CMSDC 2008 Shining Star
Harland Henry, Advisor to the Connecticut Secretary of State on Small Business Affairs, and Manager, Small and Minority Business Services Unit, Office of the Connecticut Secretary of State.
Harland Henry has been a long-time advocate for small business in Connecticut. His passion and commitment has led to numerous achievements and recognition. In 2000 he created and successfully launched the Connecticut Small & Minority Business Showcase (CTShowcase) — a public-private partnership designed to improve the economic development of small and micro businesses. Today the program is a leading small business showcase program in New England with active support by corporations that include Microsoft, State Farm Insurance, and many more. ( www.ctshowcase.org )
Harland has been the recipient of numerous awards that include the SBA Business Advocate of the Year award, the 2004 African American Affairs Commission Economic Development award, and the 2007 Ambassador for Peace award by the Universal Peace Federation. He is very active in the Connecticut local community and serves on various boards.
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Thank you for your support and votes for me to remain your MBEIC Chairperson.
As you may have read in my platform – Priorities for 2008 include the following:
- Grow the active participation of MBEs on the MBE Input Committee
- Find more opportunities to increase the skill level of all MBEs which in turn should provide corporate members more reasons to utilize CMSDC MBEs 1st
- Contribute to enhancing educational offerings of the council and evaluating success of programs
- Position our MBEs for growth; whether it is growth from a $100,000 to a $200,000 company of growth from a $1 million to $2 million company.
How I plan for us to accomplish what I call the MBE/MBEIC growth initiative:
Getting more opportunities for MBEs
My plan includes continuing to ask our corporate members to identify areas where they are having difficulty getting solutions to specific problems then working to match them with MBEs who can meet the opportunities. Collectively, we have the ability to provide solutions to our corporate members’ needs. We must show ourselves as a valuable resource rather than merely a vendor. Sharing best practices at quarterly meetings is one way to accomplish this goal.
Lead the MBE Input Committee into the next year and beyond through solid planning and implementation
It is time for us to develop a strategic plan that provides measurable and predictable goals. We will launch the year with a Strategic Planning retreat and will develop a timeline for action and follow-up. This action will be well documented and progress checks will be presented during regularly scheduled meetings. Also, a critical part of the retreat will be taking time to develop a slate of topics for an MBE Educational series. We have to make sure our MBEs are knowledgeable and can demonstrate their value to corporations at all times.
Have our MBEs more strategically aligned with each other
This is an issue we have discussed in the past and I believe it has enough merit for continued action. Looking forward, we need to become better sales people for each others businesses. Investing time to understand what we do best and actively looking for matching opportunities should become a priority for us all. The better each of us does this, the more successful we can all become. This can be done by continuing our efforts to update our communications capabilities and by finding greater opportunities for sharing. Accomplishing this goal also allows us to achieve the number one goal of securing more opportunities for our MBEs
If you would like to participate on any of the MBEIC standing sub-committees or would like to become a member of the MBEIC, please contact me to discuss your interest.
This year can be tremendous for us all; let’s make things happen and I wish you all continued success.
Best regards,
Carlton L. Oneal
MBEIC Chairperson
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