Are You a Servant Leader?

It’s that time again - annual performance reviews. Who doesn’t feel just a little anxious with these? In our reviews, I’m talking with my team members about the year we survived, the culture we are continuing to nurture, the isolation that, if unaddressed, can eat away at our health. And I’m learning more about me than them…. not always comfortable.
 
You know who creates the most stress in our jobs? Our bosses. Me. When I started this job a wise person cautioned me: “beware the flight to the familiar.”  I’ve kept that mantra with me, though I recognize that I’m not always successful. And it hurts my team. My familiar is “unrelenting productivity.” When I don’t know what to do, when I’m uncertain or stressed, I just work harder. And, though I try to protect my team from my own process, they can’t help but be splashed by the mud. I can be impatient with pauses for quality of life, skim over family moments, “just do more.” You know what I’m talking about…
 
The real challenge? Sometimes, instead of speeding up, I need to slow down. Yep. Sit on that one for a minute.  I have a poem called “The Difference,” by Alan Grant, framed on a wall at home. It starts with, “I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day. had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to pray.”  The poem takes the reader through learning about the need to ask for help and slow down, such that it ends with, “I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day. I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.”
 
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the call for all of us to be kind.  Today, what comes to me, is the need to slow down and be compassionate. Our people are struggling, we are struggling. We can’t always fix it, but we can stop. We can listen. We can flex based on the unique needs of our teams. If we’ve not done this before, now definitely is the time to change it up. Never before have we needed it more.  And I’m going to start with being compassionate with myself.
 
See you in the trenches.
B

• Omicron continues its retreat in Minnesota: though cases in January set a new record, “it appears that we have peaked” – and break-through cases generally are mild. Case counts are still very high, at an average of 4,100/day last week. That against the daily average in mid-January of 13K cases/day.

 

• KSTP/SurveyUSA poll: vaccine and testing mandates implemented by St. Paul and Minneapolis are clearly unpopular with most bar and restaurant owners. Apparently they aren’t very popular among many Minnesotans. Shocking to no one. That said, no clear majority can be found on this or any issue related to the pandemic: 48% disagree with the mandates, 46% agree with them.​

• Morning Consult’s February 2022 U.S. Economic Outlook: Omicron takes it toll. The variant took its toll on consumer confidence in January. Couple that with rapidly rising prices, we saw declines in sentiment, with fewer consumers viewing now as a good time to make a major purchase. On the positive side, omicron’s impact on confidence has been less severe than that of past COVID-19 waves, and it appears that the current case surge likely has peaked at the national level. Regarding employment, indicators show that the employment situation stabilized or even improved by late January. Taken together, the data argues that the worst of the employment impact of omicron is behind us. That said, in personal finances, financial vulnerability soared in January, with 29% of American adults unable to pay their bills for a full month using just their savings. Without government support, households will struggle to rebuild savings even after COVID-19 cases stabilize at lower levels.

 

• Manufacturing: in Minnesota, Mpls Fed/DEED survey finds manufacturers expect a strong year ahead – provided they can find enough employees. I consider this sector an informal “6-month leading indicator” of what’s ahead, so this was good to read.  Enterprise Minnesota’s 2021 survey release will be April 5.  And the January Manufacturing PMI is at 57.60 for January – still indicating expansion, but a continuing gentle decline from 64.70 in March 2021.

 

• Minneapolis Fed’s Kashkari: Inflation is a focus, but not a worry. The Fed walks a fine line as it tries to reduce inflation without starting a recession, Kashkari says.

