transition diary - acce · 2016-05-27 · transition diary 6 chamber executive spring 2012 w. ......

Editor’s Note: O n D ec. 15, 2011 Chip Che rry became president and CEO o f the H untsville/ Madison C ounty Chamb er o f C ommerce in Huntsville, Ala., aft er 10 y ears in the same position at the Macon, Ga., chamber 260 miles to the s outheast. The H untsville me tro ar ea population of 418,000 is 75 percent larger than Macon’s. Che rry’s staff o f 27 in H untsville is nearly t wice the size of the M acon staff. The chamber budget in H untsville is $3.5 mil lion, more than t wice the siz e o f M acon’s. I n this article, Cherry shares his tho ughts on making the transition.

It’s Oct Ober and I’m one of

two final candidates for the CEO job

in Huntsville. I’ve been recruited for

several CEO jobs in recent years and

the process has been similar each time,

but this is a first: Today the chamber

staff is going to interview me.

How a Chamber CEO Met the Challenges of a New Job

By Chip Cherry, CCE

transition diary

6 Chamber Executive Spring 2012

w


Actually it’s two interviews, one by the management team and one by the general staff. They can ask anything. It’s just me and them. No board or CEO selection committee members, no execu-tive recruiter. I’m impressed that the selection committee wants them involved and values their input.

The questions from the general staff tend to be more personal, aimed at finding out what kind of person I am. The managers are interested in my work style, workplace attitudes and my philosophy about chambers and the work they do. One manager asks how I feel about humor in the workplace. “I think it’s great, if it’s funny,” is my reply.

The toughest question comes from the general staff: “Are you going to keep everybody?” I tell them I don’t know, that it’s too early to know and that bringing on a new CEO isn’t really about them or me; it’s about providing the best service to the members. I also say it’s important to me that people make their best effort, and that I will do my best to protect the job of anyone who does that.

the right c hemistryI’ve been recruited for several opportunities in the last few years and none felt as right as this one. Here, the attitude of the selec-tion committee is “our job is to make Chip successful.” It’s very important when you’re looking at opportunities that you have the right chemistry between you and your volunteers. I had my first CEO job at the age of 26 and I didn’t know any better—I thought I just had to change and adapt each year to new volunteer leaders. I’ve learned how critical it is to get the right chemistry with your leadership. I once backed out of an opportunity when I was one of the top two choices. My wife and I had spent a day or two in the new community and we were on a chartered plane with some of the volunteer leaders. On that plane ride I realized the chemis-try just wasn’t right with one of the leaders. There are two kinds of people who seek these volunteer roles: those who really want to give back to the community, enhance it and move it forward, and those who are mainly seeking to raise their social status or power level. It’s critical to surround yourself with those who want to move the community forward, which is what I had in Macon and what I have here in Huntsville.

r amping UpPreparing for the Nov. 9 public announcement of my hiring, I call the board chairman and ask if there’s a key individual I should meet while I’m in town. He recommends that we spend some time with the person who was most connected with the BRAC (Base Closure and Realignment) efforts in the community. The meeting is informative for me but more importantly it shows our respect

How are ce Os selected? When a CEO position is open, most chambers appoint a search committee whose chairman will lead the selection process. Many also will retain an executive search firm for assistance. Most of my recruitment experience has involved executive recruiters, or headhunters, and the process they usually employ looks something like this:

• A headhunter will ask for an updat ed resume. You also might be asked to take a psychological test or they’ll have a background check done and then vet it with the search committee.

• the headhunt er w ill visit y ou f or an interview or you will fly to an airport hub where you meet the headhunter and have a 90-minute interview and then fly back home.

• the selection committee will int erview three to 12 people and eventually narrow it down to one or two candidates.

• If you’re t he pr ime or backup candidate, they’ll ask you and your spouse—and maybe your kids, too—to travel to the community and meet with the mayor and other key influencers. Someone will entertain your spouse while you’re meeting people, then you get together for a reception or dinner where you’ll be asked to make a few remarks.

• If you are select ed t he nego tiation pro-cess begins. I suggest that you use the resources of ACCE to determine what the appropriate salary range is for your position.

Chip Cherry was interviewed by the local ABC affiliate following the Mayor’s annual ‘State of the City’ address.

See us in Louisville for ACCE’s Convention 2012, at booths #105 and #107.


for this individual. We started the morning with a chamber staff meeting where he introduced me as the new exec. Chamber staff members were among the first to know, which validated their importance. I’ve gotten the impression from the board that they value a high level of interaction with all the staff.

