This column, written by Suzanne Kelley, President of the Waukesha County Business Alliance, ran in the Lake Country Publications in January.
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Today everybody seems to be talking about the “skills gap” in manufacturing, but tackling this problem “can’t be the flavor of the month, it’s got to be the flavor of the decade!” So said Rick Steinke, vice president of manufacturing at Sentry Equipment in Oconomowoc, at a recent local chamber program.

Although the skills gap is a national issue, the problem is very real right here in Waukesha County.  From discussions with our manufacturing leaders, we know hundreds of local jobs remain unfilled because employers can’t find enough workers with the right skills to fill those openings.  The challenge is likely to grow as more baby boomers retire.

The problem is exacerbated because our younger generation knows little about the kinds of jobs available in the modern manufacturing environment.  Manufacturing is simply not viewed as a career path of choice.  And this misconception is held not only by students, but often by parents, guidance counselors and other educators as well.

Waukesha County manufacturers, however, are collaborating to address the issue.  At their request, Waukesha County Business Alliance has created a “Manufacturing Alliance” committed to raising the profile of manufacturing in our area and to educating young people about the great opportunities available in manufacturing.

Steven Dyer, President & CEO at Dickten Masch Plastics in Nashotah, is chairing our steering committee, which includes leaders from other premier local companies like DUECO/UELC, Ellison Technologies, Generac Power Systems, GE, HUSCO International, MetalTek International, Sentry Equipment, SPX Waukesha Electric Systems, Waukesha Foundry and Waukesha Metal Products.  Partnering with us are First Business Bank—Milwaukee; Kolb+Co., Michael Best & Friedrich, and R&R Insurance.

Under the guidance of this group, several initiatives are underway:

• Manufacturing plant tours for students, parents and educators will be offered to every Waukesha County high school.  Participants will tour two factories and see Waukesha County Technical College’s training facilities.  Bus transportation will be provided.
• A national manufacturing career-building initiative called “Dream it. Do it.” will be implemented in Waukesha County and the Milwaukee 7 economic development region.  Sponsored by the National Association of Manufacturers and already deployed in 19 other states, Dream It. Do It. will begin with the development of a careers website.  Watch for the website launch this summer.
• The 3^rd Annual “New Faces in Manufacturing” luncheon will be held at the Country Springs Hotel & Convention Center on Friday, March 2.  The CEOs of six Waukesha County manufacturing companies will tell their stories at this event.  Details can be found at www.waukesha.org.
• The Waukesha School District is offering two new courses, Industrial Math and Manufacturing Materials, to help prepare students for jobs in a manufacturing setting.
• The Alliance will coordinate summer internships at manufacturing facilities for teachers, who can then share their increased knowledge with their students.

To learn more about these and other programs, please contact the Waukesha County Business Alliance at (262)542-4249.  The Alliance is the countywide chamber of commerce with over 900 member companies representing more than 60,000 employees.

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Note from Carolyn: We have two opportunities coming up for you to get involved in our manufacturing initiatives. On Tuesday, February 21, we will be holding our monthly Networking After 5 at SPX Waukesha. Tour the facility from 4:15-5 with us, then join us for networking from 5-7pm. Additionally, as Suzanne mentioned, join us for the 3rd Annual New Faces of Manufacturing event on March 2. Details and registration information for both events is available at waukesha.org.

Guest post taken from a press release from Rentapen, Inc.
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Rentapen Inc.’s Marketing Assistant, Bethany Kratz attended the Young Professionals luncheon held by the Waukesha County Business Alliance in January. The featured topic was generational differences in the workforce and how to mend the gap. There are four different generations working in the same workplace today: the veterans, baby boomers, generation x, and millennials.

Many companies are now facing conflicts in the workplace due to the generational differences. According to the FDU Magazine Online, “Generational differences can affect everything, including recruiting, building teams, dealing with change, motivating, managing, and maintaining and increasing productivity.”

Rentapen Inc. located in Waukesha, WI has employees in all different generations working at the same location. Rentapen has been expanding their team since April 2011 with employees from ages 23-64.
“Every generation has different experiences and knowledge that can contribute to their workplace. It’s your own willingness to want to learn more everyday from your colleagues that will minimize the conflict and help your company grow, like Rentapen,” said Blake Peterson, Engineering Manager at Rentapen Inc.

