BAH ! Black MBA's Part Three

The Masters of Business Administration by Cecil Hickman, Publisher and Editor.

The Second Annual Mideast Regional Conference of the National Black MBA Association had an impressive speakers roster including an executive from Pitney Bowes and several top notch motivational speakers. However I gravitated toward the vending exhibit room... the place where the entrepreneurs layout their wares.

I had an engrossing conversation with a business owner only four months out of the box that led into a discussion about the need to save a generation of young african americans. We agreed that the new economy was raining havoc. The young woman had connections with a local university and who saw that a disproportionate share of the dropouts were african-american males. She wants to do something to turn that around.

She had a very impressive business card that made an immediate impact and I went out that very day and upgraded my own.

I also talked to a legal services insurance group. I know from experience that this economic downturn had forced a dramatic downsizing that hit the black community particularly hard. Sometimes where the ax fell exposed the prejudices of the employer. I only wish my family had known that for $26 dollars a month we could have had access to topnotch legal advice that might have warded off the firing squad or at least made the severance package more palatable. I remember asking what percentage of African-Amercans made up this company's workforce and was surprised to learn it was nearly half. I guess it is one of those best kept secrets.

I didn't know what to expect from the regional conference of the National Black MBA's. Something dull and dry I suppose. Maybe something akin to a group of accountants or economists. You know ... technical stuff.

I came away with tools that will transform how I handle this blog publishing business of mine ... and that frankly was a shocker ! The slugs for this gathering has to be Quality and Relevance. For example, it took place at the classy Intercontinental Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. Wait till I tell you about the quality of Speakers in my next post. There were also major issues discussed that I will bring up in subsequent postings. Stay tuned.

(Click on the cell phone Video below then check back in for Part Three later for the Speakers and what I learned from them).

BTW: I resolved to buy a high-end High Definition Video Camera this week and revamp my whole marketing approach... based on lessons learned from this group).