Not Speaking To Deaf Ears

I attended the Black Management Association (BMA) Conference at Northwestern’s Graduate School of Management (Kellogg) this past weekend.  I have a few friends who are getting their MBA’s from there.  I have not spoken to them in a few years, so I asked what was a good weekend to visit; they said the BMA Conference.  I looked at the conference agenda and was pleased to see that there was a panel on the economic development of Detroit.

I spoke to my friend the night before the conference (he was the event co-chair) and he say “you know you’re the reason why we’re doing the Detroit panel?”  I looked confused and said “no”.  He explained that he suggested doing the panel on Detroit after years of me talking about my city.  It really put a smile on my face to know that my talking positive about Detroit had not fallen on deaf ears.  As a result, the hundreds of MBA students (arguably, some of the smartest current and future business leaders of our time) were to attend a panel discussion about Detroit.

I just must say that when you’re passionate about something, people are compelled to listen, and if you’re really good, they’re inspired to also be passionate about your cause.  My friend explained that he fought to get the panel to be done on Detroit, because the majority of committee members wanted to do it on Chicago.  I must give myself a pat on the back for this one.

Remember, to spread the love and message about what it is that makes you happy.