LJWorld.com / Featured speaker to tap on Lawrence’s focus on growth

Archive for Friday, January 11, 2008

January 11, 2008

Special to the Journal-World

Steve little, a speaker, consultant and writer on the subject of business growth, will give a presentation at the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce annual meeting, which is tonight.

The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce will have its annual meeting from 8:30 to 10 Friday, January 11, 2008, at the Eldridge Hotel, 701 Mass., with a social time from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Liberty Hall, 642 Mass.

Steven Little will give a presentation titled “Ready ... Set ... Grow!” Tickets are $60, and registration is required. Call 865-4411 for more information.

New speaker, new officers, new outlook.

While tonight’s annual meeting of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce will tap into some familiar themes and venues — including a reprise of last year’s two-locale transition from a program at Liberty Hall to food and beverages at The Eldridge Hotel — the traditional ceremonial and social event will be counted on to deliver a fresh start for a new year.

Leading the way: Jim Otten, entering his third year as a member of the chamber’s board of directors, only this time carrying the added title of chairman.

“I really enjoy the leadership challenge,” said Otten, who takes over for Joan Golden, of U.S. Bank. “My strength is that I can pull together a lot of viewpoints. I can see things from many perspectives. And I seem to be able to pull people into more consensus building.”

Otten, a Lawrence dentist who has been a chamber member for more than two decades, will get plenty of help engaging, energizing and entertaining a crowd of up to 600 people during the program.

The event’s featured speaker is Steve Little, a speaker, consultant and writer on the subject of business growth.

Little, a senior consultant for Inc. magazine, is being called on to follow up on the work created by last year’s annual meeting speaker, who had led the audience through a visioning exercise.

For this year, Little will be working with a moving-forward topic: “Ready… Set… Grow!”

“The goal is to look to the future and pursue the future,” said Cathy Lewis, the chamber’s vice president for membership, who also organizes the annual meeting. “He’s fantastic.”

Little, self-described as “the business growth expert,” has been a senior consultant for Inc. since 1998, and he delivers speeches to thousands of business owners and managers annually.

From 1988 through 1999, he led three companies through periods of rapid growth: FAME Inc. and Erb Industries Inc. achieved profitable growth rates of more than 500 percent during his time with each operation, he said, and The Queensboro Shirt Co. made a name for itself in Internet commerce.

Little is a graduate of Miami University and has studied at the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the University of Houston’s Future Studies Program.

His book, “The Seven Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth,” was published in 2005 and is in its sixth printing.

The chamber originally had lined up retired Gen. James Jones — a former Marines commandant, NATO commander and adviser to Congress on the readiness of Iraqi security forces — to be the annual meeting’s featured speaker. He had been expected to address energy issues, a topic he’s focused on for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Jones’ visit, however, was canceled soon after it had been announced, because of scheduling conflicts. Jones has been appointed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to serve as a U.S. special envoy, to help guide the Bush administration on a range of Palestinian and Israeli security issues.

Lewis said that she would remain in contact with Jones’ representatives and attempt to find another time that the retired general could address a chamber audience.