The Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce puts on an annual conference called Impact in the fall.  This year both Don and I attended for MOVE.  The Chamber describes it as a public policy forum that will "bring leadership, business and community voices together to create alignment on a compelling vision of regional success to ensure that the Ann Arbor region continues to thrive." 

The partner organization for the event this year was A2 Success.  This name should sound familiar to you because I have mentioned the initiative in previous posts about the Washtenaw Ave Talent Center.  A2 Sucess is actually a county-wide initiative with the goal of ensuring "smart and successful growth of the Ann Arbor region."  Under the umbrella of A2 Success there are a number of focus areas.  The ones that they presented on at Impact this year were corporate leadership, government efficiency, improving K-12 performance, talent centers, and transit.  Some of these groups were further along in the development process than others but I think they received a lot of good feedback during the break-out sessions and hopefully that will help them to target their message and efforts as the move forward. 

One of the things that I found most interesting was the responses in a text message poll that we participated in at the end of the event.  Because it was done via text message and internet they could project real-time updates as the responses were sent in.  One of the questions was something like, "Which of the 5 topics discussed today should be the focus of the Chamber?"  You could check with the Chamber for actual percentages but I think that corporate leadership received something like 60% of the votes.  The interesting thing is that the attendance at each of the break-outs sessions was pretty even.  So even though people are interested in education and transit and believe that they are critical to our continued success as a region, most of them thought that the Chamber should spend its time on corporate leadership. 

That says two things to me.  First, people believe in the Hedgehog Principle.  This is Jim Collins' belief that companies who adopt one core principle and stick to it are the most successful.  So, while it seems that people attending Impact believe that all 5 focus areas are important, they think that the Chamber should stick to its core principle of promoting commerce through corporate leadership development.  If you read the Chamber's mission statement it actually includes "leadership in economic, political and educational development."  But I think most people just think business when you think of a chamber of commerce.  Second, jobs are what are going to keep people here.  If there aren't any jobs here, we're not going to be able to attract the sought after young professionals and keep the experienced ones.  Not everyone is an entrepreneur who will create a job for themselves if there isn't one here.  No matter how great the quality of life is somewhere, if you can't find a job there, you'll move to where you can.  And while, developing corporate leadership doesn't necessarily guarantee more jobs, it is could lead to growth and new development. 

There are lots of ways to get involved and voice your opinion.  Check out the A2 Success website or contact the Ann Arbor Area Chamber to connect in.