I've been extremely busy the last few days.
Pipeline 4 Progress is gearing up for the first of four Regional Input Meetings scattered throughout the Upstate P4P Region.
Our first meeting is Friday - March 7th - in Binghamton, NY.
Please feel free to join us and participate in the collaborative discussions.
Earlier this week - on Tuesday...
I was NOT in Upstate NY talking about regionalism and collaboration. I was in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
I was there to talk about P4P and other opportunities involving the Fuller Group.
I met with a local group of young professionals (YP's) and with several people from Larson Design Group (LDG).
On the YP side... we discussed some of the things P4P has worked on and is currently undertaking. Including past under 40 Summits, the Regional Action Initiative and future programs... including the "P4P beHere Project".
The Williamsport YP's are just getting started. And I was happy to talk with them and share some lessons learned from my experiences with P4P.
After-all we followed in the footsteps of 40 Below from Syracuse and Central NY. 40 Below have been a tremendous resource, partner and friend to P4P.
On the LDG side... I heard about the exciting plans the company has to grow over the next year. They have several branches throughout PA and an office located in Corning, NY.
I became extremely interested in hearing about their internship and co-op programs.
LDG has gained national recognition as one of the top 200 internship programs in the country!
They are taking some innovative approaches to attracting and retaining talent... it is a great story and we should take some notes.
It was quite evident that LDG was a group of individuals - a company of folks - who "got it". But how?
They realize that the most important factor for the future of the company is its people. From day one.. a new employee (I should also point out that LDG is employee owned) is set-up on a career path with future development opportunities.
With competition for talent becoming more fierce.... LDG is taking the lead to help ensure they have a secure future. They have decided to lead - not wait and catch up. Be proactive and not reactive.
The company, it's leadership and people "get it".
With my trip to PA this week and the upcoming regional input meeting on Friday... this initiative (P4P Regional Action Initiative) might benefit from stretching across state boundaries.
It is not enough to go from town to town, city to city and county to county. Our marketplace doesn't pay attention to any of those boundaries or lines.
So as we think about and develop a regional strategy... the P4P Region ought to pay attention and collaborate with our neighbors just "south of the border".
A link to this post will be in the March 12, 2008 issue of Regional Community Development News. It will be on-line March 13 at http://regional-communities.blogspot.com/ Please visit, check the tools and consider a link. Tom
Posted by: Tom Christoffel | March 10, 2008 at 10:52 PM