Visiting Western States

I was priviledged to be able to visit with the Jaycee members and leaders of the Great Amercia Institute states (Washington, Montana, Colorado, California, Arizona, Hawaii, Oregon) for a couple of purposes.  I was representing President Travis as his Political Advisor and the rest of the Mid America Institute states.  I had the opportunity to discuss issues that are affecting all Jaycees states…looking at ways and ideas for enhancing our organization.  As a candidate for Minnesota Junior Chamber State President, I also was able to have some 1-to-1 conversations with sitting State Presidents and share ideas on what is working and what is not working for them.

This was a great opportunity to gain some new insights that I look forward to sharing with you over the next few months.  It also solidified my belief in our organization and then I do look forward to the opportunity to be your State President.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

The Power of Truman Jaycees…

I was excited to be able to visit with the Truman Jaycees during their recent chapter general membership meeting.  Brandi Weihe and the rest of the Truman Jaycees were very hospitable and willing shared their ideas for how we can make a positive impact not only their chapter but as a state organization.  I was able to share a part of my vision with them, but I feel I took more than I left through their ideas and confirmation of the vision of developing the avenues of utilitizing today’s technology to power the organization and increase our overall leadership development capabilities.

I also would like to thank Barb Kubly for assisting and sharing thoughts and ideas.  I’m always invigorated to touch base with Jaycee members that I’ve known for awhile and have seen grow through our organization.  That is one of the reasons I look forward to the opportunity to serve as your State President for 2009…assisting others to grow beyond what they thought was possible.

I’ll see you on the road soon…till then, keep the Jaycee spirit in your soul and air in your tires!

 

Jason Gadd, 2009 State Presidential Candidate

Managing Miscues in Business

It is amazing how building and managing your business is so similar to family.  I for one, enjoy creating that family environment in my business.  As I go through my business life, I look to treat those I work with as family, people that I listen to, people that I care about, and people that I will go out of my way to help out. 

 

But once in a while, one does stumble.  Recently I got so focused on the task at hand at work, that I forgot to call my Mom on her birthday.  Now this is a huge “stumble” for a son and I knew it.  It is in the reaction that you can truly understand what happened and grow from it.  I initially felt like all hope was lost.  But after beating myself up, I stepped up and called her.  Yes, I still felt bad, but I wanted to try to make it up.  I went the extra mile and even sent flowers the next day. 

 

Ok, how does this relate to business?  Just like what happened to me, once in a while you do take a misstep with a client.  Forget a conference call/appointment or miss a deadline.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that you will lose that client.  It is in the reaction, how you react to the incident, which will determine what happens next.  The best way is to be honest with the client and let them know you do understand that you did take a misstep, and you are looking at ways to make a difference.  If you have been building a strong relationship with them like family, then they should understand as well.  Through this process, your relationship will only grow stronger. 

 

How does this help you?  By sharing personal items with your client and getting to know them on a personal level, this allows you to converse about life outside of the actual business and leads to an understanding of their goals, visions and fears.  This knowledge enables you to tailor your services to match them, which only strengthens the overall client relationship. 

 

In the same manner that your family grows together by experiencing life’s challenges together, by facing the business challenges with your client instead of against them, allows your business to grow and become stronger.  As with family members, you may not always get along, in fact you may have quarrels about deadlines, invoices, any number of items.  You get through these incidents only if you have at least started building that understanding of each other.  You may not need to send a bouquet of flowers as an apology, yet the contact and the honesty that you show will go just as far.

 

I enjoy seeing my fellow business and non-profit “family” members at various networking and social events, (including the Minnesota Junior Chamber) and learning what is new in their lives.  Together, we build those relationships that lead to successful business.  I encourage you to visit your business neighbor and become a part of the family.  You don’t even have to bring flowers.

Minnesota Caucus – Opportunity for Ideas

First, I want to thank the St Cloud Jaycees for hosting the 2008 Minnesota Jaycees Caucus.  I had a great time and enjoyed the opportunity to share my ideas with those in attendance.  Thanks to Jaunita Beachamp, Elections Chair and Ketti Green, Minnesota Junior Chamber Administrative Vice President for asking questions and organizing a very smooth caucus program. 

I especially want to thank Jim Renner of Hopkins and Robin Groetch of St Cloud for introducing me.  Both presented very well and I was honored to have you be a part of the presentation.  I was humbled to hear what you had to say and it helped to solidify my presentation to the group present.  I was able to share ideas about what our organization has done for me and why I want to become State President to facilitate that believe in the organization to all our members.  Two items I’ve learned over the years is that leadership is a learned ability provided by the Junior Chamber and that by believing in the Junior Chamber, you will begin to believe in yourself.  When that happens, you begin to accomplish not only your dreams, but achieving new heights that you hadn’t even thought about prior to being apart of the organization.  I am anticipating the excitement in seeing you reach beyond what you thought was possible.

Congratulations to Jason Benton for reaching for the knowledge that comes with announcing for the Community Development Vice President.  I’m excited to see people starting to talk about what they would like to learn from our organization.  I look forward to hearing more from Jason and also encourage others to take the initiative as well.  If you are considering reaching for a Vice President, Program Manager, or Regional/District position, I encourage you to ask questions and to get your name out there.

Feel free to call me and we can talk about options/idea/assistance…

See you on the road!!

 

Jason Gadd