Rentapen is one company that does not face conflicts with generation differences because Rentapen believes in hiring people who fit with Rentapen’s culture and not what their age is. “Everyone here at Rentapen has good communication skills and shows respect to one another,” said Susan Straley, Queen of Lean Machine Design and President at Rentapen.

“I found the luncheon to be extremely fascinating. Learning about the different generations opened my eyes to my workplace around me. I noticed how Rentapen has all four generations working in the same place and how well we all work together! Being from the youngest generation in the workplace now, the millennial generation, I understand how all generations working together can learn from each other everyday. Every generation has different knowledge and experiences that contribute to our successful workplace,” said Kratz.

Rentapen’s mission is to provide jobs, training, and opportunities for people who work together to help manufacturers reduce the costs of tooling to make their product. Rentapen reduces costs for its customers in three ways: first is excellence in machine design using systems and methods that reduce time and errors; second is the standardized yet versatile RAPid Tooling Components™; and third is the Just-In-Time Laser Cutting Services™.

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Note from Carolyn: To find out about upcoming Young Professionals of Waukesha County events, visit our website here. Also, make sure you “Like” the Young Professionals on Facebook for updates!

Guest post provided by Buckley Brinkman, executive director of Wisconsin Manufacturers Extension Partnership. This article appeared originally in the In Business Wisconsin Report in January 2012.
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It’s been a week of high-profile “state of” speeches, but while people of goodwill can disagree about the state of the nation and Wisconsin, there is no question the state of Wisconsin’s manufacturing industry is strong, according to Buckley Brinkman, executive director of the Wisconsin Manufacturers Extension Partnership.

Now if the state’s elected and appointed officials can work with industry to help change its outdated “dumb, dirty, and dangerous” image, Brinkman said the future will look even brighter.

For an important industry sector that led the way in Wisconsin job creation last year, producing 9,300 new jobs here, old imagery still is hard to shed. Having worked in a paper mill early in his work life, Brinkman knows that manufacturing is not most parents’ first choice of career for their children.

“In my household, when I was choosing a career 30 years ago, if I had come home and told my mom that I wanted to be a welder when I grew up, she would have said, ‘I love you very much son, but I’m not sure where you’re sleeping tonight because you can’t live here anymore,’” he stated, only half joking.

In today’s reality, he said, manufacturing is smart, safe, sustainable, and surging. “If you go into the manufacturers who are making their move right now, there is computerization and there is a clean environment,” he noted. “It’s not anything like the paper mill where I first cut my teeth.”

Bucking Up Manufacturing
Ask any business consultant what relocation-minded manufacturers are looking for in a new locale, and the first thing he or she would cite is logistical proximity to market. The second item on the wish list is workforce availability, and the consultant might not be totally certain that workforce quality hasn’t risen to number one.

Brinkman has attended recent meetings between Walker administration officials and state manufacturers to address their workforce development and training needs. What manufacturers need – CNC operators, welders, and people with general production skills – is easy enough to identify. But identifying people to fill those roles is more complicated.

“One of the issues we have is that it’s such a complex problem, and it’s really a matrix problem rather than a linear problem,” Brinkman said. “I was talking to someone this week who was examining this issue, and he said, ‘I’ve been looking at this for four months and I can describe it pretty well, but I have no great solutions for it.’ I think that sums up the situation we have.”

The Walker administration has put forth initiatives like Wisconsin Working, which includes a Workforce Readiness Council; it is attempting to marry the state’s unemployment insurance program with the Wisconsin Job Center website; and it recently announced a new education reform initiative. Those policy thrusts will piggyback local and regional efforts such as:

• Milwaukee Hire, which is identifying and pre-certifying workers who have the skills and the aptitude to fill jobs.
• Second Chance Partners for Education, where at-risk high school sophomores are placed on a vocational career track and obtain marketable skills by the time they complete high school. The program is available in pockets of the state, including Milwaukee and a new initiative in Green Bay.
• The Gold Collar program in northwest Wisconsin, and the All-Star Program in the New North, both of which are designed to raise the visibility of manufacturing careers for high school students.

