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| CRBJ Home > September 2006 | |||||
We could have left Madison, but we stayedSharon Chamberlain
It's probably more than evident walking into our building that I love Madison -- especially after a face-to-face run in with our life-size cow sporting a painted-on Ron Dayne #33 Badger jersey. Photos of the Capitol building, State Street, the Union Terrace, Tenney Park and Henry Vilas Zoo line the walls. And since all of our meeting rooms are named after Wisconsin state governors and area lakes, so I guess there's no doubt we are a Madison company to the core. Ever since we opened our doors in 1988, Chamberlain Research Consultants Inc. has been located in Madison, although in today's global, high-tech age physical location no longer plays a major role in our business. From our first location on Olin Avenue to our new location at 660 John Nolen Drive, there's something about Madison you just can't find anywhere else. So why did we stay? We get the benefit of being able to continually expand our knowledge by tapping into the resources of the students and faculty at UW-Madison. We get to help shape our city through continued community involvement on projects like Monona Terrace and collaborating with groups like Downtown Madison Inc. We have an amazing pool of smart, creative and diverse people in this city who bring the ideas, energy and direction we provide to our clients. And, let's face it, most of the people who work at Chamberlain live in Madison and love it, and would rather not have to move. Unfortunately, another one of the things you don't find anywhere else is Madison politics. We made our decision to move more than a year ago, although I'm not sure we would have stayed had we known about the proposed sick leave ordinance. With 90 percent of our business expenses dedicated to labor costs, had the ordinance passed I would have been forced to move our data collection operations elsewhere. I would no longer have been able to remain competitive with our global competition like Gallup or Harris Interactive. It is vital that the business community continue to band together to keep this and similar ordinances from passing to keep Madison a great place for business. I believe we need to understand the facts and findings from the Collaboration Council to make the best decision for both employers and employees. We have to ensure that our fine city retains a competitive business environment for the long run -- competitive not only nationally and globally, but locally as well. Now that we are settling into our new building, we're excited for what the future holds. Madison is a wonderful place to do business, and as long as companies continue give back to the community to keep it healthy and vibrant, it will continue to be an ideal place to work and live. It's tempting to move somewhere to save a little money today; it's harder to stay where you love and work at continuing to make it a better place -- but it's more rewarding in the long run. Sharon Chamberlain is owner and CEO of Chamberlain Research Consultants. madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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