One Year Anniversary
It’s hard to believe that this issue marks the one-year anniversary for my time here as editor. Technically, I started on Jan. 2, 2015, but the first issue that was “mine” was our March 2015 spread. I remember walking into my office on Jan. 2 and thinking, “They must have made a mistake. Why on earth did they hire me?”
I was 23 years old and only a year out of college. I’d worked for all sorts of publications in college, but I only had one year of professional journalism on my resume. I’d written just two pieces for Connect Business Magazine before Dan Vance stepped down and I stepped into some very big shoes to fill. Since then, I’ve had my share of sleepless nights and embarrassing mistakes, but I like to think I’ve gotten the hang of this “editor” thing.
One of the biggest things that really helped me throughout this transition was the support and friendliness of the southern Minnesota community. I went from covering two cities at my old job to keeping track of more than three dozen at Connect. The first month was mostly trips all across the region, meeting different chamber directors and touring their communities. I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can remember everyone’s name.
I also have greatly appreciated the kindness and professionalism shown to me by all the people we’ve featured. I confess, the thought of interviewing CEOs and presidents of multi-million dollar companies was at first intimidating. However, when I actually sat down with them, they were all open, warm and friendly. I’d like to especially thank Brian Tohal, my first ever cover interview, for making me feel comfortable and taking the time to help me craft a really great feature on him. He set the tone for the rest of my interviews and helped give me the confidence that I really could pull off this job.
Since then, I’ve interviewed a cast of colorful and inspirational characters, and I’ve learned quite a bit from each one. As I look back and reminisce about my first year, I thought I’d compile some of the best nuggets of wisdom I’ve mined from my cover story features. (I’d include our other features as well, but unfortunately I don’t have the space.)
As previously mentioned, the first person I interviewed for a Connect cover was Brian Tohal, coordinator for the New Ulm Economic Development Corporation. It’s beyond impressive how Brian manages to juggle the needs and interests of so many different groups, from the city to the chamber to area businesses, and still further, New Ulm’s economic development. But his secret is simple: It’s all about the relationships.
“Economic development in New Ulm is about partnerships,” he said. “And the success of economic development activities is based on the strength of those partnerships. A trust relationship is something that’s earned and should be maintained.”
That really spoke to me. As a journalist, I’ve worked on cultivating relationships with sources for years, but I never truly appreciated just how important they are. It isn’t just a matter of, “What can I get out of you?” but rather a question of, “How can we help each other?” Now, I see the importance of networking and putting effort into maintaining those relationships, even with something as simple as a chat over coffee once in a while.
Next came Burt Lyman, executive director of Mankato’s Verizon Wireless Center. Even as I walked into his office, I sensed the vibrant energy that radiated off him. It’s an energy that he has funneled into every job he’s had, and it shows. He’s always looking to make things bigger and better—yet he also stresses the need to make sure you’re still delivering the same quality of service that you’ve always provided. It’s a balancing act: giving attention to something new while not neglecting what you already have.
“We try to keep the center as busy as it can be,” he said, “but at the same time, we have to make sure to produce events successfully. We don’t want to fall down on events.”
I took that philosophy to heart at the magazine as I worked to expand what we offer every issue. We’ve added sections like our workforce series last year and this year’s new “Ask The Experts,” but we still work hard to bring the same quality to the page that we’ve always had. We can’t get so caught up in doing something new that we forget what made us so successful in the first place.
The next cover story actually featured two people, father-daughter team Tom Berg and Colleen Skillings, CEO and CFO of Minnesota Valley Testing Labs. The multi-million dollar testing company is a rarity among area testing labs, offering four areas of testing (agricultural science, food science, energy technology and environmental testing) when most labs only offer one. As Tom explained, whenever the folks at the company saw a need, they added something to fill it. It was a lesson that tied in neatly with Burt’s: Always keep your eye out for what else you can offer, improve, expand or update.
“Hardly anybody does things like that,” Tom said. “We’re rare. It kind of goes back to the two men who started the company. They believed very strongly in diversity, and they had a big influence on me.”
Rather than being diverse for the sake of being diverse, Tom continued, the folks at MVTL kept a keen eye out on what people actually wanted and needed. That’s a lesson we continue to follow at Connect Business Magazine. We recently sent out reader surveys to see what sections our readers like, which ones they don’t bother to read, and what they suggested for improvements. And I took those suggestions seriously. I’m a big fan of constructive criticism, and we found quite a few good ideas that we’re eager to follow up on.
After MVTL came Nicole Griensewic-Mickelson, executive director of the Region Nine Development Commission. I had met her months before our interview, and I knew at once that I wanted to feature her because of her impressive work and her equally impressive story. She’s the youngest executive director of an economic development commission in the country, yet she’s unflappably confident, refreshingly honest and just plain friendly. She also has the unique background of public, private and government sector work. Her secret in all the sectors was simple: knowing how to communicate with her team.