Asked why more public dollars are not distributed directly to individual companies so that they can train people, Brinkman cited poor economies of scale. “Some things are best done at a technical college or in more general education settings,” he said. “The issue is not just training workers. It’s identifying them and getting them into the system.”

One of the things that will become clear to young people who pursue a manufacturing career is the impact of three decades’ worth of safety consciousness and work to make manufacturing jobs competitive in the global market.

“We can still get you hot, dirty, and sweaty if you really want to, but by and large the jobs that are going wanting right now are jobs that require a little welding, and that can put together a whole portfolio of skills on the manufacturing floor,” Brinkman said. “If you’re in one of these leading manufacturers right now, it’s a piece of technical skill, it’s the ability to solve problems, and then to work with teammates in coming up with the best solution. The best manufacturers involve their employees with their customers, so there has to be some ability to interact with the final customer.”

Since the problem is complex, Brinkman sees a race to a solution between Wisconsin and other states that are wrestling with the same issue. “For the long haul, if we have all these initiatives going, we’re talking five to 10 years before we turn the ship,” he said. “This isn’t anything that’s going to happen in the next six months. We’ve spent the last 30 years aiming our system at a knowledge and technology economy. What we’re finding out now is that we really do need to make something.”

Degrees of Difference
A few years ago, there was concern that not enough Wisconsin high school graduates were chasing bachelor’s degrees, which was followed by a push toward those four-year degrees. Brinkman is concerned that there is too much emphasis on college, stating that kids are smart enough to know whether they are cut out for it.

The president of the University of Wisconsin System might take issue with Brinkman, but he said a young professional with $100,000 in debt and a $35,000-a-year job to pay it off is hardly in an enviable position. “That equation doesn’t quite work,” he stated. “The fact of the matter is that 70% of the jobs in the state require a two-year degree or less. So we keep measuring our schools on college placement and SAT scores, and pushing people towards college, and in the meantime we have a lot of jobs that can make a great career for someone.”

Not only is the Wisconsin manufacturing industry faring well in a sluggish economy, its impressive ability to export – industrial and electrical machinery are the state’s top two export categories – bodes well for the future. The strength of those categories is likely to push total 2011 exports above the $20 billion mark, where it stood as recently as 2008.

“This workforce issue is one of they key issues facing our state right now,” Brinkman added. “It’s a serious problem, but anytime you have a serious problem, you have a major opportunity, too. We have such a strong manufacturing base in the state, with 23% of the non-farm workforce engaged in manufacturing, that we’re in a great position to bring some resources to bear and really have it leveraged throughout our economy.”

“Not only that, but when I talk to my counterparts in other states, they are facing the same issue. So the state that finds the secret sauce first, wins.”
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Note from Carolyn: Join us as we address this issue and more with several Waukesha County Manufacturers at our 3rd Annual “New Faces of Manufacturing” luncheon on March 2. Details and registration here!

Guest post written by Heather DeMore, VP of Sales & Marketing for DataComm Plus. Heather is also a member of our Alliance Breakfast Club planning committee.

The Waukesha County Business Alliance never fails to impress with all the Networking and Educational programs that they offer.  The Alliance Breakfast Club presentation on January 5 was presented by Mark Rodgers author of Accelerate the Sale. Mark was the perfect speaker to set the tone for the Alliance Breakfast Club series for 2012.  The topic was “12 Ideas for a Faster, More Productive 2012.” This was the perfect topic to get the crowd revved up and ready to go for a successful year of selling in 2012!

A lot of times when you hear a presenter, you’re left feeling like you got the mile high view, but not any useful real-life material that you can really use. This was the exact opposite of what Mark’s presentation was. He gave real examples and verbiage that you as a salesperson can use to role play and practice the ways that you can say things to accelerate your sales.

I want to highlight some of the 12 ideas that I have already begun to focus on after hearing Mark last week. The first is to make sure that you and your sales team 100% believes in what they are selling. If management or the sales team is not convinced of something, it comes across to the customer and they will most likely not go with your product or service. You might say well “Duh!” Well think about it in terms of an extended warranty. You maybe believe in the product, but think the warranty you offer is a waste of money. If this is the case how many warranty plans do you think your company is going to sell?

