The Corner of the World Your Work Touches
By Dara Rudick, CAE — MHQ CEO
Lately I’ve found myself feeling uninspired, and then feeling guilty about that. With everything happening in our communities – the fear some neighbors are carrying; the weight of everyday citizens navigating unprecedented attacks on our city; and the deep beauty of folks standing up for one another – who am I to feel anything less than fully energized and ready?
Then last week, I was invited to a local Rotary dinner, and I left with something important that I didn’t expect.
It was a simple gathering — two Rotary chapters, Uptown Minneapolis and South Minneapolis, coming together at Los Andes, a local restaurant with its own story of purpose and community. Nothing extraordinary on the surface, except the incredibly delicious food. And yet the room was full of people who had each found a way to do their work with intention.
A jewelry store owner who intentionally sources gems from a women-owned family mine in Tanzania. An auditor who spends his days ensuring the sustainability of forests and supply chains most of us never think about. A storyteller who helps children make sense of the complex, sometimes unimaginable things happening in their communities and in the world.
None of them are solving everything. But each of them has decided to be deliberate about the corner of the world their work touches.
That’s what struck me. And that’s what I want to bring back to you.
Associations exist for exactly this reason. When we gather on purpose — not just out of habit or obligation, but with real intention — something shifts. We as leaders are reminded of what’s possible. Ideas find each other. People who might otherwise feel isolated in their work discover they’re part of something larger.
We don’t have to fix the whole world. But we can decide, right now, what our corner of it looks like. What we source, what we support, who we bring to the table, what stories we tell.
The people I met that evening weren’t waiting for things to be okay before doing good work. They were doing good work because things aren’t okay.
That’s the invitation for all of us as we enter into a new month of March.
About MHQ
Driven by the vision of a thriving, vibrant community, MHQ is a woman-owned, world-class management company that delivers customized services. Founded in 2013, MHQ has provided association management services since its inception, as well as infrastructure to organizations in a range of industries. We serve professional and trade associations, as well as government and public sector entities. For more about MHQ, visit https://www.management-hq.com/.