“I think it is important to know the strengths of your team and have that trust relationship with your managers,” she said. “You need to know what type of communication works for them. I think a lot of the time, people just don’t know how to communicate and when.”
This was a good reminder for me as I work with my co-workers and freelancers. The way I communicate may not be the way they communicate. I tend to be very hands-off and only reach out when I need something; I could go days without talking to coworkers. But sometimes other people want more interaction, like check-ups and updates. I’m working to adjust my communication style depending on the other person, so that everyone feels comfortable with where we are and what is going on.
I’ll be honest, the November issue was my favorite, since I’ve always had a soft spot and strong appreciation for veterans. Our cover story featured the three Marti brothers, who are helping their parents run Schells Brewery. Each brother had a distinct personality (Jace is practical, Kyle is charming and Franz is reserved), but they all worked together seamlessly. And they were all in agreement about how important it is for a business to give back to its community, stressing how they don’t operate their own taproom so that they don’t compete with local businesses that serve their beer.
“The community supports us, and we try to do the same,” Jace explained. “I think that’s just good business. It’s especially important in small towns, to get people to stick around instead of heading out for the bright lights. The more we can do to help each other out, I think, it’s better for everybody.”
It’s easy to get wrapped up in my job and focus only on churning out a magazine every two months. But there’s a lot more to being a responsible editor than printing well-written content. The stories should have meaning. They should showcase the best of southern Minnesota business and inspire those who read them. They should benefit the community. And I should work to benefit my community, even outside my job, whether it’s volunteering at the YMCA or donating to worthwhile organizations. I can’t live just for me.
January’s cover was picked for us by the MSU-Mankato College of Business, as part of our annual Business Person of the Year award. Coughlan Companies CEO Tom Ahern was selected, and there was no question about how much he deserved the honor. He has led Coughlan Companies (and, in particular, Capstone) through some big changes, ushering in a digital initiative that completely re-imagined the business. This was only accomplished thanks to Ahern’s great team and his loads of gumption—that fearless drive he has always had to push forward despite the lack of a roadmap.
“There was no blueprint about how to get it done,” he said about his various endeavors. “You just figured it out.”
While my job is not on the same scale that Tom’s is, I can commiserate a bit. My position at the magazine didn’t really come with a manual. There was a lot of learning, a lot of mistakes, a lot of tweaking and a lot of improvising. But I couldn’t let myself be scared to do something I’d never done before, or I wouldn’t have grown. Tom took that a step farther and pushed himself to do something no one had done before, and look what he accomplished. That gives me some reassurance for the next time I come across a challenge without a roadmap. Sometimes, you just have to dive in and figure it out along the way.
The most recent cover story can be found in the magazine you’re reading now. Mark Carlson, general manager of the new Walmart Distribution Center in Mankato, agreed to grace the front page. Recording his story proved to be a challenge—not because he was unfriendly (he was very friendly) but because he was much more interested in talking about his team than about himself. And that’s admirable. It was clear from our two hours together that he deeply respected and cared about the Walmart associates working at the center. The lesson I took away from our interview was simple but vitally important: Take care of your team.
“The biggest message I want to stress is that it’s really about the team,” Mark said. “It’s not about me. It’s about the 400-plus associates and 40-plus managers that truly make a difference each and every day. That’s the thing that keeps bringing me back to work each day: that interaction with those teams and those associates and managers.”
Valuing and caring for workers is so important. It’s easy to just expect quality work and only point out problems, but that can quickly dishearten even the best workers. I try to praise my freelance writers when they write something great, or Kris when he takes brilliant photos. Everyone wants some positive recognition once in a while. There’s more to taking care of your team than just patting them on the back, of course. You should take an active interest in them, as people, with personal lives, families and hobbies. Once in a while, the Connect group goes out to lunch just to hang out together. I think that’s a good thing—just like Christmas parties, birthday celebrations, potlucks and corporate outings are good things. We’ve got to feel comfortable with our coworkers, to trust them and truly care about them, or the team just doesn’t work as well.
So there are some of the lessons I’ve learned during the past year. There are countless others, but I’ve only got 2,000 words for my column. So we’ll cap it off there.
This job has been exciting, frustrating, challenging, rewarding, exhausting, maddening, and inspiring. Through it, I’ve grown as a journalist—and I’ve grown as a person. I’m so thankful to the people I’ve met and worked with, and I look forward to learning more and becoming a better editor as we continue to put out interesting and inspiring issues of Connect Business Magazine.
Thanks again for reading southern Minnesota’s first and only locally owned business magazine. See you next issue.