Secondly, we need to create more “Ah Ha” moments for our customers by asking the right questions. If we don’t ask valuable questions how are we differentiating ourselves from our competitors? We need to ask the right questions to add value for our customers no matter what product or service we are selling. If we can’t provide this then it becomes all about price and we all know where that leads. If you can win a customer over price, you can lose a customer over price. This is scary to think about since over 80% of our salespeople feel they need to discount our product or service to be able to sell it. So do you still truly believe that your team is 100% convinced in what you sell if they feel they have to discount your products and service to make a sale?

Thirdly, communicating with the “C-suite”. Mark had a few pointers here that I wanted to share. Find out the way that they like to communicate. Don’t assume that they like to communicate the same way you do. Some people will only meet face-to-face while others prefer to text message or email. I pulled these two examples because of the night and day difference. If you prefer to communicate by text or email and the person you are communicating with prefers to communicate in person you could see why emailing them maybe somewhat offensive. As salespeople, we also need to be willing to respectfully disagree. With this level of management people are always looking to please them all day long. However, if there is a reason to point out something that they haven’t thought of and you can do it tactfully, you just set yourself apart from the competition and created an “Ah Ha” moment.

These are the sort of things that throughout Marks presentation got me thinking about our company and what we need to make sure we are doing and paying attention to as Managers.

What I have briefly shared above is just the tip of the iceberg on what Mark covered at the Alliance Breakfast Club presentation. By now if you did not attend this morning’s event you maybe wishing that you had! Don’t worry though – this time you have a second chance! The Waukesha County Business Alliance will be hosting a book discussion on Mark’s book, Accelerate the Sale, on Thursday February 2^nd from 12-1 at their office. When do you ever get a chance to read an amazing book and then meet for lunch with other well-respected business people in the community, with the author of the book present and discuss it?? Never except for this rare opportunity! Plus, I know that it is an amazing book because I have already read it! I look forward to seeing you on Feb. 2^nd for this amazing book discussion!

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Note from Carolyn: As Heather mentioned, you can register to attend the book discussion with Mark at our office on 2/2. Sign up here. Also, Mark recorded his presentation at ABC, and you can download the MP3 here. 

Guest post from Freeman Newspaper. Written by Sarah Pryor, photos by Charles Auer. See original story here: http://activepaper.olivesoftware.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q1RGLzIwMTEvMTIvMDgjQXIwMDMwNQ%3D%3D&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom

Easter Seals warms hearts, hands of Hope Center clients
Both organizations benefit from collaboration

By Sarah Pryor
Freeman Staff

WAUKESHA ­ Winter’s chill was no match for the warm scarves and warmer smiles of Easter Seals’ Workforce Training Center participants who presented hand-knitted items to the Hope Center Wednesday morning.

For the past few months, Easter Seals has worked with adults who have disabilities such as autism to improve their fine motor skills by knitting scarves using yarn donated by families and friends, said Vicki Hastings, Easter Seals of Southeast Wisconsin’s community relations manager.

“This project has also taught some of our participants to emerge as mentors and leaders among their peers, and for others, knitting has become their new hobby,” Hastings said in a press release.  ”This project, however, was never just about learning how to knit. It was originally initiated to create a new opportunity for our participants to make a difference for those in need in their local community.” On Wednesday, the participants presented the items to the Hope Center, who will provide them to those in need, said Hope Center Executive Director Ralph Zick.

“We’re extremely grateful and thankful that these people, who have special needs, are helping people who have needs here at the Hope Center,” Zick said. “It’s beautiful handiwork, and we love giving it to people because so many of our clients enjoy handmade items.” The collaboration doesn’t end there.

Starting Dec. 16, interested Workforce Training Center participants will volunteer monthly in the Hope Center’s store by folding, organizing and hanging merchandise, Hastings said.

“This collaboration with Hope Center will create additional volunteer opportunities and job skills for our Workforce Training Center participants who want further knowledge and experiences in the retail industry,” Hastings said in the release. “Overall this collaboration is a win-win for both non-profits.  The Hope Center gains valuable volunteers on the days they need help, while our Easter Seals participants will learn new job skills, volunteerism and giving back to their community.” Zick said he’s excited to work with the Easter Seals volunteers to add to the 25,000 volunteer hours the Hope Center has racked up in 2011 so far.

