How Old Are You?
How Age Affects the Way You Do Business

For the first time in the history of industrialized America, four generations – each with its own characteristics – are working side by side.

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Happy Workers
Why Understanding Generational Differences Matters

Fail to acknowledge generational differences and you could send your employees on to a more generation-friendly work environment.

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Q&A: Putting a Face on the Generations

Business leaders provide insight into their values, strengths and leadership styles.

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Suporting Nonprofits
To Succeed, They Need More than a Mission

They also need an eye on the bottom line and the support of the community, government and for-profit business.

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Community Impact

Serving on a nonprofit board of directors and a look at Leadership Duluth community service projects

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Behind the Scenes at Three Local Nonprofits

Nonprofit success means finding a balance between maintaining the integrity of services and operating within budget.

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Behind Building Our City
Images of Endion

A lost neighborhood inspires Beacon Pointe.

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Wired for Business
Three Firms, Three Views

Northland firms are using the latest hardware, software and network technology to stay plugged in to the main office. They’re checking in, retrieving data, serving current customers and finding new ones. And they’re luring key employees, no matter where they sit on the globe.

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Corporate Office Design
An Old Trend, Revised

Designing corporate office space is a lot more complex than it used to be. As one interior designer put it, “you don’t just stick a bunch of workstations in an office anymore.” In addition to planning around the physical components of the space, increasingly designers are considering the people who work there, taking into account their values, schedules and comfort.

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Building Our City
The Puck Drops Here

Lake a power play goal in hockey, a couple of nifty assists have helped in the ground breaking for the Duluth Heritage Sports Center. Close to a dozen entities – nonprofits, businesses, property owners, youth sports organizations, private donors and city government – have all come together to contribute to the building of the two-phase hockey arena and multi-sports pavilion at the old Clyde Iron site at 29th Avenue West and Michigan Street in Duluth.

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July/August 2007

Learning to Lead
Leadership Trainers Share What It Takes

Are leaders born or made? Both, say the experts we spoke with. While some people are born with characteristics that make them natural leaders, with self-reflection and study, anyone can learn to lead people effectively.

Leaders say and do things differently and that is the focus of what Steve Allison, Allison and Associates, and his father, Dave, teach. When someone becomes a better leader, it means a better organization and better profits. But the real benefits, says Allison, are when people become better community leaders, better spouses and better parents because leadership skills translate into all areas of life.

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What Makes Them Tick?
To Motivate Employees You Have to Know Them

Employee incentives and employee development are crucial to retaining and motivating employees. And although such programs can translate into a lot of money, local experts agree that besides direct pay and benefits, simple gestures work best. Large and small companies alike can practice common courtesy, helping make employees more efficient, more competitive and more successful.

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Entrepreneur Corner
Hiring Your First Employee

Chalk it up to another thing left behind with the 20th century. Gone are the days when corporate American and the stronghold on recruiting the top talent with promises of job security and unbeatable benefit packages. With big companies being the first to make employee cuts in the wake of economic crisis, small business has demonstrated the proven ability to ride the waves longer during times of uncertainty.

Many entrepreneurs recognize this shift and are more than happy to open their doors as their businesses grow and the need for adding employees arises.

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We Are the Chamber
A Look at Your Fellow Chamber Members

Like most Chambers of Commerce, our membership represents the diversity of our local business community. We hope you will enjoy learning about the Chamber members profiled in the article, and that you will consider doing business with them when the opportunity presents itself.

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Your Chamber Works
The Chamber Wingman

The second airplane flying in a two-ship formation is called a “wingman.”  The wingman’s job is to fly cover.  Essentially, he or she protects and assists the lead aircraft to accomplish mission success – no matter what.  Recently, this was demonstrated as the Military Affairs group of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce flew cover in Washington, D.C., for the Duluth-based148th Fighter Wing.

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May/June 2007

For the Record: Duluth is a great place to work and do business

Rob West has sold lots of products and services in his career. But he’s never had a product like he’s selling now – the Duluth community.

“It’s different because it’s intangible,” he says. “But at the same time, you still go back to the fundamentals – you build value. And there is a lot of value here. We have a very unique lifestyle. It doesn’t appeal to everyone, but to certain people it’s perfect. Our job is to find those people.

West is the CEO of the Area Partnership for Economic Expansion, and the organization is making an impact. The private sector partnership has helped retention, attraction or creation of more than 775 new jobs in Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin. That represents $26 million in annual payroll.

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Survey Says: Duluth is looking good

Simply put, Duluth is off the charts. “The number of residents rating their community as an excellent or good place to live is ridiculously high,” says Drew Digby, a University of Minnesota Duluth instructor and lead researcher on Duluth’s Social Capital Benchmark Survey. “Over 90 percent rated it as ‘excellent’ or ‘good.’ Less that 10 percent rated it ‘only fair’ or ‘poor.’ That’s compared to 30 percent nationally.

Duluth initially attracted the attention of social capital researchers because of its high voter turnout – over 90 percent. The Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation worked with national social capital researcher Dr. Robert Putnam on the survey, which measures, for the first time, the area’s community connectedness

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