Over the past week, I have received a ton of feedback about the 20UNDER40/Emerging Leader Salon that took place October 19-23.  I even heard from Emerging Leaders who guiltily told me how much they enjoyed reading the blog during their downtime at work.  It’s okay, I’m not giving names! 

A few people wrote me asking for stats on how many visitors went to the blog.  They are listed below.  Some serious ARTSblog records were broken.  It’s clear there was a huge amount of energy in this conversation. 

Edward Clapp posted a blog about “What’s Next?"  Let’s not allow this great energy to fizzle out yet. 

Across the country, bankers painted, insurance agents rocked, and lawyers took to the stage to demonstrate their creativity and passion for the arts.  Take a look at what these organizations are doing, just a sample of the creative partnerships that have been popping up in the arts and business world.

In Nashville, businesses put together bands and performed in the First Annual Music City Corporate Band Challenge. Bankers, insurance salesmen, plumbers, and surgeons took part in this contest which demonstrated the musical talent of the city and promoted Nashville’s status as "Music City USA." AllState Insurance Company’s The Good Hands Band, Myers Company’s Next of Kin, The Nashville Symphony Association’s Phil & the Harmonics, and Vanderbilt University’s Soul Incision were among the competitors in the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville’s first annual Corporate Band Challenge (which, incidentally, was won by MTA’s band, “Transit').

I want to express my appreciation to my fellow Salon bloggers last week and everyone who has commented—you’ve given me a lot to think about. Before I go, though, I want to make what seems to me like an essential point. We’ve spent a lot of time in this salon so far talking about problems, but solutions have been somewhat elusive. I think part of the reason is contained within a comment I wrote earlier last week on my Generation Y and the Problem of “Entitlement” post but didn’t realize the true significance of until later:

I think the generational shifts are a related, but separate phenomenon from the concentration of power in our field at the top and the frustration that many feel as a result of it, regardless of generation.

There are really two separate issues we’re talking about here, and that’s why our wires keep getting crossed. On the one hand, we have genuine ways in which Generation Y is different from all the generations that came before, particularly with regard to how technology has impacted our communications habits, our work ethic, our social norms, and most importantly, our expectations for ourselves and others. However, this is NOT the same thing as the second issue: the concentration of power in a few individuals that pushes out other voices, both at an organization level and in the wider field. THAT is not new at all, and in fact is probably in a better place now than it ever has been.

It has been truly exciting and invigorating to follow this blogging experience. I have read great ideas (P.A.D.T.H.A.I), felt validated (A Lonely Place to Be), and seen that I have the same basic opinion as others but am there by an entirely different circumstance (Stop Blah, Blah, Blahing...). Indeed this project has shown that emerging leaders have much in common and share many of the same goals, fears, and visions for the future of this field. We are also incredibly diverse and ready for action.

To me one of the most important aspects of professionalism is follow through. Actually get your work done, return emails (sooner rather than 2 weeks later!), remember to attach the file, evaluate the work, use that data to make the next time even better, call the potential partner or new contact you just met, etc etc etc. Of course, this is not always easy as there are only increasing demands on limited time. But one cannot lead if one cannot meet these commitments (and then dream of new projects that require more follow through!)