“There’s always a need,” Zick said. “Our clients come here in ever-increasing numbers every month.” For more information, visit www.eastersealswise.com.

Email: spryor@conleynet.com

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Note from Carolyn: It’s great to see our members collaborating to improve our community! The link for more info about Easter Seals is above, and here’s the link to Hope Center’s website: www.hopecenterwi.org. We have over 50 non-profit members who need your help, especially this time of year. Whether you’re able to donate clothes to The Clothing Shop at Hope Center, ring the bell for The Salvation Army, or spend some time volunteering at the Food Pantry of Waukesha County, I hope you’re able to help support these organizations. If you have questions about our member non-profits, please contact our office at 262.542.4249. If you’re looking for volunteer opportunities for yourself, your family or your organization, either give us a call, or you can contact United Way in Waukesha County’s Volunteer Center at www.unitedwaywaukesha.org.

Also – make sure you sign up for our Holiday Networking After 5 on December 20 at Brookfield Suites. It’s a  great networking event to catch up with old friends and colleagues and to meet new ones. More information is at www.waukesha.org.

Happy Holidays from our “work family” to yours!

Guest post written by Jeff Hoffman, VP of Industrial Real Estate, Judson & Associates, S.C., and Jim Brandenburg, CPA and Shareholder of Kolb + Co, SC.

In the early part of this century there was a prevailing thought that if the State of Wisconsin was going to compete in the “Economy of the Future” we needed to move on from our manufacturing heritage and embrace the new economy. The State should be grateful that our manufacturing community did not heed the advice of the experts as manufacturing has shown remarkable resilience in an economic recovery that still feels like a recession for millions of people.

While manufacturing has changed dramatically over the past decade it has remained a driving force in the State of Wisconsin’s Economy. Manufacturing has generated 8,233 new jobs since 2009 and Wisconsin leads the nation in the percentage of its workforce that is employed by manufacturing with approximately 16% of the State’s workforce.  The economic impact of manufacturing in Wisconsin can not be understated. The sector supports approximately 1.1 million jobs with total earnings of $53 billion dollars. That is 32% of the state’s jobs and 35% of all earnings. For each manufacturing job that is created there are, by conservative estimates, two service sector jobs needed to support the wealth creation effects of the sector.

A little known provision in the recent State Budget, Act 32  is going to make creating economic growth much easier for the manufacturing community in the State of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin “Qualified Production Activities Credit”  will effectively eliminate taxation on qualified production activity within the State by 2016. The credit will be available for all qualified activity income generated from manufacturing and agricultural operations derived from property located in Wisconsin and assessed by the state as either manufacturing or agricultural. The credit will be available for both Wisconsin Corporate taxpayers and individual taxpayers who own their interests through an S Corp or Partnership/LLC. Due to budget constraints the State was not prepared to roll this piece of legislation out immediately, however the following phase in process will begin in 2013:

Tax Years Beginning 2013 – A 1.875 % Tax Credit
Tax Years Beginning 2014 – A 3.75 % Tax Credit
Tax Years Beginning 2015 – A 5.526 % Tax Credit
Tax Years Beginning 2016 – A 7.5 % Tax Credit

With the current top tax rates of 7.5% for an individual or 7.9% for a C-Corp the State of Wisconsin is positioned to essentially eliminate State income tax for manufacturing businesses. Manufacturing, the actual making of a product, creates wealth and sustainable economic growth which in turn creates jobs and all the benefits that come with growth.

With the passing of this piece of legislation the State adds another recruitment tool to its arsenal of competitive advantages in the field of manufacturing. This will not only be an attractive tool to recruit out of State companies, but it also sends the signal to the existing manufacturing base in Wisconsin that if your company is planning an expansion, Wisconsin wants you to expand in your home State.

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Note from Carolyn: It’s not news to our members that Manufacturing is a BIG deal in our region! Check out the updates from our Waukesha County Manufacturing Alliance here.

Post written by Amanda Payne, Strategic Marketing Communications, Scheibel Halaska.

