Greater Charlotte Biz 2009.01

Interact

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Calico Coatings

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Bishop, Dulaney & Joyner

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LiveWELL Carolinas! Corporate Health

january 2009

Bank of

Joe L. Price Chief Financial Officer Bank of America

5601 77 Center Dr., Ste. 250, Charlotte, N.C. 28217

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

OPPORTUNITY PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 505 Charlotte, NC

BofA CFO Running a Sprinter's Pace in a Global Race

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“#1 NAMEPLATE IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH DEALER SERVICE, TWO YEARS IN A ROW”*

IN HONOR OF OUR J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH DEALER SERVICE AWARD FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW. JAGUAR DEALERS ARE CELEBRATING WITH SPECIAL INCENTIVES. VISIT OUR LOCAL DEALER FOR A TEST-DRIVE. *Jaguar received the highest numerical score in the proprietar y J.D. Power and Associates 2007-2008 Customer Satisfaction with Dealer Ser vice (CSI) Studies. SM 2008 study based on responses from 87,302 owners and lessees of 2005 to 2007 model-year vehicles, measuring 37 original equipment manufacturers, and measures satisfaction among vehicle owners who visit the dealer ser vice depar tment for maintenance or repair work during the first three years of ownership. Proprietar y study results are based on experiences and perceptions of owners sur veyed from Januar y-April 2008. Your experiences may var y. Visit jdpower.com. For fur ther details, see your Jaguar dealer, visit jaguarusa.com, or call 1.800.4.JAGUAR. ©2008 JAGUAR LAND ROVER

SCOTT JAGUAR

Charlotte SCOTT JAGUAR 400 Tyvola Road 704-527-7000 scottjag.com

A unique business shouldn’t settle for a generic communications solution.

You didn’t start a business to be like everyone else. So why settle for a generic approach to solving business communication problems? At Time Warner Cable Business Class, we understand that your business is unique. You get a local, dedicated representative who is available to visit your office, understand your business needs and work with you to tailor the right solution just for your business. With reliable High-speed Internet, Business Class Phone and Video, we will help you stay productive. And make sure you get exactly what you need, without paying for what you don’t.

Contact us to learn more about how we can tailor a solution for your business.

1-877-892-2220 www.carolinas.twcbc.com Subject to change without notice. Products and services not available in all areas. Some restrictions apply. © 2008 Time Warner Cable. All rights reserved.

Internet. Phone. Video.

in this issue

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cover story

Bank of America Completing two years as chief financial officer for Charlotte-based Bank of America, Joe Price reflects on the challenges he’s faced and still addresses at one of the world’s largest financial institutions. “I had six months of what I thought was a tough introduction,” he smiles. “As it turns out, the last 17 months have been the real challenge.”

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bizlife LiveWELL Carolinas!

Corporate Health

departments

CHS Corporate Health and the YMCA have teamed up to promote employee health and wellness, proven keys to controlling premium and insurance costs, decreasing absenteeism and maintaining higher levels of productivity.

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Interact Lou Solomon describes authentic communication as that which allows participants to have genuine experiences, the true game changer in today’s business world and the medium in which individuals innovate and make their organizations more competitive.

Bishop, Dulaney & Joyner These lawyers have strategically combined their various areas of legal expertise as well as their business experience, enabling them to provide practical legal solutions that are both cost-efficient and effective across a broad spectrum of corporate legal matters.

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publisher’spost

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workforcebiz

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bizXperts

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Work Force Training and Development

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Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

bizlife

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employersbiz

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biznetwork

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bizbits

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ontop

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bizview

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Legislative and Regulatory Highlights for Area Employers

The Charlotte Region: The View from Another Perspective

on the cover:

Tracy Trotter prides himself on thoroughly understanding his customers’ needs and works with them to customize solutions. His firm helps solve issues with heat, corrosion and excess wear by applying superior coatings that reduce friction, save fuel and increase speed.

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Calico Coatings

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Bishop, Dulaney & Joyner

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LiveWELL Carolinas! Corporate Health

january 2009

Joe L. Price Chief Financial Officer Bank of America

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Calico Coatings

Interact

Bank of

Joe L. Price Chief Financial Officer Bank of America

OPPORTUNITY BofA CFO Running a Sprinter's Pace in a Global Race

Photography by Wayne Morris

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[publisher’spost] 704-676-5850

In Memory of Clyde R. Galles 1917-2008

January 2009 Volume 10 • Issue 1

My father died recently in Sun City Center, Florida. His name was Clyde R. Galles and he was 91 years old. He lived independently until last July when he fell and broke his hip. He did not have the strength or the determination to recover and walk again. And so, he was moved to the nursing home in his retirement community. He was not happy about leaving his apartment, but there was no choice. His heart finally gave out.

