I was chatting with my copywriter the other day and she said, "OH MAN I was writing the BEST article in Evernote and something happened and now its GONE. I can't find it anywhere!" 

I reminded her that when she was getting her business systems set up -- she was using the FREE version of Evernote -- and I encouraged her to upgrade to the professional version. "Did you do that," I asked? 

Well she did and boy is she glad. Because she could go to evernote.com and see all of her notes and articles and the various iterations... and there it was. Her article that she worked so hard on was in there. 

It's a good reminder to look around at the things in your life and in your work that you value and that add value to those you serve. If you value it and it goes away, what then? Is there something you can do that will help make sure that it doesn't go away?

So many businesses look at the work you do and say, "I'm glad they do it. I benefit from their work. They're going to...

Chamber people are optimists, aren't we? We're can-do people and the term chamber of commerce weather refers to weather that attracts people to your town. "It's like this every day here!" right? We see the positive everywhere and we get excited about all the new things in our community and we promote promote promote... 

I was a chamber of commerce weather person for my first couple of years in chamber work, but I found it much more beneficial to be a skeptical optimist. What the heck is a skeptical optimist? Well, the more chamber members I meet -- and I've met a few thousand across North America -- the more I see that our members are skeptical optimists. 

You see, when you own a business, there's a target on your back. Competitors are coming for you. Vendors are raising prices. Charities are beating down your door for their next ask. Your employees are demanding raises or new titles or stand up desks... And that city council candidate is decidedly anti-business. Taxes are...

What would you do with an extra day? Well, my friends at the Saratoga County Chamber looked ahead on their calendar and they found one. They found an extra day! And they turned it into Leap of Kindness Day. They challenged their community to do an act of kindness on Leap Day, February 29th, 2016. 

Well Leap Year comes around every four years and here it is again in 2020, less than 2 months from now. And Todd and his team at the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce are inviting you and me to participate in Leap of Kindness Day, Saturday February 29th. And I think the best way to participate is to do what they are doing and challenge their community to participate in an act of kindness. 

It costs nothing to participate and start Act of Kindness Day in your own community. The Saratoga County Chamber runs this program through their foundation and I've included a link below if you want more information. They are doing this as an Act of Kindness for communities...

Elected officials are just like you. They have a job and a family and they volunteer. In this case, they have volunteered to put themselves in the public eye, under a ton of scrutiny by you and ten thousand others. If you don't have a relationship with your elected officials, you should, and as you might have guessed, I have three tips for you. 

1. Catch them in the off-season. Find out their down time. If they are a state rep or senator, that means don't schedule time with them at the capitol building. Find time outside of session when they are back home in your neighborhood. 

2. Find their hot buttons. What is on their agenda that you can help them with? Reciprocity comes when you help them first. 

3. Ask them how you can help them. Wait didn't I just say that? No, I said "what's on their agenda." Now I'm suggesting that you literally say the words, HOW CAN I HELP YOU? And then sit there silently and listen to their answer. If they have never thought about it before,...

I hear it all the time... I LOVE my member management software... AND I hate my member management software. Whether you love yours or hate yours, I have some things for you to consider if you're thinking about switching. 

1. They are all 80 percent the same. It's the rest of the 20 percent that makes the big difference.

2. Half of that 20% is in the User Interface. If you love yours, it's because you know where to find the features you use regularly. If you hate yours, it's most likely because you haven't spent enough time to locate the reports or features you need. Prove me wrong while you roll your eyes at me... 

3. The other half of that 10% is in the customer service -- which comes in two forms. Proactive and reactive. Proactive customer service is when your member management software provider has anticipated your needs and questions for the most common applications. It should be easy to find instructions, links and videos explaining how to do something. Reactive customer...

  If I lived in your community, I would be so thankful for you. You are a champion for the business community. You're a catalyst for positive change. And you're a convener of leaders and influencers. 

You do the things that most people think "just happen." You grow businesses. You connect and mentor and lead and promote. 

But here's why I'm most grateful for you. Somewhere in your town, there's a little boy or little girl, who is growing up in a home where at least one parent has a job outside the home. And maybe that wasn't the case for that child not so long ago. 

Studies show that when a child grows up in a home where at least one parent has a job, the opportunities for that child are exponentially greater throughout their entire lifetime. 

You are standing on that proverbial fence, protecting jobs, enabling the creation of more jobs, and preserving the economic prosperity of your community. 

And to that little boy or girl, that doesn't...

Colorado, California, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and coming soon to a state near you: marijuana dispensaries. The economic impact of these businesses is significant and the tax benefits to your community positive. 

The problem is chambers might be unclear about the ethics of serving a business that sells something that offends them personally or may have only recently become legal. 

I know plenty of chamber execs who don't drink but are fine with allowing bars to join. Maybe that's because prohibition was a century ago and we need some more time with this one? 

But let's look at this from a business perspective. Who benefits from the dollars moving to and from marijauna dispensaries? 

There are three primary beneficiaries in your local economy: 

1. Landlords and commercial builders. If you have a high vacancy rate, you can hate on weed and still love that your commercial real estate members have healthier revenues. The first thing one...

Working with a team requires some tact. The problem is, without tact, your responses are seen as careless, dismissive or unfiltered. If you catch someone at the wrong time with your new idea, you might get the tactless, unfiltered response. 

I remember when I was growing up, there were definitely times I knew NOT to ask my parents for something I really wanted. My dad liked to zone out while driving for example. I knew I would get a tactless response to my idea or question if I asked while we were driving. But I could ask for anything while we were playing catch or anything active -- and get a thoughtful response. The time to ask my mom was almost exactly the opposite. 

The opposite of unfiltered is thoughtful. So if you have ever experienced some unfiltered responses from someone on your team, I have some suggestions. 

1. Learn to have conversations that start with, "Can I share with you some feedback?" And ask questions like, "When I shared my project with you, I was...

Do you know where you're headed? How do you define success? How do know when you've arrived at your destination? 

You might have great clarity around the answers to these questions, but the problem is your board may not. And the bigger problem is that your staff doesn't either! 

I'm working with chamber teams all over the US and Canada and it's pretty clear to me who has a clear mission and who is unclear. Some new folks come into this work and see a mission statement without a strategic plan as an invitation to change the mission. That's when we lose continuity in the chamber. 

If I'm a board member of your chamber, I don't go to one more board meeting unless you provide me with the strategic plan that outlines how we answer the questions I've asked you. 

Where are we headed? How do we measure progress? Who is in charge of what? 

Now when I mentioned strategic plan just now, did you roll you eyes at me? Some people do back flips over the idea of a strategic...

You do a lot of events at the chamber and you probably know what to do with a microphone, but maybe you don't know as much as you could. And just because you know what to do with a microphone doesn't mean your members do and if you're going to put your members on stage, it's good know some tips that can help them to be heard on your sound system. 

Here are three steps to help you sound better on any microphone, along with a little bonus tip. 

1. Never cup the microphone. Rappers think it's cool to cup a mic, but you'll lose vocal range. If you don't know what that means, that's ok. I hosted and produced a Live Band Karaoke Show for 15 years and that qualifies me to say, "don't cup the fucking mic!"

2. Hold the mic just below the grill with a firm but not too tight grip. A tight grip can cause a shaky voice, but too loose of a grip can cause what's called "handling noise." 

3. Point the mic at your mouth from your chin at a 45 degree angle -not zero degrees or 90...