The Vail Valley Partnership’s fifth annual Vail Valley Business Forum was hosted on Thursday morning at The Sebastian-Vail, with over 120 people in attendance. It would be a challenge to consolidate our keynote speech from Al White & John Ricks from the Colorado Tourism Office and following 90-minute panel discussion into this column.
There was one recurring theme that our panel & speakers continued to come back to; a theme that is relevant to our community as well as the entire state of Colorado. That theme was the need for collaboration between partners, be it local governments and private industry or be it regional community colleges with the business community or be it entire industries working together to grow and develop a brand. From New Belgium Brewery to the Vail Valley Medical Center, our expert panelists agreed that true collaboration benefits not only the participating organization but also the greater good.
Interestingly enough, the Vail Valley is well ahead of the curve on collaboration and the development of collaborative efforts. As a loyal reader of this column (thanks to both of you), you know some of the collaborative efforts the Vail Valley Partnership is leading in the community. But there are so many more collaborative success stories happening behind the scenes here in Eagle County – examples run the gamut from development of local trails to bike path development, to open space purchases along the Colorado River to improve river access & our recreational tourism base, to like-minded businesses developing new programs to strengthen their industry. For organizations that are involved in or leading various collaborative efforts in our community, kudos to you. Keep it up. Continue to lead by example.
We closed the Business Forum by asking each panelist to share one tip that they would share with the local business community to grow their business. I found these comments to be both thought provoking and meaningful across a broad spectrum. Take a moment to evaluate your business and see if you can incorporate these tips into your daily operations:
• Christine O’Donnell, President of the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association: the need to collaborate and work together
• Doris Kirchner, President/CEO of the Vail Valley Medical Center: remain focused on providing the very best levels of customer service to your guests
• Al White, Director of the Colorado Tourism Office: be true to your brand – know who you are and don’t deviate in your business operations
• Dr. Stan Jenson, President of Colorado Mountain College: don’t tackle people wearing the same color uniform, tackle problems
• Bryan Simpson, Media Relations Director, New Belgium Brewery: innovate and be nimble
I was reminded after the panel that another way to approach business in order to succeed is to act like Wayne Gretzky – don’t skate to where the puck is, but instead skate to where the puck is going. I found the tips above (and the entire discussion) to be a great refresher to those of us in business to take care of our customers, work together for everyone’s benefit and to stay true to who you are. And maybe most importantly, stay focused on the bigger picture and don’t tackle those wearing the same color uniforms.
As always, I encourage all member businesses to get engaged with the Partnership and to contact us with any suggestions you may have to help us better serve you. Call us at (970) 476-1000 or stop by our offices in Avon at Traer Creek Plaza to share your feedback.