Sip. Taste. Meet. Enjoy… (and then take some home)

I’m looking forward to all five of those activities at the upcoming Waukesha County Business Alliance’s World of Wines and Beer on November 4. In its 11^th year, the event brings together not only 150 different wines and 25 microbrew selections, but over twice that many professionals and business leaders from across Waukesha County.

Not only does the evening promise to be a good time for those looking to do some taste testing and perhaps identify a new favorite wine or beer this fall (and then stock up on the new favorite by taking advantage of the bulk discounted pricing), but also provide all of us with the opportunity to meet and interact with business professionals and leaders. You know, sometimes it’s nice to have a face-to-face conversation with people, shake their hand, and trade stories over a Merlot or Pumpkin Ale. For all of the amazing benefits in digital and social media, email, texting and e-networking, it’s still refreshing to actually meet people when you “meet” them.

So, order your World of Wines and Beer tickets, prepare to sample fall’s most festive drink selections and bring your checkbook or cash to purchase raffle tickets for a variety of prizes. And, consider the family and friends in your life who just might enjoy wine or beer under the tree this holiday season – it’s never too early to start buying gifts and the shopping at World of Wines and Beer promises to be less stressful than standing in line outside the mall for the day after Thanksgiving sales. And these discounts will be better. Guaranteed

See you there!

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Note from Carolyn: Amanda touched on my two favorite parts of the event: Networking face to face, and of course, wine and beer at discounted prices!! Hope you can join us on November 4!

Thanks to our HUGE list of sponsors who make this event possible!
ActionCoach of Elm Grove
Albrecht’s Sentry
Associated Bank
Beer Capitol Distributing LLC
BeneCo of Wisconsin, Inc.
Boucher Law Group
Citizens Bank of Mukwonago
Clarcorp Industrial Sales
Davians Banquet & Conference Center
Dickten Masch Plastics
Eagle Printing & Graphics
Enterforce, Inc.
Generac
InvestorsBank
Jannsen & Company
Lake Country Publications
Milwaukee Wave
R&R Insurance Services, Inc.
Sentry Equipment Corporation
ServiceMaster Professional Building Maintenance
St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy
The Schroeder Group S.C., Attorneys at Law
TDS
Vino Etcetera!
Walden, Schuster & Vaklyes, S.C.
Waukesha County Technical College
Waukesha Foundry, Inc.
Wisconsin Coach Lines/Coach USA Milwaukee

Post written by Brian Nemoir, President of Full Impact Communications, LLC, and chair of the Waukesha County Business Alliance Board of Directors.

The Waukesha County Business Alliance isn’t exempt from such challenges.  We are currently entering the final stage of our member renewal process, which to-date has already delivered an astounding record-breaking 82% renewal rate.  While it would be easy to raise a glass and toast such successes, the more-critical question is what happened to those 18% that didn’t come back?

The Alliance is a customer-driven product; what we offer is that which our members influence via creation and participation.  The Alliance is constantly evolving, responding to the needs of our customers, working to improve our product offering.

It’s easy to say that it’s the value of our product offering that sets us apart from other existing and newly formed organizations.  Our response?  Numbers don’t lie, and while 82% renewal rate is a nice endorsement, here are a few other facts and numbers that support the four pillars of our organization

• Advocate—Last year’s merger of Waukesha County Chamber of Commerce and WCAN produced not only a newly-named organization, but also a more robust advocacy effort.  Water, education, transportation, taxation, economic development, and workforce training are just a few of the issues that the Alliance played an active role in at various levels of government.  I think it’s fair to say the voice of the Waukesha County business community has been, and will continue to be heard.
• Develop—This is the “what you know” part of our mission.  Last year the Alliance hosted 41 development events and programs, focusing on business development featuring great backyard talent, as well as regional experts.  Helping you get better at what your business does keeps you coming back for more.
• Network—Take what you know, and put it in front of who you know, a fairly simple formula for business success. Last year nearly 7,000 attendees participated in 156 events and programs…all designed to increase who you know.
• Promote— We hope that for every new business ribbon cutting the Alliance participates in, it leads to a future application for our heralded “Top 10 Business of the Year” award and subsequent ceremony.  From the Alliance business resource directory and map, to sponsorship opportunities, we work to add additional value to your membership by creating opportunities to be in front of friendly audiences.

