Contributed by Allison Tivnon, Partner and Marketing Director at ECONorthwest

This year’s BD roundtable has been a wonderful experience for me personally, and I hope that the membership would also agree. We spent the first meeting last year white boarding topics that we were all collectively interested in. All meetings (except for one informal happy hour gathering) have been held in member conference rooms and structured in a way to extract as many meaningful questions and insights from the group as possible. The topics have varied from internal to external strategy, but have all been grounded in an acknowledgment that overlap exists between ‘business development’ and ‘marketing’ and that half the battle is achieving clarity on your role within your firm and with your staff. 

This approach has created a supportive environment where members feel free to share their vulnerabilities, hopes, challenges, and ideas in a safe space. Several of the members have bonded in a way that I wasn’t expecting, which has been really special to witness.

It’s been an honor facilitating this group this year. 

- Allison

For more information on the Roundtables offered by our Chapter, visit: https://smpsoregon.org/Roundtables or contact Kelly Johnson, Director of Professional Development.