Discovering ... on the Southside of Chicago ... First shared 02/22/2022 You Live There!?
Victor C. Barnes, CPA, MBA
Digital CFO, Author of Chasing Credibility - Fall 2024
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Someone once said to me,"You don't look like you're from there" after I told her where I lived.
That is when it hit me that others thought my neighborhood was, well, different. I was fine with my neighborhood - it is all I knew. We had the "Catholic Gym" where I could play basketball, baseball and join boy scouts. We had a Chicago Housing Authority funded swimming pool and a place called "The Children's Building" where we could also play hoops plus join multiple clubs including dance and gymnastics teams for boys and girls. They even had chess clubs. I grew up with SOOO many smart kids - many of whom I saw at my 35th High School reunion. And the teachers! All I need to say is - my Kindergarten teacher attended that class reunion which included four kids she taught as a new teacher in 1970. Our teachers went beyond regularly -- to sum it up I had the raw materials including a mom who expected excellence.
The rest of the story
The famed Paul Harvey would say...
“NOW, the rest of the Story.”
If you watched the movie, "Southside with You" which chronicles Barack and Michelle's steamy (1989) First Date then you have "seen" my neighborhood - a scene near the old Children's Building where future President Obama attended a (Chicago Southside) community neighborhood meeting. My wife, Victoria, and I watched the movie in Toronto last year and I was bursting with emotion - ...I am from there!... Altgeld Gardens
Making a way forward or Out
During summer, the Catholic gym and the Children's Building had summer jobs where older neighborhood kids were Counselors for the younger kids. These facilities (programs) ceased long ago and arguably there are dramatic (traumatic) impacts from the lack of productive outlets for too many kids...
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"Making it out" - leading a productive life takes many forms. That said, my purpose for writing this is, in part, to generate interest in discovering what factors mattered most & figure how to pay it forward.?
Growing up
?Growing up in Altgeld Gardens - the southernmost part of Chicago - I was the youngest of 7 kids, but the first College graduate. As an accomplished H.S. basketball player, Dartmouth, as an example of my naiveté' recruited me but, not having any idea about them or the Ivy League, I kept tearing up their letters. I had my eyes on the Big Ten - Northwestern! I did not know much about NU either, but it represented an aspiration - the "North Side of Chicago" - akin to the Jeffersons Theme Song - ...moving on up to the East Side...
First generation professional
I received my accounting degree from the then 3rd ranked program Nationally - Northern IL University. There were 300+ Accounting graduates & one African American - me.? About mid-way through my career, I recognized that lacking generational exposure to business was part of "something I was missing". I did not know any uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. with corporate careers to impart the subtleties in corporate culture - and how to work through challenging situations more effectively. I wrote this past sentence in 2017. In early 2022, my good friend @Lori George-Billingsly shared a LinkedIn post on the topic: https://hbr.org/2022/01/how-does-your-company-support-first-generation-professionals.
I instantly recalled several conversations with executives from my prior employer when I shared my experiences in line with this (then unwritten) article - that if the company could design opportunities to address this particular part of personal development, that it could be the "unlock" to to help spotting the hidden talented gems who exist at the company today!.
Today, many of us seasoned professionals have a wonderful opportunity to help those trying to figure out the missing pieces required to advance in their careers. It is the part of my job that gives me the most joy!
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Digital CFO, Author of Chasing Credibility - Fall 2024
1 个月Thank you so much for remembering and reminding me of that wonderful team and times Basetsana. You know, there’s a saying— “Game recognizes game.” I remember you represented your product well and we simply matched your kindness and care. After the meeting, one of my team members asked, “Why are we looking at this company’s product when we just deployed a first-of-it’s kind implementation of a similar tool a year ago.” I responded, “Someone always improves on the mousetrap; it’s our job to keep an open mind to notice when that happens.” And it did, and you made that sale after I got to Canada.
Sales Lead - Public Sector | Stakeholder Relations, Team Management
1 个月Hi Victor, I was thinking about the first time we met, and I’ll never forget how you were the Regional Controller at Coca Cola in Johannesburg, South Africa. From the moment I walked in, it was clear how admired and respected you were by your staff. You carried yourself with such humility, kindness, and care, even though I was there to pitch for business! You didn’t just listen—you helped me close one of the biggest deals of my entire career! I’ll always remember that. You’re truly one in a million!