EDGE Membership – Overview

EDGE helps middle-market companies build their businesses and grow in value through its member program.

Development and Relationship-Building for CEOs and Management Teams

  • Monthly leadership meetings on relevant topics expand each leader’s capacity to contribute to the enterprise. Speakers include nationally recognized authors. Meetings open to CEO/President and up to five key managers.
  • Quarterly peer group meetings gather mid-market-only CEOs and in separate meetings other managers by function for networking and development. Current functional meetings serve HR, IT, Operations and Sales & Marketing.
  • MBA UltraLite Program:
    A 10-session course on management and leadership, offered at least once a year, prepares high-potential employees for the management decisions and actions required of them as well as future career growth. Reduced member price.
  • Leadership Alchemy:
    This eight-session class is designed specifically for mid-market business professionals who want or need leadership education (tools and exercises, i.e. “learn how to learn”) and real experience of personal development.
  • InnoQuest:
    A 12-session course fall course offered to employees at member companies (in addition to graduate-level students) who want to learn techniques to better manage innovation to grow their business. Reduced member price.
  • Employee Idea Mining Survey: On-site employee interviews reveal ideas for creating value. These interviews give the CEO insight into constructive, creative ideas mined from employees through an impartial, third-party process.

Access to Talent Through the Summer Intern Program

  • CEOs provide business ideas that have not yet been explored.
  • EDGE recruits students from Northeast Ohio colleges and universities (and local students from universities outside the region) to conduct feasibility analyses on the ideas.
  • Program has resulted in identifying and quantifying successful new business ideas as well as new innovations for many local companies.

Recognition

  • The Leading EDGE Awards recognizes and celebrates the value middle-market companies are creating for themselves and for the Northeast Ohio community.
  • The Shatten Civic Distinction Award annually recognizes an LEA company for its outstanding civic contribution to the local community.

Civic Engagement

  • EDGE coordinates events to greater impact local charities such as E-Prep School by engaging mid-market firms to become actively involved.