Public Safety:

• Carjackings used to be so rare that police didn’t track them uniquely. That’s changed. Cities across the U.S. have reported carjacking spikes. In St. Paul, there were 55 carjackings reported in 2019, 73 in 2020, and 101 in 2021. Minneapolis numbers actually doubled in 2021. Meanwhile, 2,635 vehicles were reported stolen in St. Paul in 2021, and 2,774 in 2020. Most people involved are teens, and it’s not unusual for them to be too young to even have a driver’s license. Ramsey County is trying a new, “focused deterrence” approach.
• In response to the officer involved shooting of Amir Locke on Feb 2, protesters marched, and Governor Walz has issued Executive Order 22-02 authorizing the Minnesota National Guard to provide public safety assistance during the ongoing federal civil rights trial. NG members will not assume posts at this time; instead, the MNNG will be able to deploy resources as necessary – intended to shorten the response time.​
• St. Paul federal trial is continuing without incident. Saint Paul Police continues to provide information through a blog on the police department website which can be found at https://www.stpaul.gov/news.

 
Federal

• Government funding: Lawmakers face a Feb. 18 deadline - one week from Friday - to pass legislation to avoid a government shutdown.  What we're watching: It's looking increasingly likely that appropriators will move forward with a short-term stopgap measure to keep the government open as talks on a broader deal continue. On top of government funding, the brinkmanship over a full-year measure has also delayed discussions of the Biden administration's planned request for another COVID-19 relief bill. 
• Senate is deadlocked on the Build Back Better bill, the core of President Biden’s legislative agenda.

 
State:

• Unemployment Trust Fund: Both the Senate (SF 2677) and House  (HF 2728) have introduced bills related to replenishing the unemployment trust fund, freezing the unemployment tax rate, assessment, and taxable wage bases; employer ratings; and appropriating money. Both houses have hearings scheduled on Feb 7 to review the respective bills. The legislature has until April to act before the new rates are applied to business owners.
• Workers Comp: both the Senate and the House have passed legislation (HF 1203, SF1203) to extend workers comp protections for employees who contract COVID while on the job, the “COVID-19 presumption statute.” The Governor signed it into law on Friday.

Regional

• St. Paul business owners learned last week that, effective today, Feb 7, a series of city fees are on the way up - during the mandate period. ​

 
Read more updates in our weekly Chamber Advocacy Update.​

• Fortune names Most Admired Companies in 2022: Target, 3M, Xcel Energy, Medtronic, Best Buy, Fastenal, General Mills, C.H. Robinson are tops among Minnesota companies. Ecolab, U.S. Bank, and UnitedHealth lead in their categories. Well deserved for all recognized companies. Read here for the full list.

 

• Our biggest event of every year is our Annual Meeting. More crucial than ever today is cyber security, and we’ll be hearing about that this year from this country’s preeminent voice: Join us on February 17 at RiverCentre to hear from the Director of the NSA/Cyber Command, General Paul Nakasone.

 

• Leadership Saint Paul’s 2022 class (best class ever?) kicks off in March.  If you looking to participate in this phenomenal leadership program and build a cohort of relationships to stay with you for the rest of your career, check it out! Applications can be submitted through the end of the month.  ​ ​

• Can we slow the Great Resignation? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall turnover rate for 2021 was 57.3%, with 25% being voluntary turnover. Across the U.S., over 4.4M people quit their jobs in September of 2021 alone. And employers are feeling the heat.  What are 3 tech considerations for creating a strong remote employee culture?

•  CEI is awarded $5M by JPMorgan to help firms owned by Black and Latina women grow their businesses. CEI hopes to help 60 businesses by 2025, including the establishment of an investment fund.

 

• Emergency Broadband program transitions to the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) as of March 1, 2022.  ACP is an FCC benefit program intended to ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, and more. For eligibility and enrollment, go to the FCC Consumer Information page (Link).

 

• Twin Cities’ only Black-owned bank, First Independence, has opening date: Feb 22, at 3430 University Ave SE, in Minneapolis.

• MSP region’s Build Back Better application:  now that we are in Phase 2, GreaterMSP, consultants, and partners are building the application and further developing plans/funding for the 8 proposed projects. The goal is to ensure that proposals are both eligible for funding and compliant with federal rules. For more information on this project and and other ARPA/federal funding opportunities, check out the Federal Funding Hub!  

 

• Michael Thao and Kou Vang of JB Vang partner on The Parkway, a 60-unit affordable apartment building on E 7th St in St. Paul.