When my mother died at age 83 in May of 2000, I thought he would die from heartbreak and loneliness. My brother and sister and I would call him frequently and visit as often as we could to boost his spirits and let him know that he was loved. Fortunately, he lived in a healthy retirement community called Freedom Plaza that gave him great support and good friends. More recently, my father was under the care of Hospice.

When you learn about Hospice and know the care that they provide, you will know how valuable they can be. The Hospice people and the caregivers from the retirement community were angels caring for him each and every day.

My father was born in 1917 in Port Washington, Wisconsin. He served as an officer in the Army Air Force during World War II in the Pacific theater. He graduated in 1963 from Indiana University with a B.S. degree in Mathematics. He retired in 1979 as an Industrial Engineer from Bethlehem Steel in Burns Harbor, Indiana. He served as an elder at First Presbyterian Church and was on the Town Board of Long Beach and participated in the Big Brother program.

In 1980, Clyde and Ruth moved from Michigan City, Indiana, to Sun City Center in Florida to enjoy their retirement. There my father served on the boards of the Military Order of the World Wars, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church and Freedom Plaza Retirement Village. He enjoyed traveling with my mother to visit family wherever they lived.

He thoroughly enjoyed walking his boxer dogs and showing off their tricks to friends.

He was a good husband, father, and grandfather as well as a good friend. I cannot imagine 28 years of retirement, but I am so pleased that he could enjoy those years.

We will have a memorial service for him this spring in his hometown with other family members, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. In the meantime, I think about him every day. I don’t have to worry any more about the state of his health and how he is feeling. I am confident that he has met up with Mom and other family members that have passed before him. He is free to be happy and enjoy a new life beyond the physical realm.

I have so many good memories of growing up in our family. I am so grateful for what they gave me and the unconditional support that was always there. I can only hope and pray that many others can enjoy and appreciate a similar experience in their families. Lord knows, we had our struggles and challenges, but we always had each other. I miss my parents, but I am so proud of them and so grateful for all their care and all they taught me. biz

Thanks Dad!

Let me know what you think - jgalles@greatercharlottebiz.com

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Publisher John Paul Galles x102 jgalles@greatercharlottebiz.com

Associate Publisher/Editor Maryl A. Lane x104 maryl.a.lane@greatercharlottebiz.com

Creative Director Trevor Adams x103 tadams@greatercharlottebiz.com

Editorial & Sales Assistant Janet Kropinak x109 jkropinak@greatercharlottebiz.com

Account Executives All Advertising Inquiries x106 sales@greatercharlottebiz.com Marsha Bradford Sandra Ledbetter Dave Cartwright Bradley Jackson

Contributing Writers Ellison Clary Brandee Dishner Casey Jacobus Janet Kropinak

Contributing Photographers Janet Kropinak Wayne Morris Galles Communications Group, Inc. 5601 77 Center Drive • Suite 250 Charlotte, NC 28217-0737 704-676-5850 Phone • 704-676-5853 Fax www.greatercharlottebiz.com • Press releases and other news-related information: editor@greatercharlottebiz.com.

• Editorial: maryl.a.lane@greatercharlottebiz.com.

• Advertising: jgalles@greatercharlottebiz.com.

• Subscription inquiries or change of address: subscriptions@greatercharlottebiz.com.

• Other inquiries: please call or fax at the numbers above or visit our Web site www.greatercharlottebiz.com. © Copyright 2009 by Galles Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, Galles Communications Group, Inc. makes no warranty to the accuracy or reliability of this information. Products named in these pages are trade names or trademarks of their respective companies. Views expressed herein are not necessarily those of Greater Charlotte Biz or Galles Communications Group, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. For reprints call 704-676-5850 x102.

Greater Charlotte Biz (ISSN 1554-6551) is published monthly by Galles Communications Group, Inc., 5601 77 Center Dr., Ste. 250, Charlotte, NC 28217-0737. Telephone: 704-676-5850. Fax: 704-676-5853. Subscription rate is $24 for one year. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Greater Charlotte Biz, 5601 77 Center Dr., Ste. 250, Charlotte, NC 28217-0737.

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2009 You Are Invited TO BECOME AN EXCLUSIVE MEMBER OF THE HOOD HARGETT BREAKFAST CLUB IN 2009

HOOD HARGETT BREAKFAST CLUB The Premier Business Development Organization for Success-Minded Charlotte Business Owners.