Challenges present opportunities, not the least of which is to remind the member-driven Alliance what we do well, and reconsider what we can do better.  The Alliance will work equally hard to make sure the 18% return, and that the 82% get the return on their investment.  Those “re” words may not always be comfortable, but they are part of what makes the Alliance an ever-improving organization.

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Note from Carolyn: Have you signed up yet for our Annual Meeting next week? The theme is “Waukesha County is OPEN for Business!”, and it is next Tuesday, September 27 from 11:30-1:30pm at Country Springs Hotel. Join us as we celebrate the successes of the business community, recognize our volunteers and sponsors from the last year, and present the Don Richards Leadership Award to former Lt. Gov. Margaret Farrow. She will be presented the award by former Governor and HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. We will also hear about the “state of business” from WMC President Kurt Bauer. Details here: http://business.waukesha.org/events/details/annual-meeting-2011

I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently about the difference between doing what you want to do, and doing what you choose to do. When I said “You can do whatever you want to do!” his response was “No. I can do whatever I choose to do. I don’t get to do whatever I want to do.”

I thought about that a little more, and I realized he’s totally right. On Monday morning at 6am – I didn’t want to get out of bed… but that wasn’t an option. So I chose to get out of bed, even though I didn’t want to!

Do you ever feel like you’ve hit a wall at work? Frustration with coworkers, exhaustion from working too many hours, a desk in front of you that’s completely covered in paperwork, all waiting for you to take care of it?

What do you want to do about it? Smack that pesky coworker upside the head? Lay your head down and take a mid-afternoon nap? Sweep your arm across the desk, filing all of that paperwork under “G”?

But what do you choose to do instead? Sit down and reason with that coworker (or maybe avoid him or her). Refill your coffee cup for the 3^rd time, and try your hardest to be productive and get your work done by 5:00. Or 6:00. Or 7:00 if necessary. Make neat piles, organizing as much as you can, and vow to put files away as soon as you’re done with them.

What I realized is that it’s definitely a different kind attitude. This friend is the president of a company where he oversees 40+ employees. He doesn’t always get to do what he wants to do, but he chooses to make smart decisions, and more often than not, the options he chooses also line up with the option he wants!

Guest post written by Kelly Ratliff, AmeriCorpsVISTA in the Office of Service Learning at Waukesha County Technical College, and graduate of Leadership Waukesha XXII. Next month, Kelly will begin her new job as the Assistant Director of Student Development at WCTC.

First things first: I’m new around here. Anyone who asks for my ID, phone number, or is lucky enough to pick up on an occasional “ya’ll” will notice anyway. Let’s just be honest from the get-go, shall we?

Last summer, I moved to Waukesha from Missouri to begin a year of national service in the AmeriCorps VISTA program. I had no real expectations – just the usual mix of excitement and nerves about starting life in a whole new community, learning the ropes at a brand new job, and attempting to build a whole network of friends and colleagues from scratch. As anyone who knows me would tell you, I’m an extrovert. I LOVE meeting new people. But when it comes to starting anew, we can all use a little help.

Luckily, my service site, WCTC, had the wonderful foresight to enroll me in the Leadership Waukesha program through the Waukesha County Business Alliance. Almost immediately, I was surrounded by a group of 15 other professionals in the community – some new like me, some who had been around for years.  ALL with a passion for learning more about the county, expanding their leadership skills, and getting involved.

Leadership Waukesha was the perfect setting for me to truly grow into a new life in Waukesha County. I built business contacts, learned about the community’s history, and had meaningful discussions about local issues. Most meaningful to me, I built friendships with my classmates. I became such a big fan of Waukesha County during my year here that I decided to stick around; my LW classmates all rooted for me and supported me throughout my job search process. And I have no doubt that we’ll continue to keep in touch as I now (happily!) settle in to my new career in Waukesha.

So, if you’re new like me, or just want more from your experience here – give Leadership Waukesha a try. You won’t be disappointed!

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Note from Carolyn: We are now looking for participants for the next Leadership Waukesha class beginning August 29. Here are the details for the class – including the application. Let us know if you have any questions!