““The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is today.” ”
Today marks my first day as the new President & Chief Executive Officer for the Birmingham Business Alliance. It is an honor to step into this role for an organization whose mission I deeply believe in, and whose team I deeply admire.
Those who know me, know that my favorite book is “The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything” by Stephen Covey. It’s required reading for every team I’ve led over the years. Throughout the book, Covey unpacks the importance of developing high-trust relationships and how critical maintaining that trust is to an organization’s success. Coincidentally, trust is also critical to maintaining a region’s success.
One of BBA’s primary roles is to build trust in the Greater Birmingham Region. As an economic development agency, everything we do is to develop and bolster trust in our community – trust that this is a great place to grow a business, trust that this is a great place to start a career, trust that this is a great place to raise a family.
Recently, there has been a rise in attention to the population sizes of cities across the state. This metric, while important to be aware of, is not the sole measurement of a community’s success. Hyper focusing on the headlines distracts us and slows us down; it diminishes trust. Instead, as I step into my new role, I’d like for us to shift the narrative towards the bigger picture.
Strong economies are regional economies.
The Greater Birmingham Region encompasses a diverse range of communities, where talent and businesses thrive within and around city lines. The reality is that our metro still stands as the largest in the state of Alabama, home to 1.1 million residents, a population more than double that of the next largest metro. On top of that, our region generates more than 30% of Alabama’s annual GDP – that means one out of every three dollars comes from our community. The Birmingham region’s position as our state’s economic engine remains indisputable.
Strong relationships build strong economies.
We all know that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and it’s time we started operating that way. To build trust we must build relationships. Strong relationships lie at the heart of regional cooperation, a cause I have dedicated my career to. It takes all of us working together to bring investment and opportunity into Birmingham.
Over the coming weeks, our team will share more information about Birmingham’s regional economy to equip you with the facts to focus on. In the meantime, I know I have a lot of listening to do from this community, so I invite you to come have a conversation with the BBA.
We’re ready to rally together and show the world that the Greater Birmingham Region has more to offer. Will you join us?
See you soon,
Steve Ammons
President & Chief Executive Officer
Birmingham Business Alliance