ARTICLE
January is usually the time of year that we recalibrate and set goals for the year. For some it is a tradition that establishes the tone and direction for personal and professional growth. Yet again as we close out the first month of the new year we are facing the dynamics of COVID-19 and a new virus strain called Omicron. A good friend and business colleague, Shellye Archambeau states, “Networking is one of the best ways that you can use to help your career grow.” So how do you network in a pandemic world? You may recall a couple years ago, Shellye was a guest speaker at the Chamber lunch series called “Leadership in a Changing World.” During that lunch event, she described her path from the suburbs of southern California to the C-suite and eventually to the CEO of a major tech company. Shellye wrote a book that calls out to those who need a new direction or a polite nudge to get going. Unapologetically Ambitious: https://shellye.com/book-and-more/ tells the story of her journey and recounts how she overcame the challenges she faced as a young Black woman, wife, and mother, managing her personal and professional responsibilities while climbing the ranks at IBM and subsequently in her roles as CEO. Through the busts and booms of Silicon Valley in the early 2000s, this bold and inspiring book details the risks she took and the strategies she engaged to steer her family, her career, and her company MetricStream toward success. Through her journey, Shellye discovered that ambition alone is not enough to achieve success. Why do I mention her personal story here? Because at every turning point in life we sometimes hit a wall — that wall is a blockade of time, energy and space where we just don’t see the vision of the future. The pandemic has been that two-plus-year roadblock for us — undeniable that we are obliged to follow COVID -19 health and safety protocols,; vaccinations and booster shots, wearing a mask and deliberately avoiding crowds and busy places and practicing safe social distancing is the new normal. This distraction in our daily lives and our work place calls out for us to be strong and tackle the new world with ambition. It may seem a callous comment; however, it is true that to get from Point A to Point B, we need to take some calculated risks while being cautious during these challenging times. Here we are again at this crossroads where networking and being with other business associates is just hard. Last Saturday, Chamber Ambassadors, and your Chamber staff of two attended a ribbon cutting at a new member’s open house. The new company, SCG Fitness, on the west side of Santa Cruz, defines its mission as: Support each other and the wider community, Connect with other people and Grow by accepting feedback. At a time where the world is facing another round of tough health challenges, we can either gather ourselves to push forward and make the year ahead a positive change for ourselves and the Santa Cruz County community or we can temporarily shy away from public spaces and avoid human contact. There is no right or wrong choice here; it is a personal decision. Next Wednesday, the Chamber will hold our Annual Members’ meeting at the Dream Inn. In an effort to ensure people’s health and safety at a breakfast event we are requiring all attendees to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. We are requiring all attendees wear a mask when in public spaces inside and out and only remove the mask while eating. These are the health and safety precautions that we will follow. We also have taken the extra step that instead of an indoor event, we are moving the breakfast outdoors on the Jack O’Neill patio. Yes, a morning breakfast in January outdoors with space heaters situated to help keep our attendees warm and comfortable. We’ve closed our registration of this very popular annual event to assist with the flow of the event in a manageable way and to keep the crowd smaller than originally planned, allowing for better social distancing. The Chamber has been the voice of the Santa Cruz County business community since 1889 and we will continue to provide that service to our members and the region. 2022 will be a year of challenges, policy and political decisions with our mission to protect and promote the economic vitality of our region.
January is usually the time of year that we recalibrate and set goals for the year. For some it is a tradition that establishes the tone and direction for personal and professional growth. Yet again as we close out the first month of the new year we are facing the dynamics of COVID-19 and a new virus strain called Omicron.
A good friend and business colleague, Shellye Archambeau states, “Networking is one of the best ways that you can use to help your career grow.” So how do you network in a pandemic world?
You may recall a couple years ago, Shellye was a guest speaker at the Chamber lunch series called “Leadership in a Changing World.” During that lunch event, she described her path from the suburbs of southern California to the C-suite and eventually to the CEO of a major tech company. Shellye wrote a book that calls out to those who need a new direction or a polite nudge to get going. Unapologetically Ambitious: https://shellye.com/book-and-more/ tells the story of her journey and recounts how she overcame the challenges she faced as a young Black woman, wife, and mother, managing her personal and professional responsibilities while climbing the ranks at IBM and subsequently in her roles as CEO. Through the busts and booms of Silicon Valley in the early 2000s, this bold and inspiring book details the risks she took and the strategies she engaged to steer her family, her career, and her company MetricStream toward success. Through her journey, Shellye discovered that ambition alone is not enough to achieve success.
Why do I mention her personal story here? Because at every turning point in life we sometimes hit a wall — that wall is a blockade of time, energy and space where we just don’t see the vision of the future. The pandemic has been that two-plus-year roadblock for us — undeniable that we are obliged to follow COVID -19 health and safety protocols,; vaccinations and booster shots, wearing a mask and deliberately avoiding crowds and busy places and practicing safe social distancing is the new normal. This distraction in our daily lives and our work place calls out for us to be strong and tackle the new world with ambition. It may seem a callous comment; however, it is true that to get from Point A to Point B, we need to take some calculated risks while being cautious during these challenging times.
Here we are again at this crossroads where networking and being with other business associates is just hard. Last Saturday, Chamber Ambassadors, and your Chamber staff of two attended a ribbon cutting at a new member’s open house. The new company, SCG Fitness, on the west side of Santa Cruz, defines its mission as: Support each other and the wider community, Connect with other people and Grow by accepting feedback.
At a time where the world is facing another round of tough health challenges, we can either gather ourselves to push forward and make the year ahead a positive change for ourselves and the Santa Cruz County community or we can temporarily shy away from public spaces and avoid human contact. There is no right or wrong choice here; it is a personal decision.
Next Wednesday, the Chamber will hold our Annual Members’ meeting at the Dream Inn. In an effort to ensure people’s health and safety at a breakfast event we are requiring all attendees to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. We are requiring all attendees wear a mask when in public spaces inside and out and only remove the mask while eating. These are the health and safety precautions that we will follow. We also have taken the extra step that instead of an indoor event, we are moving the breakfast outdoors on the Jack O’Neill patio. Yes, a morning breakfast in January outdoors with space heaters situated to help keep our attendees warm and comfortable. We’ve closed our registration of this very popular annual event to assist with the flow of the event in a manageable way and to keep the crowd smaller than originally planned, allowing for better social distancing.
The Chamber has been the voice of the Santa Cruz County business community since 1889 and we will continue to provide that service to our members and the region. 2022 will be a year of challenges, policy and political decisions with our mission to protect and promote the economic vitality of our region.