The mission of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council is to significantly increase business relationships between our corporate members and our certified MBEs. We believe that minority business development is a key component of reducing poverty, unemployment, increasing wealth, and integrating American society. You are receiving this email in order to keep you abreast of developments with the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, Supplier Diversity Issues and Minority Business Development. If you like what you read please share internally and externally.
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A New Year's Letter to GNEMSDC Stakeholders
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Dear GNEMSDC Stakeholder,
Thank you for a wonderful and productive 2012. It is now 2013 and the GNEMSDC is ready to help make this a GREAT year for corporate members and MBEs. This year, like in past years, we will have events and activities designed to bring MBEs and representatives from our corporate membership together in order to facilitate commerce between all of our stakeholders.
I often ask myself the question: 'What are we doing at the GNEMSDC that makes business better for MBEs and corporate members?' I know we are more than an event planning organization. Events and activities are important, but our mission is to promote MBE development by bringing MBEs to the table of corporate supply chain opportunities.
Economists would call what we are doing, "market creation". Like in all markets, there are suppliers and demanders. The demanders in our market are the corporate members. The suppliers are the MBEs.
Markets work best when decision makers have good information about the alternatives they have to choose from. In the absence of good information, buyers and sellers make mistakes. Those mistakes come in the form of buying too high, selling too low, and failed expectations by all. The GNEMSDC lowers information costs for both MBEs and corporate members. This is important to remember and terribly frustrating. I wish I had the power to command corporate members "buy from one of this MBE or that MBE". Or, tell an MBE, "hire a marketing manager or stop going on sales calls" I am incredibly good at giving direction. But even I know this is not how things work. We operate in a market ,not a command economy. The decision is yours and yours alone.
Notwithstanding these limitations, we provide information to MBEs on which corporate members are buying what goods and services. And we provide information to corporations on what MBEs are out there to supply competitive high quality goods and services. In addition, we provide advice and direction to both parties on what we understand about market and company specific conditions. We understand that we have wonderful selections of MBEs that share similar space, so we are aware that we work best when the corporate buyer provides us with the specific requirements associated with the opportunity. To which, we can respond by saying here is a list of MBEs that meet those requirements. It is a beautiful thing when we hear that the corporate member has selected a supplier based on our recommendations. It is that success that motivates and inspires us to continue serving our stakeholders.
Our information about MBEs and corporate members is not something we create out of thin air. It comes from our MBEs and our corporate members. We want to know about all of our stakeholders because the more we know, the more efficient and productive we can be as a market creator. Corporate information comes from the voluminous publicly available information. Information on MBEs comes from the certification information provided by MBEs. But more important that all of this information, is the information we get from the time we spend together face-to-face.
In the phenomenal book, Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahi Raz, they tell the story of Bill Clinton, who they identify as belonging in the "Connector Hall of Fame". Apparently when young Mr. Clinton was studying at Oxford, he kept a little black book on the people he was meeting with the purpose of calling on them when the time was right. According to the authors, when Clinton was asked why, he responded, "I'm going into politics and plan to run for governor of Arkansas, and I'm keeping track of everyone I meet." He had information that was usable and goal oriented. The GNEMSDC creates the Oxford-like opportunities for MBEs and corporate members to connect for their mutual success.
This is why we need your help. We operate in a virtuous cycle. The more good we do, the easier it is do even more good. I think we are on the right track. I am appealing to both corporate members and MBEs to continue to invest in our market creation abilities by signing up in 2013 as an annual sponsor. We take nothing for granted. We need your help in order to continue. The investment you make in us has impacts beyond the obvious. Yes, MBEs get contracts, but also workers get jobs, families get health insurance, children grow up in households with the resources to meet their needs, communities contribute to improvement in civic conditions, young people are empowered by the example of success - the American way. I am not too proud to ask for your support, for your continued investment in minority business development. This is not simply about the GNEMSDC. It is not even about you. It is about our collective ability to envision and create a better America.
In coming weeks we will be outlining the 2013 Calendar. You know from our experiences, that these will be top notch events which will include some new twists and improvements. Your Annual Sponsorship and support helps make these events as effective as they are and provides the GNEMSDC with the means to accomplish our mission and your goals. Please contact the office at 203-288-9744 to pledge your support today.
In your service,
Dr. Fred
Click here for 2013 Corporate Sponsorship Packages
Click here for 2013 MBE Sponsorship Packages |
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And Finally...
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I was inspired by watching Guess Who is Coming to Dinner with my family during the holiday break. The 1967 film featured Sidney Portier, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey. Every time I watch this movie, I learn something new or make some new connection. Sidney Portier's character, Dr. John Prentice plans on marrying Hepburn's and Tracey's daughter, Joey Drayton. At the time of the movie this simple act of an African American marrying a White American was illegal in 17 states. In one of the many dramatic scenes, Portier confronts his father who objects to the marriage. The senior Mr. Prentice strongly advises against the marriage because of fear for his son, his fiancé, their future children and perhaps, even himself. Dr. Prentice plays a 37-year old physician which places his birth around 1930. Which means his father was probably born at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1900, the country was only 35 years away from the end of slavery. It is likely that the senior Mr. Prentice grew up doing the Jim Crow era of American apartheid. It is likely that Dr. Prentices' grandparents and clearly their parents were slaves. It is easy to understand the elder Mr. Prentice's concerns even with his son's superior credentials and accomplishments. This was still America. And in the elder Mr. Prentice's experience this act could result in an act of terror against his son and their family. The elder Mr. Prentice all but ordered his son to call off the wedding, claiming the authority that he "owed" it to him to listen. The elder Mr. Prentice had a successful career as a mail man. He felt carrying that bag "for 75,000 miles" gave him the right to tell his son whom he could marry and whom he could not, after all it was his hard work that made it possible for him to go to college and become the professional he had become. After listening carefully, in one of the most poignant soliloquies on film, Portier tells his father that that his father thinks of himself as a "colored man", while Portier thinks of himself simply as a man. I hear this refrain from so many MBEs that it is clear whether we know it or not, this film captured something that is still alive today. Excellence and competitiveness is what leads to success. Being an MBE is just icing on the cake.
Dr. Fred
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