Chamber Innovation is Reshaping Communities

At this year’s ACCE convention in Salt Lake City (#ACCE23), I shared how we have the optimal climate for chamber innovation, highlighting chambers experiencing greater regional impact through innovative initiatives. You can watch the 20-minute keynote presentation here.

Key highlights include:

• Trust is up for business among major institutions, which affords chambers?great leadership opportunities.
• Chambers are leveraging innovation to take advantage of this momentum and creating unique programs in workforce and talent development, launching income-aligned housing initiatives, building more support for entrepreneurs, securing safety for their regions, and ensuring that they serve all segments of the business community. Some chambers are even creatively stepping in to fill leadership voids seen in spaces like local media.
• Innovation isn’t just showing up in community impact efforts, but also how chambers are running their businesses. Non-dues revenue is driving chamber growth, particularly in areas like 501(c)(3) foundations and fee-for-service.
• Chambers also realize the need to innovate in how we manage our teams. Employee expectations are changing, so we must consider this when setting policies. Our recent?poll on workplace flexibility?shows stark gaps in how CEOs view office flexibility vs. how staff view it. This disconnect can lead to employee dissatisfaction, and more importantly the potential loss of high-performing team members.

How are you innovating to have more impact? Let me know.

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