On a brisk Friday afternoon in Chicago, at the Chicago Minority Supplier Diversity Council’s rolling out met with one of the most dynamic and resourceful business women we’ve encountered in some time. We were invited to the CMSDC’s elegant Holiday Brunch in a lavish ballroom at the Hyatt Regency hotel on Wacker Drive to eat, drink and be merry while rubbing shoulders with entrepreneurs and CEO’s from companies across Chicagoland. And while any number of business experts claim to have a solid working knowledge of the concept of diversity and all that it entails, Jackie Dyess, the organization’s Minority Business Development Council chair and president of Inner City Supply and Inner City Supply Ban,k has moved the concept from just that — concept — to tangible reality. What’s more Dyess continues to aggressively move the diversity agenda forward in a manner not often seen in the corporate world.
Your company has done well given the economy. How did you accomplish that?
We grew because we positioned our company in the Green environment. Ten years ago we foresaw that folks were going to go green and use environmentally friendly supplies and products … so we aligned ourselves with Green manufacturers and [maintenance supply] distributors. We had to be on the cutting edge of technology to educate people before they made a buy. For five years we held classes and seminars on the green industry, so that when it came time to buy people looked at us. –roz edward
What are the qualities you look for when hiring employees?
I look for some talent and experience, but mostly I look for loyalty and someone who is going to be hardworking someone who is concerned with growth and then he real simple characteristics like I don’t like a liar a cheater. I like someone who is on timer, cares about their appearance, can take criticism and grow from it. The simple stuff.
What role do you play with the CSMDC?
I am the chair of the minority business development council. I am a national chair and a local chair for the minority business development council. Here locally I represent about 11,000 MBEs so I am their voice in terms of [establishing] programs. On the national board I represent 78,500 minority businesses and that means traveling to Washington, speaking to senators, talking to Congressmen, pushing through legislation and being an advocate for minority businesses. We just pushed through the Job Act legislation which Obama signed November 27. It’s a small business act, but some of the pieces were of particular interest to minority businesses … like contract bundling, certifications for minority set asides and there was an issue about business size standards. … It’s a matter of looking at legislation and making it fairer so that as the economy moves forward we are an integral part of it.