I’m asked to attend the board’s executive committee meeting and a reception for major investors on Nov. 17, so I make the most of the trip by coming down on the 16th and spending an extra half day in the office.

During my visit I met with two more key influencers, and got to know my administrative assistant better. I also dived into the finan-cials and found a few issues I’d like to address, such as standard-izing the treatment of overtime among all departments, revamping policies governing travel and entertainment, and our handling of credit for trades. I’m conservative about finances and I tend to be very formal about tracking, measuring and documenting the flow of money. In general, I tend to focus on measures and benchmarks.

I had dinner with four of my direct reports so we could get to know each other better. They knew about me and wanted to know more. For me it was an opportunity to learn more about them and their families, and dig deeper into their thoughts about the chamber. The dinner was an excellent opportunity to begin the process of forming our new team.

We’ve scheduled a full day with the mayor of Huntsville and key city staff, plus a meeting with the chair of the County Com-mission of Madison. We’ll do the same with the city of Madison, the airport, Huntsville utilities and the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority), which is the electricity provider for the region and a partner in economic development. Also in the works is an in-depth tour/briefing on Redstone Army Arsenal, where there are over 60 different activities of various federal government entities. It’s the largest employer in the region: 90,000 jobs and $10 billion in revenue when you count all connected businesses. Redstone accounts for nearly six percent of Alabama’s GDP.

Getting to Know the s taffTo help get to know my co-workers better, I’ve asked each of them to write a short biography. I didn’t provide much in the way of guidelines. I wanted to allow for creativity. What a wonderful experience! I now have a much better appreciation for them as people with a life outside the office.

self-AssessmentsIn a Nov. 21 memo to my new direct reports about their self-assessments, I wrote that I went through this exercise in 1988 and that “I was impressed with how much it made me look at myself and forced me to take the time to critique my work, work habits, and develop goals/objectives for the upcoming year. I have used it with my management team ever since.”

The assessment is a four-step process beginning with the employees responding in writing to seven questions, listed below, followed by:• A meeting to “discuss your responses to the questions

[and] your suggestions for improving the operation/work environment of the office.”

• A letter to the employee summarizing the discussion.• A second meeting “to tie-up any loose ends.”

1. r eview past year goals and objectives from January 2011 to present (use the Business Plan activities for which you were responsible, other internal operational responsibilities, board/volunteer relationships, and personal goals.)

2. r ate your performance (using Excellent, Great, Good, Fair, Poor ) in each area of responsibility.

3. Do you feel you were successful during the past12 months in your role with the chamber? (why or why not?)

4. r eview your current job description and recommend any modifications you feel are warranted.

5. List your goals and objectives for 2012. These should address program, performance, personal goals and objectives. Be sure to share with me how I can help you accomplish each one.

6. Are there any changes in work flow, internal procedures, etc. that would make your job easier or more enjoyable? Please list them and give specific recommendations for changes or modifications.

7. Did we miss anything? If you have any new information to share about anything related to the chamber and your job responsibilities and/or work conditions share them with me here.

Chip Cherry with 2011 Board Chairman Charlie Kettle (left) and 2012 Chariman Jim Bolte when Cherry was introduced to the media Nov. 9, 2011.

See sidebar on p. 12.Article continues on p. 14.

ACCE



1. search c ommittee expectations. Most search committees go through a process of evaluating the previous exec to determine what qualities they’ll seek in the new executive. If you listen carefully during the interview process you’ll recognize areas of interest or concern that you must address. In marketing terms, these concerns are “needs” and you must demonstrate that you can, and will, meet those needs. It became apparent during the interview process that the committee had four key concerns:

• Continued success in economic development. The committee wanted to preserve and grow the region’s core constituencies (the military, NASA and other federal agencies), while at the same time diversifying the economy.

• Deepen the CEO’s connection to the general member-ship and engagement in the community.

• Effectively manage the finances of the chamber, a priority for virtually all selection committees.

• Create more balance between the chamber and eco-nomic development sides of the organization. We need to do more to engage the business side, espe-cially small businesses, and at the same time keep up the pace of excellent ED work that’s been done.

2. Leadership P erspective. During the break-in period it’s important to know your chairman and chairman-elect’s expectations for key areas of focus and communication. The perception of their performance is directly tied to your actual performance, so it’s critical that you understand what they want and expect. In my case the key areas were increasing the attention on the 80 percent of our 2,150 members who have less than 15 employees: small businesses. As always, quality engagement with investors is vital. Internally we need to maintain the usual fiscal responsibility, which is no biggie for me—I tend to be obsessive about financial record keeping and reporting. And we want to be sure we’re getting input from all staff.

