November-December 2022 Community

Uninteresting, unemotional, undetermined.?I sat down about a month ago with a blank page and zero inspirations to write my November CREW CMU! blog.?I saw this very humorous reel on Insta yesterday and decided it was time to sit down and try again. One last time to bring home 2022 for The CREW CMU!

When you have a bad day

Give up

Go home and sleep

F*ck it

Try again tomorrow

Not every bad day

Can become a good day

Some days are F*cked

And cannot be Unf*cked

?

_________________________________________________________________________?

It was about a month ago that I had the pleasure of sharing dinner with colleagues and three esteemed business leaders from different ends of the country.?I’ve known each of these entrepreneurs for a while, so the conversation was easy and casual.?During appetizers, I decided to take it up a notch and see where a good conversation would lead.

The question to each was – what are the two most important factors in setting up a successful business??Not one, as that is too easy just to pull and not three because it becomes a diluted conversation that everyone can agree on.?I wanted a bit of heated debate.?The funny thing that happened is that it never got past their first choice, because each had a such a strong opinion that no one could agree on the first success let alone the second.

First is a leader in construction that said undoubtedly it was location.?If you have the right location, people will come to you for the product before anyone else.?The second is a leader in hospitality and said that product is number 1, hands down.?People will come for your product regardless of the location.

One each side of the table, this chicken and egg conversation continued through the main course.?I interrupted their unresolved discussion and asked the third what they thought.?An indigenous leader, very quiet and thoughtfully said – community.?A community will support and follow wherever you take it.?

I left that dinner very inspired by the thoughts of very successful people.?As I end my year as your 2022 CREW Calgary President, I agree that as a successful organization like CREW Calgary, you must have a central focus of location and definitely a product of high quality, but it is the community that brings it together and truly makes it successful.?With our community, our location and product could not be as successful as it is today and I thank all of our members for their support and continued encouragement for our programs and events.?We’ve had a year like no other coming out of COVID and it is only because of you.?I wrote in January 2022 in the first CREW CMU!:

I would like to let you know what Support Local also means to me. I think of it as in people, our members - YOU! Isn’t that what our community is all about? If I can have one thing to look back on in December 2022, it is that that every member in our Chapter felt a connection, a place of belonging. Through different initiatives, we are going to reach out as far as possible to make connections with you.?Do me a favor, reach back. It may feel uncomfortable, alarming and against everything that is inside of you some days, but I guarantee it will be worth it.

Thank you to all 188 (and still counting) members for 2022.?You’ve made this year something I will never forget. R.