THE BUSINESS OF LEADERSHIP

Your Exclusive Invitation to Join MCAA's Advanced Leadership Institute...

ALI in the News

• ALI Course Eight -

  On November 14, 2008, 28 of the industry’s finest assembled in a state-of-the-art classroom at the Babson College Executive Education Center. It was 8 a.m., and the Babson faculty had divided the class into five teams that were huddled in small clusters, each making final preparations for their presentation to the rather dour-looking "Belmonti family." Each team had been called to make a presentation, complete with recommendations to "green" and modernize the Belmontis’ maturing organization. Welcome to Day 10, the final day, of MCAA’s highly-acclaimed Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI).

  By Day 10, the leaders and leaders-to be of their companies and the mechanical contracting and service industry (eight graduates serve on MCAA’s Board of Directors and one on MCAA’s Executive Committee) have bonded. That bonding is not unusual...in fact, MCAA would be disappointed if it was any other way. Like all contractors or contractor groups, the teams are highly competitive...but they have also been through a peak life experience together, learned from each other, debated and supported each other and worked hard and played hard together. They have become the ultimate resource to each other...close friends and dependable business allies.

  Class 8 members came from the U.S. and from Canada; from every direction and corner of North America; they are mechanical construction and service professionals, with a manufacturer/supplier representative thrown in for good measure. They endured the strong and necessary medicine of business financials and strategy, marketing and disaster planning, communications skills development, negotiation exercises that brought out the best (and the worst) in them...and through it all, they bonded, they grew, and they became a class. On Tuesday night, the class was treated to the energetic and enlightening Dave Allen (McKinstry Company, Seattle, WA). He spoke on "Transformation... Harnessing Emerging Markets, Conquering Leadership Challenges," pressing home the point that the way in which we must lead our companies has irrevocably changed. Attendee comments ranged from "motivational" to "inspirational," with many noting how contagious Dave’s enthusiasm was.

  During the graduation luncheon, presided over by MCAA Senior Vice President and Treasurer Robert T. Armistead, P.E., the now-alumni made plans to visit one another...and each other’s shops. They kidded the "green guy" from Canada about his green obsession...but they all also made sure they knew exactly how to contact him because he really knew his stuff! Individual quirks that surfaced during the 10-day leadership immersion were fair game for kidding, but affectionately so...a mnemonic device to help them remember each others’ faces and personal and business strengths. Each graduate received a diploma that would make an Ivy-leaguer green with envy, along with a 24-karat gold ALI lapel pin, given only to ALI graduates…a visible marker to those in the know that they are in the presence of an ALI graduate.

  ALI has graduated over 200 leaders, many of whom meet at the ALI Graduates Reception at the MCAA Annual Convention to get reacquainted and meet graduates from other classes. Course 9 of MCAA’s Advanced Leadership Institute will be held September 20–25 and November 8– 13.

  For an application, please contact Dennis Langley (dlangley@mcaa.org).