‘cool spaces that are born from historic places’ are a different story. (I came up with that one.) • Program your downtown. Make sure that retail and entertainment have a place to “pop.” Foot traffic is the definition of prosperity—it helps small businesses succeed. (Studer) • Don’t worry so much about parking. Create walkable spaces. Again, foot traffic equals prosperity. (Studer) • “Consent vs. consensus:” Twenty percent or more of the people are going to be against everything you want to do—don’t give them oxygen. Create the courage in the community to not let the naysayers stop you. (Studer) • Recruit vocal leaders—silence supports the naysayers. (Studer) • Create dashboards that measure key community metrics. Measure what you treasure. Dashboards don’t have to be relentlessly positive—you can tell the health of a community by its self-awareness. Own your warts. (Studer) • Community projects should capture the heart. (Studer) I recently had the honor of traveling to Pensacola, Florida, for the Studer Community Institute’s “Entrecon” and Vibrant Community Partners Boot Camp. It was a transformational experience, and I want to share some of what I learned with you. Serve the community, colleagues and customers. When employers are generous in their communities, employees are happier – on average, 13 times happier. LEARNING FROM THE BEST