Over 150 years of doing business in Colorado, the Denver Metro Chamber has had exceptional leaders paving the way for the business community and our members to make a difference in the community. Our board chair Denise Burgess, president and CEO of Burgess Services, and our past board chair Todd Munson, executive vice president and director of commercial banking of Vectra Bank, are no exception.
In September, members asked board leadership anything at Your Conversation With. Burgess and Munson candidly shared their career advice, vision for the future and what they love about doing business in Colorado.
Whether in the community or at the Chamber, you just have to raise your hand.
Burgess: The difference between diversity and inclusion is that diversity is being asked to the party and inclusion is being asked to dance. For me that is what the Chamber is.
Munson: If you want to roll up your sleeves you’re welcome. That is one of the key ingredients of being here in Colorado.
Work-life balance is about prioritizing.
Munson: I made conscious decisions as my career advanced to make sure that I was home at the right time. I was the baseball coach for two of my boys. I had to prioritize my family first – you really do.
Burgess: Something is going to drop and it will drop, but you pick it back up and you do it again. It’s hard and you make conscious choices. The more I consciously picked that I’m going to let that go, the happier I was.
Lessons they’ve had to learn – and that they wished they knew earlier in their career.
Burgess: The word “no” is my friend. I wish I would have known that. And that it is a completed sentence.
Munson: To be a better listener. You have two ears, one mouth for a reason.
Be mindful of your goals.
Burgess: The biggest challenge was switching my company to make it my company rather than following in my father’s footsteps. That was really challenging because we had established clients. You have to make it your own as the second generation; otherwise, the shadow of your father is always there.
Munson: I was always ambitious and charging fast. I had a mentor who said you need to slow down, be mindful, listen and engage. You’re on a great track, don’t force it let it happen, but continue to work hard and do the right things and good things will happen to you.
Business size matters.
Burgess: Small business can pivot. You can change it up and you can try a new idea and that is an advantage of being a small business. In large corporations there are process and procedures. For me I can say “everyone in the conference room” and we can make a quick decision and get input.
Todd: The issues that impact small business impact large businesses. The cost of health care, finding labor – those are issues that they all face, but might be harder for small businesses.
How they want Chamber members to remember their time as chair.
Munson: I haven’t done anything special – I got involved, I rolled up my sleeves and I listened. One great man once told me have passion, have pride and have purpose – and that’s what I brought as board chair.
Burgess: I’m the first African-American chair, and that legacy to me reflects this community – the openness. But that wasn’t the reason why I was asked to be chair. My legacy is that you can be a small business owner and you can be in this chair. That to me is a legacy.
Laura James is the marketing and communications coordinator for the Denver Metro Chamber.