Ho hum, same names, same companies. That’s what I thought when I read the Twin Cities Business magazine’s “200 Minnesotans you should know”. I think I could have listed about 75% of the people mentioned without ever looking at the article. Are you a “usual suspect”, who is a senior executive at one of the Fortune 500 companies based here and are you over 50? You are on the list!
We all know the names and we all know the organizations and we all love those lists! It seems every week you can attend an event hosted by a publication celebrating an honor roll of their choosing. However the criteria for selecting these people/organizations sometimes seem suspicious. Doesn’t that firm buy advertising from them? Didn’t that company run a “PR campaign” to get that employee mentioned? Is that man/woman on their board?
There is a lot of talk about how social media, “generation X’ and the economy are changing how people do business and network. I think this also changes who we see as “important” to our community.
After the publication came out, TCB requested readers to submit their own nominations of Minnesotans deserving recognition. Lars Leafblad (a Principal with Minneapolis-based executive search firm, KeyStone Search) started a conversation on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Lars encouraged people to think “bigger” by casting a wider net for Minnesotans we should know. You can access the names of those nominated by the community via the TCBmag.com website here: http://www.tcbmag.com/superstars/200minnesotansyoushouldknow/index.aspx. You can also submit your own nominations via 200plus@tcbmag.com.
There are a lot of people operating “under the radar” but Malcolm Gladwell defines them as “people who move ideas through society by bridging different worlds”. He calls them “connectors”. Liz Dow, St. Paul native and
CEO of LEADERSHIP Philadelphia, was inspired by Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” and wrote “Six Degrees of Connection”(http://www.leadershipphiladelphia.org/connect_six.html) to teach people how to be connectors. Her book explains “what Connectors do to create and sustain the ties that bind professionals, families, and communities.”
Do you know any “connectors” and are they more or less valuable than that CEO of the local Fortune 500 company? Who would be on your list?
My list would include:
Sean Kershaw – Citizen’s League Exec. Director. He has revived that organization since taking the helm and is leading the way in making it relevant in today’s Minnesota.
Greg Grinley and the team at PFUND, a community foundation serving the LGBT community. He and is team are growing the organization to make it relevant to the greater community and doing exciting work with their Racial Equity Initiative.
Who are the technology innovators in our community doing connectivity work via the web and social media? I am seeing exciting things out there, but I do not know any names of those leaders.
i would add that as our world becomes flatter and more lattice-networked it will become more and more difficult to draw up such a list. With the power of technology we all have the opportunity to be an important connector in today’s global environment.
What stuck me about that list? How few nonprofit leaders were represented.
Wendy I think this is fabulous!! You are moving in the right direction here. My list would be:
Sandy Speiler – Creative Director at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater in South Minneapolis – That woman is my hero. What they have done to build community in South Minneapolis and beyond cannot be over stated.
Kristen Berg Thompson – Area B Family Liaison for Minneapolis Public Schools – South Side – A woman of incredible connection skills and passion. A Shero of mine and many.
Father Joe Gillespie of the Basilica of St. Mary and now St. Albert the Great church in South Minneapolis. – I would follow him anywhere.
The issue of community building in corporate America is a challenging one for sure. I think in reality most community building comes from the grassroots and is often at odds with corporate interests. I don’t like how the magazine left out political folks or artists because indeed they are some of the most important catalysts for social change we have.
I am delighted they left off of Joe Mauer. I would like to know where he is going to invest his enormous amount of capital before we put up 100 statues of him downtown Minneapolis!
Keep going on this. We need more journalism that values community leaders, grassroots activism, the arts and artists, social justice and that supports a sustainability in Minneapolis.
Best -
Michelle
Point of clarification!
I did not intend to say I was “suspicious” of how the Twin Cities Business magazine created their list of the “Top 200 Minnesotans To Know”. I was stating a general thought about the wide range of lists & events celebrating them that are generated by the media, organizations and associations here in the Twin Cities and elsewhere. Some have very transparent processes, others do not. I had a great chat with Jay Novak, TCB Publisher and I believe their team worked hard to research and vet their published list.
The true intent of my blog was to get us thinking about who is NOT on that list. There are people in our community who are doing some fantastic work and their title isn’t “CEO” but “Connector”.