How many times a day do you suppose each of us are asked the question; “How are you today?” When someone asks you that question, do you ever have the urge to just stand there and look them in the eye to see if they are genuinely interested in the answer or are they just going thru the motions to get to the real reason for calling you, which is often simply to ask you for something?

Well, the Chamber of Commerce recently asked that very question in the form of a Membership Survey. A lot of thought was put into each question in order to gather as much data as possible to help us continue to be relevant to you and your business. More importantly than that perhaps, is that the leadership at the Chamber truly does want to know “How is YOUR Chamber today?” The survey consisted of approximately twenty (20) questions ranging from how long you have been a member to what the best day of the week would be for you to attend a professional workshop. While the survey was open for only a couple of weeks in late June and the data is still being compiled, it is obvious that not only do you care, but that nearly every single respondent would recommend the Chamber to another business. We will make sure that every response, along with all of the comments, ideas, and suggestions, are available for the entire membership to see. We are very appreciative of everyone who took the time to share their views and to let us know “How we are doing?”

In the coming weeks after carefully reviewing every response, the leadership team will try and customize our programs and services to fit the changing needs and wishes of our growing community. I am not particularly fond of saying never, or always, and other such inflexible terms, but if I were to go out on a limb just a bit, I would venture to say that you will almost never hear these words in the Chamber office…“we are going to do it this way because that is just the way we have always done it”. In fact, I am pretty sure most would agree we are the exact opposite when it comes to trying new things and responding to change. We are not only grateful that so many of our customers are willing to share their ideas and suggestions with us to keep us in touch with the latest and greatest; but we are equally as appreciative of our customers for their willingness and desire to, as Ray Kroc was fond of saying “Be daring, be different, and be first”. We feel just as strongly that getting rid of the tired old way of doing things is just as important as being willing to try new things and to keep up with the needs of our customers. Another thing that Ray Kroc is credited with saying is “when you are green, you are growing…but when you are ripe you start to rot!” We hope to continue to always be green and growing and we hope our customers never (in this case I do mean NEVER) think we are ripe and starting to rot. Hard work, the pursuit of excellence, open minds to new things, persistence in tough times, and above all else, effective communication will continue to be our goal. If we can be successful at listening to our customers (when we say…“How are you doing?”…we really do care and want know!), then respond accordingly, together all of us will continue to be successful for many, many years to come.

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