The TwinWest Chamber of Commerce has named Mike Sowada, CEO, VISI, as its 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year. Way to go Mike! 

The honor was given at the Small Business Awards Luncheon today emceed by Fox 9 News anchor and reporter Jeff Passolt.

Watch the video below to hear how Mike “jumps in” to take care of business and keeps VISI “fit”.

Each year hundreds of community members gather over lunch to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of fellow TwinWest members.  On May 21st, at the TwinWest Small Business Awards Luncheon, they’ll announce the winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year and Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year.  We’re honored to have our own Mike Sowada, CEO of VISI, as one of the three finalists for the Entrepreneur of the Year award.   Each of the finalists offered their tips, techniques and strategies in the latest issue of the TwinWest Directions.

The keynote speaker for the event this year is Bahram Akradi, founder and CEO of Life Time Fitness, Inc.  He will share his vision of taking entrepreneurial fitness challenges.

You can find more details and registration for the event online.

Recently, I have participated in the MHTA ACE Leadership program. This is one of the best hidden treasures for emerging leaders. It focuses on preparing leaders in a business setting but also helps you discover your own humanity, natural treats and how to use them to Advocate, Collaborate and Educate in order to better your community. In going through the program, I was able to look inward, identify what my natural treats and skills are, align them with my core values and put them to practice.

Many companies talk about teamwork but very few know how to truly work as a team. Genuine teamwork is allusive and complex. Different team members come from diverse backgrounds and different ideals which makes for a mix bag of results and expectations. Teamwork is the essential organ of a long lasting, successful company and trust serves as the cradle of teamwork.

Building trust is not simple but it is worth every drop of sweat invested in it. Building trust requires time and extensive interaction with a high degree of friction and camaraderie. Some organizations go through exercises to conceive trust.

In the absence of trust, team members are not so eager to hold a mirror to each other or enable an honest discussion and healthy conflict. Yes, conflict is the salt in any successful team’s recipe. Conflict can be quite constructive when combined with trust. Healthy, constructive conflict gives way to commitment.

Commitment is the 2×4 framing for your organization, which is built on a foundation constructed with trust. If the team members are committed, than no task is too hard or goal too far. Personal gain is diluted by the desire for the greater good of the team. If you have a committed team then you have team members holding each other accountable and that is a perfect mesh for moving forward as a team.