Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Mermell.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jesse. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The Alliance for Business Leadership (ABL) was founded in 2007 by a group of progressive business leaders looking for a place to connect with their like-minded peers, and to elevate their voices in service of progressive values. They were committed to working to move the needle on issues of economic inequality and social mobility – both from a moral perspective, and based in a belief that lifting everyone up is ultimately what leads to sustainable economic growth – and didn’t see any other business group in Greater Boston creating that opportunity for them. And so they went out and built it themselves!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If the road you’re on while growing an organization is entirely smooth, you’re probably not doing it right. It’s the bumps along the way that help you learn and grow.
An ongoing challenge for us is prioritizing our work. It’s a constant evolution, because there is so much we could work on, and an endless supply of issues that interest our members. But is is impossible to tackle everything, at least if you want to do it well. At various stages in ABL’s history we’ve focused on federal issues, state issues, internal business best practices for corporate social responsibility, networking, and so on and so forth. There have been times when we’ve spread ourselves too thin, and have had to hit the pause button in order to figure out a) what do we really care about, and b) where do we excel. Our most recent application of that exercise gave us the opportunity to narrow our focus and clearly articulate exactly what we do. First, we decided that for the foreseeable future our focus would be on matters impacting Massachusetts. Second, we decided that we would do four really simple things:
1. Recruit. We are better, faster, louder, and stronger when there are more of us, and so we seek out new members from all corners of the business community who share our values.
2. Connect. We connect our members with their like-minded peers from the business community, with policy makers, and with thought leaders.
3. Educate. We educate our members about pressing issues of the day by giving them access to leading policy experts in informal and interactive settings.
4. Engage. We engage our members in addressing issues of economic inequality and social mobility, using their unique voice as corporate leaders to make the case that lifting everyone up is good for business and good for the economy.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The Alliance for Business Leadership – what should we know?
The Alliance for Business Leadership is organized around a theory of change that business leaders are uniquely positioned to make the case for progressive values. For policies and practices like equal pay, clean energy, paid family and medical leave, workforce housing, investing in education and transportation, or workplace diversity. The list could go on and on. If a business leader talks about the positive impact paid leave has had on his or her business, or the importance of safe and reliable transportation to the future of their company, reporters, policy makers, and other influencers listen. We educate and empower our members too use their unique platform to speak out on the issues that matter to them.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
For us, our success is directly tied to our highly intimate and interactive approach to programming. We do not aspire to be the biggest or flashiest business group in town … we aspire to be the most meaningful. And our events reflect that.
For example, in a few weeks we’ll be hosting Senator Elizabeth Warren for one of our signature Progressive Power Hours. We could easily fill that room with hundreds of people. Instead, we limit attendance to fifty, so that we’ll have a chance to have a real dialogue with her and with each other. Similarly, every spring we host our annual ABL Leader Lab. Instead of your typical annual conference with panels, speakers, and mobs of people, we bring about 200 civic and business leaders together for a full day of interactive problem solving. Think of it as a hack-a-thon for big challenges facing communities today
Now that we’re in our second decade, and in a period of growth and increased engagement, it’s deeply important to us that we not lose the hands-on and values-driven approach that made our first 10 years so successful.
Pricing:
- Rising Leader Membership (ages 35 and under) – $250
- Participating Leader Membership – $1000
- Alliance Leader Membership – $5000
Contact Info:
- Website: alliancebl.org
- Email:info@alliancebl.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllianceBL/
- Twitter: @alliancebl
Image Credit:
Eric Haynes
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