Thoughts About Leadership
Another year, a new 40 Under Forty class—an alliance group that could effect change.
Every issue of Ingram’s, we like to think, is special in its own way. But the April edition carries an exceptional resonance every year: It’s the release of the highly anticipated 40 Under Forty class. We established this business recognition program for young executives in 1998, not long after purchasing the magazine—and when I was still short of that age threshold myself.
In some ways, we like to think we’ve seen Kansas City’s business leadership mature along with us, and it’s been highly rewarding to observe as many of our honorees selected over the years have stepped into the highest offices of their companies, organizations, communities and states. But in its 15th year and with an arsenal of so many talented and accomplished leaders, it seems to me that the 40 Under Forty program should not only retain its relevance but could evolve to become more.
And that’s where the 40 Under Forty alumni—now 600 strong with this year’s class—can come in. More on that in a minute. But first, a preface: Leadership has always been a key criterion for selection in Ingram’s 40 Under Forty. The program has recognized these individuals not just for their superior business achievement, but for going above and beyond to improve the broader community. They do that through service on boards and commissions, in volunteer roles, and in mentoring capacities like coaching youth sports, serving as Scoutmasters or taking key roles at school with PTA duties, to name only a very few.
It’s a fact—much to the chagrin of some accomplished folks who’ve been passed over—that making the most money with your organization isn’t the standard for inclusion.
In recent years, though, the thought keeps coming back to us, stronger every time: This is an aggregation of individuals too talented to see their affiliation stop when the presses roll each April. There must be a way to tap into both the talent and the expressed leadership of people like this in an organized way to enhance the common good for the benefit of the broader Kansas City and perhaps bi-state regional community.
But how? Our recent Leadership Assembly—a first-ever event comprising only alumni from the first 14 classes of 40 Under Forty—addressed some of the potential there. For years, the CEOpen Executive Golf Tournament served as a conduit for that talent; 40 Under Forty alumni took on key organizing roles that have helped Ingram’s and our winning teams raise $550,000 for 33 regional non-profits over the past eight years. We’d like to see that kind of engagement every year—it’s a great day of golf, power networking and philanthropy—but it’s a tremendous amount of work for a small business to take on alone.
There are other ways to draw on those talents, as well. One would be through concentration on mentoring. After all, if 40 Under Forty alumni are role models for many in business, they are especially valuable in that capacity for younger folks, right down to the high school level. They—and future honorees—could be more formally engaged as a group in mentoring business startups that are so vital to the regional economy and job creation. They could step up as a group when faltering organizations like YouthFriends, which just announced it would be closing, are in trouble.
Participants at the assembly correctly noted that the biggest challenges facing the region are probably too imposing for any private group to tackle with expectations of profound success. The quality of public education in Kansas City’s core, the bi-state battle over business incentives, being prime examples. And they noted the idea alone is just the first step; what really matters it how it’s executed.
But there’s a lot more that could—perhaps should—be done.
I’ve always been optimistic about the future of KC, and the pages of this publication have long reflected that. One reason is the level of leadership we’ve seen engaged with the community through the 40 Under Forty alumni, and, more recently, with the entrepreneurial efforts of the 100 individuals who so far have been named to our 20 in Their Twenties program.
Ingram’s Magazine and Ingrams.com will continue to serve as communications tools and a conduit for helping to drive efforts and make this great community an even better place to live, raise a family and do business. We’re looking forward to building on that in collaboration with our 40 Under Forty alumni. We look forward to exploring and facilitating ways this extraordinary alliance might not only identify needs but to develop strategies that lead to engagement and solutions to lofty challenges. Congratulations again to them, for all they’ve achieved, and to this year’s honorees for joining this unique alliance.
Joe Sweeney
Editor-In-Chief & Publisher