The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center hosted its Momentum Awards on Thursday, honoring fast-growing companies and notable entrepreneurs while raising money for 1871 at a dinner event that was bathed in blue.
I envy their coining of “Chicagoness.”
As a nonprofit, the CEC files tax forms that are available to the public, so you can see where the money goes. 1871 also announced its next phase of growth within the Merchandise Mart, aptly named 1871 “3.0,” at the Thursday event.
The Chicago Innovation Exchange is expanding, too.
We fanned out across the inaugural Fund Conference on Wednesday, where a constellation of Chicago and Midwest investors and entrepreneurs gathered to share advice and hopefully do some deals, or at least plant the seeds. Sadé Carpenter and Haley Hinkle covered much of the day’s programming and ran a live blog with help from Nick Tann; pretty sure the only people busier that day were event founders Jonathan Pasky and R.J. Pahura.
Blue Sky is examining the topic of leadership all month long. It’s already clear that some of Chicago’s biggest names spend a lot of time thinking (maybe stressing?) about their performance in this area.
Katy Lynch ? of Techweek:
“You get anxiety about all sorts of things: Are employees doing their jobs well enough? Is this person generating a lot of revenue for my business? Then the anxiety expands. You start thinking about things like, are my people happy in my company? Am I doing a good job as a leader?”
Shawn Riegsecker ? of Centro:
“I believe that great leadership comes down to almost one specific thing: Does every employee inside your company deeply and authentically believe that the CEO truly cares about them as a person?
“If they know that I’m trying, that I’m doing my best, and I’m trying to make the best decisions I can for the company, there’s a level of understanding and patience that engenders inside of the company.”
Howard Tullman ? of 1871:
“We take renewals as business and terminations as personal. When somebody leaves, I always wish him or her well. But I always feel like they were sort of jumping ship. It hurts a little bit.”
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A piece in the 800-CEO-READ lineup had an interesting take on political savvy: Author Bonnie Marcus argues that far from being distasteful, an aptitude for office politics can help people feel happier and more in control within their workplace. Employees who have an ease with relationships across departments can also help organizations be more smoothly effective and thus, profitable, she says.
A little weekend reading for House Republicans?
As retail season approaches, Amazon announced a “Handmade” program that will compete with Etsy to sell the wares of makers. Facebook is going emoji. Netflix is raising prices. And see which Chicago companies made the list of fastest-growing urban businesses.
Chicago Ideas Week will be in swing all next week, with its fifth year hosting a wide variety of talks and labs. Rather than gravitating toward your existing interests, founder Brad Keywell says he’d rather you try something new.
“I think it’s important to expose yourself to … seemingly nonlinear ideas for the simple goal of challenging what you think you know,” Keywell said in an interview with Blue Sky.
Diana Nyad’s world record-setting swim from Cuba to Miami in 2013 led her to talk motivation in a popular Ted talk. Now she has written a book reflecting on the journey. She’ll discuss leadership, drive and other topics with Blue Sky reporter Amina Elahi on Nov. 4. Join us for the conversation at the Music Box Theatre.
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