3. staff. It’s natural to fear the unknown, and the new exec is a significant unknown. It’s important to set expectations early and have open lines of communication. You want them to engage with you early if at all possible.

4. Key Influencers. Every community has certain people who make things happen, people who, if you don’t seek them out in the first few weeks of your tenure, you will never win over. These are not always professionals in the business community. They are often elected officials and civic leaders, in addition to business and private sector leaders.

5. Key Investors. We all have members who believe in what we do, and some who have a vision for what we can do. We need to engage these supporters in conversation so we understand their perspective on the value proposition of investing in our organization. A friend of mine used to ask “What’s the compelling ‘why?’ Why should I invest my scarce resources in that program?” As new CEOs we need to know the answer to that question. Meeting with these folks will help us get the answer.

6. U nderstand Lo cal D ynamics. Chamber execs need to understand the dynamics of different boards and commissions that we interact with regularly. You cannot gain this understanding by reading about it. You have to sit through meetings to see how they interact with each other and who influences whom. This is particularly important with city councils and county commissions.

7. seek out c ritics. You can learn a lot by meeting with people who are not entirely pleased with the organi-zation you’ve been hired to run. Listening to non-believers provides valuable insights into the challenges the organiza-tion faces.

8. Understand t he Finances. This is critical. Take nothing for granted. Review all of the chamber’s financial controls and policies. Make sure you understand the actual member renewal rate, the balance sheet and unrestricted net assets.

9. Policies and Procedures. This is another area where you cannot assume anything when you’re the new CEO. In the past, I’ve taken over organizations that were in violation of all kinds of laws and regulations. Make sure your chamber is in compliance with wage and hour laws, and that’s just for starters.

Nine c hallenges for a NeW ce O

Continued from p. 10.

Article continues on p. 14.

Most provided a brief work history, personal interests, spouse’s occupation, and the activities of kids and grandkids. But each biography was a unique self-portrait. One man wrote four lines about family and 14 lines about church activities.

A woman wrote: “I also love to cook, read, work out, knit and watch football. I’m happiest when the leaves have turned colors and football is on. Amen.”

A long-time staffer wrote two paragraphs covering her cham-ber work and responsibilities, her college education, hobbies and her husband’s occupation, plus one paragraph about the chamber’s “two feral parking lot cats” that she’s taken care of the last seven years, including trapping them, having them neutered and then releasing them back into their “territory.”

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I also wrote a short biography and shared it with staff so they could know me better. The thing about me I thought I should stress to them was that I have a tendency to be a little too direct at times. I have to work hard not to be blunt or too much to the point. In fact my chairman shared with me that I should ease them into my style of doing things because it was much different from my predecessor. I took his remarks to heart and softened my approach, which to give him due credit was the correct approach.

I also asked each of my direct reports to complete a self-assess-ment. [See sidebar p. 12.] The goal of this is to have them take a hard look at themselves and provide a performance baseline as we go forward.

I had individual meetings with all staff in the first month following my start date. These meetings were important because they afforded the opportunity to ask questions and share con-cerns—in many cases questions and concerns that staff would not have shared in a group meeting.

I had to be very transparent to allay fears staff may have about job losses. I’m not a benevolent dictator; I want everyone involved. Part of the challenge is that staff has to help create a plan, benchmarks and measures, and then own them after they’ve been part of the plan development. Everyone’s got to know how they’ll be evaluated. My style and approach might be new or a little different, but I can’t lose sight of the fact that this staff is very well respected and they do a great job in many areas.

First Days on the JobWe’re going to do Myers-Briggs profiles of the staff. This will provide insight on how each member of the team performs in normal circumstances and under pressure; it will help determine if we have the right people on the right teams.

I’ve hired someone to facilitate two off-site sessions, one for direct reports and the other for non-direct reports, to help us establish expectations and to shorten the “getting to know you” curve. I decided on an outsider because at this point staff trusts and relies on each other and we need to become a team. The

facilitator will be a neutral party and help with the trust-building process.

After the off-site meetings one of the non-direct report employ-ees came to me and said, “Now that we’ve done this, what are you going do with it? How will you keep lines of communication open?” I now hold monthly meetings with the non-direct report staff without their managers. They have a lot of information that cuts across all departments and they touch a lot of customers, so

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle greets Chip Cherry at a press conference where Cherry was introduced to the media. Two TV stations and two newspapers covered the event.

transitioning OutIt’s a challenge leaving an organization where you’ve played such a vital role for more than 10 years. When I told my vol-unteers in Macon that I had accepted the position in Hunts-ville I committed to help them with the following, during and after the transition:• Prepare the chamber’s 2012 budget• Prepare the Macon Economic Development Commission’s

2012 budget• Draft a program of work for the year• Draft the script for the annual meeting• Provide advice and insight as needed on key initiatives

In the weeks between the announcement of my hiring and starting in Huntsville, I would spend an hour or two a day interacting with the staff and volunteers in Huntsville. Once I started in Huntsville, I would do the same with Macon.

