From the Chairman

Driving Thought Leadership in Our Communities

Many chambers today are focused on strengthening the pre-K through career talent pipeline, encouraging lifelong learning and preparing our workforce for the future world of work. As chamber leaders, it is essential that we also commit ourselves and our teams to lifelong learning as part of our ongoing efforts to prepare our chambers and communities for the future. We must continually work to establish ourselves, our organizations and our industry as thought leaders in our communities, regions, states, country and world. This has never been more important in light of today’s challenges of COVID-19, racial inequity, climate change, deep political division, and more. To be thought leaders, we must be open to new ideas and more innovative ways of serving our organizations and our communities.  

Warren Buffett estimates that he spends up to 80% of every working day reading and credits much of his success to his reading habit. While this is beyond a lofty goal for those of us in the chamber industry, it is vitally important that we stay on top of current trends and best practices through reading newspapers, trade publications, newsletters, blogs, and yes, books. Throughout my career, I have made it a priority to read at least two books a month. To my wife’s chagrin, I also have a habit of buying more books than I have time to read, but I do give them away to others when I am finished. That being said, there are a number of books I have recently read that you may want to check out if you have not already done so.

Dave Atkisson, CCE, who chaired ACCE in 2010, received an ACCE Life Member award in 2020, and led the Owensboro (Ky.) Chamber, Birmingham (Ala.) Chamber and Kentucky State Chamber throughout his career, recently published an excellent book called “Horseshoes vs. Chess: A Practical Guide for Chamber of Commerce Leaders.” This book is a must-read for chamber of commerce executives, team members and volunteer leaders as it effectively captures our industry’s mission and work and provides very helpful, user-friendly guidance and advice.

Many of your chambers are also actively engaged in economic development work. Jay Garner, a site selector who has been actively engaged with ACCE, recently partnered with Ross Patten on the book “Economic Development Is Not for Amateurs! A Must-Read for Community Leaders on How to Achieve Economic Development Success.” This book is an easy read and a great 101 tutorial on the nuts and bolts of economic development work. I highly recommend this book for you, your team members, your volunteer leaders and the elected officials and public sector staff members that you work with.

As we continue to help our organizations, communities and industry prepare for the future, it is more important than ever to stay on top of rapidly evolving technology trends. “The Future Is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives” by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, provides a fascinating look into technology advances and trends in shopping, advertising, entertainment, education, healthcare, insurance, finance, real estate, food and more. This book identifies many potential opportunities and challenges that chamber leaders should be made aware. Of note, Diamandis and Kotler also co-authored the book “Abundance,” which is highlighted in ACCE’s Horizon Initiative.   

As chamber leaders, we must be catalysts for transformational projects and initiatives in our communities. “Loonshots: Nurture the Crazy Ideas that Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries” by Safi Bahcall provides insightful guidance on how your chambers, business members and communities can successfully take on those big new innovative ideas while at the same time continuing to focus on delivering on core services and mission.

Many chambers are focused on creating and nurturing their community’s entrepreneurial ecosystem for both traditional small businesses and startups with high growth potential. The book “The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem” by Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway provides an insightful guide and easy to follow playbook for creating a thriving startup community in your region.

I hope you find these book recommendations helpful, and I always look forward to hearing book recommendations and learning best practices from all of you. Learning from each other to make all of our organizations and communities better is what ACCE is all about. Remember the words that Mahatma Gandhi once said: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Jay Byers, CCE, IOM is chairman of the ACCE Board of Directors and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. The Partnership is the regional economic and community development organization serving Central Iowa with 24 Affiliate Chambers of Commerce and a network of more than 6600 regional members.