Reflection on Leadership Omaha | Business and Economic Development

One of the great joys that I’m quickly discovering throughout my experience in Leadership Omaha is how directly everything I that I learn can be tied back to education; and more so, just how much education is a foundation for the systems within our city to function best.  

During our Business and Economic Development Seminar last Thursday, the key points of our day focused on the following conversations:  

• A panel led by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce President and Vice President 
• An entrepreneurship panel 
• A tour of multiple family-owned businesses  
• A wrap-up at a high-tech startup founded by a local entrepreneur  

Our morning started bright and early at Creighton University at the Harper Center’s beautiful, Hixon Auditorium where we were welcomed by Dr. Tony Hendrickson, the Dean of the Heider College of Business.  

Liz then introduced us to our first panelists on Omaha’s Economic Outlook, Omaha Chamber of Commerce President & CEO, David Brown and Senior Vice President, Randy Thelen. This was one of my favorite parts of the day. Not only were David and Randy extremely knowledgeable and great conversationalists, but they provided me with personal food for thought of how can I help to impact our city’s economy through my voice in education.  

During this panel, we learned that our economic growth is slow but steady, at a 1 % – 1.2 % rate per year. Slow, steady growth is good, but if we want to be compared with the best cities around, we’ve got to directly benchmark ourselves against the best cities around and we need to start comparing ourselves today so that we can grow to where we want to be in 5 years.  

The most interesting part of this panel was hearing, to my shock and horror, that while we live in the Silicon Prairie and have a tech culture that rivals some of the biggest tech cities around, we have a major disparity in tech jobs to tech workers; we’re THOUSANDS of workers short. Randy and David emphasized that the need to attract tech workers from other markets is crucial to our economic growth because we don’t have a strong pipeline within education to create technology workers. After hearing that 1 out of 8 people in our community have to work more than one job to make ends meet, my mind was reeling with questions. As a fierce advocate for the kids already living in our community, I asked:

“If we want more tech companies but don’t currently have a local pipeline to educate tech workers, what do we do in the K – 12 education space to support the need?”

The answers I got varied, but a large emphasis was placed on the need for strengthened technology curriculum and exploratory career education at an earlier age.  

While I don’t disagree with the above advice, I do believe that more needs to happen beyond this shift in education. I recently read the book Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech. In the book, Sara Wachter-Boettcher summarizes that schools and programs can work to support diverse technical education and training, but until the culture of the companies who hire tech workers shifts to accommodate the diversity of the employees exiting the “pipeline,” the companies will continue to fall short. The currently male-dominated tech workplace needs to be more inclusive of women and minorities.  

Together, I know that the Chamber and our educational systems can collaborate to provide both our companies and our schools with the training necessary to support our jobs that need filled, and do so while practicing inclusive hiring methods.  

In addition to a delicious stop at Cali Taco for lunch, the afternoon brought an opportunity to explore various family-owned businesses with a wrap-up at local tech start-up, Buildertrend.  

My small group visited Thrasher and I was so impressed with Dan Thrasher and his leadership. To my surprise, this was another company working to fill open positions. Omaha is such a wonderful place to live and work. I’m absolutely shocked at the number of opportunities there are available for people who work hard and who don’t necessarily need a four-year college degree.  

Much like Dan Thrasher, I believe that in our society, we’ve done children a disservice by convincing them that a four-year college degree is the only way to become successful. There are so many opportunities for young people to learn trades, to earn two-year degrees, or to earn special licenses even while they are still in high school which can earn them a healthy living wage as they work in their industry of interest. Thrasher is one example of a company that provides these opportunities.  

Both Dan Thrasher, and Dan Houghton of Buildertrend echoed this sentiment. Companies in Omaha are looking for quality people with a good work ethic to fill positions sometimes starting at $80,000 per year. The title may not be sexy, but a four-year degree isn’t necessarily required to earn a solid income in the Midwest. Houghton said of Buildertrend that they have one rule as a company: “Don’t be an asshole.”  

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This year, I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate in the 40th class of The Omaha Chamber of Commerce’s group, Leadership Omaha. According to the Omaha Chamber website, Leadership Omaha was launched in 1978 “to develop effective leaders who will strengthen and transform the community.” Leadership Omaha fosters professional growth through the following four goals: 

Communication – Leadership Omaha will provide opportunities for communication among emerging and established leadership. 

Awareness – Leadership Omaha will develop participant awareness of the Omaha community, its problems, challenges, and opportunities, by examining the major systems and their interrelationships which contribute to patterns of life in the city. 

Leadership – Leadership Omaha will explore aspects of leadership and help participants identify and enhance their own leadership styles with emphasis on the community perspective. 

Motivation – Leadership Omaha will create an environment in which participants are motivated to develop a sense of community trusteeship and encouraged to assume leadership roles in community affairs. 

For one day each month, Class 40 will spend time learning about specific aspects of what make up our city so great. October’s Leadership Omaha Seminar was all about City Environment.