There was a leadership change in Macon’s finance depart-ment in 2011. The new finance manager was very capable, but she didn’t have experience preparing the budget so I worked through the process with her. I met with her, the treasurer and the acting president & CEO twice to vet the budget and walk through how the accounts are structured. I also attended the annual meeting.

Article continued from p. 12.

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I need their feedback—and its feedback they may not give to their supervisors.

I’ve ordered copies of Who Moved My Cheese for all the staff. I will work through a discussion with them using the book as the framework for flushing out issues and opportunities. I’ve also ordered a DVD copy of “The Man Who Planted Trees,” a powerful story which I first saw while participating in the Leadership Devel-opment Program at the Center for Creative Leadership. I will use this as a foundation for a discussion on vision.

Meetings are scheduled with all executive committee and board members, major investors, elected officials and key influencers. I asked staff to identify others I should meet with who would help me understand the community better. Also on the calendar are meetings of the two city councils and the county commission.

Part of the challenge in any new situation like this is the estab-lished culture and its rhythm. With a new CEO, everyone knows there will be some changes. Some people like change; some people run to it but some run away from it.

After 100 DaysWe’re reshaping the membership department, hiring two com-missioned sales reps and revising some responsibilities. Currently, the total resource campaign and all events reside in the member-ship department. It’s hard to hold folks accountable when they are pulled in so many directions at different times of the year depending on what the primary mission may be at that time. It’s a matter of creating separate project areas and more accountability in each area.

We’ve got to be careful about diversifying. We need to build more engagement on the small business side and at the same time we can’t lose focus on our economic development work, a core strength of the organization. We want to avoid mission creep. I don’t want us to be activity-driven and lose sight of what members want and the expectations of our partners. We can’t cannibalize what we have in the name of new initiatives.

The learning curve has been a challenge. In my old job I might get a call from someone like the Rotary Club asking me to give a speech in half an hour. All I needed was a five minute conversa-tion about what they wanted me to cover. I’d know exactly what to say. In a new job, there’s so much you have to learn, remember and think about before you speak publically. All that learning is really stimulating.

Well, I did my first Rotary speech last week. Of course, you can’t tell them “here’s what we have to do…” as if you had all the answers. Because you don’t have the answers, you should be in data collection mode. But you can tell them your perception of the region from the perspective of a newcomer and those areas where you see opportunities and those where you see threats. I’m excited to be here and am looking forward to becoming a part of the community, to be a part of moving it forward.

Werner von Braun and his team came here in 1950 and this was his home for 20 years. He helped develop the rocket technol-ogy that got us to the moon. In the 1940s there were only 12,000 people here; now there are more than 400,000. The modem was invented here. So was geo-mapping. We have the highest number of PhDs per capita in the nation, so you’ve got to watch it when you say something like “well, it’s not rocket science” because there are so many rocket scientists and engineers around here that there’s probably one within earshot.

thriving on c hallengesMy challenge in taking this new role was that I had to forge new relationships with my volunteer leadership, my coworkers, local elected officials, major investors, economic development partners, and members, while reconfiguring the organization to more effectively meet member expectations. I’m proud of the way our staff has engaged in the process of making our organization more effective. They’re doing an excellent job. I’m also grateful for the active role my volunteer leadership has taken in helping me have a successful ramp-up. And, I would be remiss if I did not recognize my wife for the role she is playing and has played in making my transition(s) a success. Thank you, Betty! I will close by thanking all those who have mentored me over the years. I have received much wise council from many great chamber executives.

We work with the most dedicated people and in many cases the brightest people in the community who have decided that the chamber is the vehicle through which they will channel their resources to make the community a more vibrant place to live and conduct commerce. As CEOs we have a responsibility to our members, leadership, partners, and staff to make sure that we are being good stewards of the resources entrusted to us and to meet and exceed their expectations. It’s an honor to do what we do.

Chip Cherry and Board Chairman Jim Bolte at Huntsville International Airport where Boeing’s Dreamliner was on display for Boeing employee tours. Hundreds of Boeing engineers in Huntsville contributed to the airliner’s design.

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transition diary - acce · 2016-05-27 · transition diary 6 chamber executive spring 2012 w. ......

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