Off topic: You've Gotta be Kidding Me

Sandy Parker, CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance knows how to merge two corporate cultures into one! Read this from today's Democrat & Chronicle: "On the changes in the organization: "When we put two organizations under one roof, we really didn't spend the proper amount of time making sure integration worked. We didn't create a culture for the RBA. We had two cultures. So we needed to spend a lot of time on that. We've done it, and I think we have a staff now that is focused on moving the organization together and moving forward."

Please reread that quote from Ms. Parker. Now, let me run a few names past you:

Tom Mooney, Angela Monachino, Charlie Goodwin, Gael Barrett, Libby McShane, Anna Vulaj, Wyoma Best, Bridget Pulver, Andrea Paul, Kevin Kelley, Jean Kase, Henry Gottfried, David Benesch, John Zaepfel, Claire Kenney, Liz Perez... and me! (I may be forgetting some folks - including the HTR staff - so, please correct me if you recall them).

There are six still at the RBA - Becky Brown, Nan Brunett, Nina Shelton, Paulette Birch, Susan George, and Danielle Smith (who is putting in her two week notice on Monday)... so really, there'll be FIVE former Chamber people left.

That was how Sandy successfully created a culture - by eliminating all the Chamber of Commerce staff, keeping the vast majority of the IMC's staff (a couple of them are gone, but at least one cut his own throat through amazing stupidity, and a couple others left for better things). Did this require amazing management skills? Did this really merge two corporate cultures into one? Well, it eliminated one culture and basically said to those remaining: YOU ADOPT OUR CULTURE OR YOU'RE FIRED MOTHER FUCKER!!!

Does that about capture it?