Polkx bringing big ideas to local leaders
Polk County leadership could reach an all time high thanks to the recent Polkx business leadership summit.
The event, styled after TEDx talks, saw prominent speakers discuss and give insight into everything from crafting social media connections, maintaining the four levels of integrity, and creating organizational and personal changes.
It wasn’t an official TED (technology, education, and design) event, but it’s contents and structure were closely related when presenters and attendees gathered for the Sept. 8 event.
“The Chamber has held this event in the past, and this year we decided to give the Summit a face lift by bringing in phenomenal speakers that inspire and encourage,” Polk County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Blair Elrod said. “Our ultimate goal is to give Polk County business leaders the tools to be successful.”
Keynote speaker Andy Christiansen kicked off the event with a presentation on the ‘10 Ways to Frustrate the Next Generation.’ Geared towards bosses of millennials, the author and coach offered a list of workforce peeves those ages 24 through 36 often have.
“What they like are real things,” Christiansen said. “And lets come up with some real ways we can frustrate the heck out of them. First is, you want to focus on the paycheck. Never talk about purpose- you will really frustrate them. Another, boss hard. Never ever mentor them. Next, you want to micromanage the heck out of them. Don’t give them any freedom.”
Clearly satirical, Christiansen continued by highlighting how the above traits, and others, contribute to the average millennial job turnover rate of 22 months. An ideal boss would want to avoid those traits when working with the age group- who currently occupy at least 50 percent of the workforce according to Christiansen.
“Are they our future or not?” Christiansen asked. “If you have a business, at least half your employees should be millennials.”
Other speakers included Thomas Earp of LeaderSHIFT, Jared Stump who offered details on social media marketing, Bing Oliver who offered life hacks for change, and Doug Grady who spoke on integrity. Businesses were also given the opportunity to set up booths and network with attendees at the Cedartown Polk County College and Career Academy Campus.
Several workshops were offered, and ChickFil-A provided free lunch for participants
Those who missed the event: don’t fret. The chamber is already brainstorming for future events, and Polkx can only get bigger from here.
“In the future we plan to continue to bring in speakers and cover a variety of topics that business owners face,” Elrod explained. “We aim to grow the event each year with more participants. This year we welcomed attendees that drove minutes down the road to attend and some drove hours. We are very excited that the Polk County Chamber of Commerce is providing opportunities that interest others outside of our community.”
More information about the Polk County Chamber of Commerce can be found at polkgeorgia.com.