THE HOOD HARGETT BREAKFAST CLUB IS A ‘CATEGORY EXCLUSIVE’ BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION THAT DEVELOPS AND

NEW 2009 SPEAKER LINE-UP January 9, 2009

May 1, 2009

Mike Tirico

Jim Nantz

Play-By-Play Commentator Monday Night Football

Broadcaster CBS Sports

February 13, 2009

September 11, 2009

HOSTS SOME 36 EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR FOR ITS MEMBERS

AND GUESTS. THE GOAL OF THESE EVENTS: TO PROVIDE SUCCESSMINDED BUSINESS OWNERS WITH FIRST-CLASS VENUES TO

ENTERTAIN THEIR CLIENTS AND PROSPECTS.

HHBC

Dr. Ben Carson Soledad O’Brien Special Correspondent CNN

World-renowned Pediatric Neurosurgeon Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

March 13, 2009

October 9, 2009

TAKES GREAT PRIDE IN CREATING A PRO-ACTIVE,

PROFESSIONAL-YET-CASUAL ENVIRONMENT THAT GIVES MEMBERS AND GUESTS THE CHANCE TO MEET AND LEARN MORE ABOUT EACH OTHER AND THEIR RESPECTIVE COMPANIES.

THESE OPPORTUNITIES

TO DEVELOP NEW BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS AND ENHANCE EXISTING ONES ARE KEY TO THE ONGOING SUCCESS OF HHBC.

Stuart Varney John Moore

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

Marketing Mastermind Starbucks and Whole Foods

Business and Financial Journalist FOX News

April 3, 2009

November 13, 2009

Bobby Martin

General Hugh Shelton

“Make it Count” Motivational Speaker

Former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff

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n s Thr ou gh E du ca ti o n C O R P O R AT E

L E A R N I N G

Solutions through

education Customized group training is available with on-site delivery options and scheduling flexibility.

Visit our online library of courses to search and view content on hundreds of programs that can be tailored to your business model.

www.trainingmatrix.com/cpcc Contact a Corporate Learning advisor at 704.330.4660 or via email at: corporate.training@cpcc.edu

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Work Force Training and Development

[workforcebiz]

Where Ideas and Results Meet

Executives Seek Affordable Meeting Spaces To Foster Creativity, Generate Fresh Ideas Charlotte executives understand that meetings are an integral part of today’s fast-paced business world. The drive for increased productivity has savvy executives seeking affordable meeting spaces that foster creativity, generate fresh ideas and ensure a solid return on their meeting investment. Fortunately, they don’t have to look further than their own backyard.

Conveniently located just minutes from uptown Charlotte on the Harris Campus of Central Piedmont Community College, The Harris Conference Center is the region’s only purposebuilt executive meeting facility accredited by the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC). Now in its fifth year of operation, the center has successfully welcomed thousands of meeting attendees from hundreds of organizations locally, nationally and internationally. Said one attendee of their recent conference, “Both the facility and service were first class. Another excellent experience.”

As an alternative to a traditional hotel meeting experience, conference centers are raising the bar.

Business leaders are turning more and more to this unique meeting option that combines high-touch with high-tech. Approximately 80 percent of the facility’s use comes from repeat clients, according to Regan Hodges, associate director.

Accredited Success The International Association of Conference Centers is a facilities-based organization with a mission to assist members in providing the most productive meeting facilities around the world.

These facilities represent the highest quality venues available to meeting professionals on a global basis. Says Neil Pompan, president of IACC North America: “Membership in the IACC means that a property has met the strict criteria that separates it from other meeting places and indicates its commitment to the total meeting experience.”

IACC-certified facilities focus on ‘the conference center difference’: superior customer service, customized amenities and state-of-the-art technology. The Harris Conference Center’s IACC certification demonstrates a commitment to serving small- to medium-sized meetings and setting itself apart in its scope and focus.

To become IACC-certified is difficult. Centers must meet approximately 40 standards to earn this prestigious industry recognition. As visitors to the Harris Conference Center can attest, the facility

exceeds many of these requirements, combining comfort and technology in a retreat-like setting.

The result is an unparalleled meeting experience that creates an environment, where ideas and results meet.

As a result, the Harris Conference Center has emerged as a sought-after meeting venue, providing Charlotte leaders with a quality meeting experience, unique in its objective, design and structure, while providing attendees with essential services, comfort and convenience.

Harris Conference Center

Expertise The Harris Conference Center places an emphasis on providing clients with quality customer service. Its staff is highly-experienced and adept at anticipating a guest’s every need, allowing clients to focus on the content of the event rather than the details of planning and execution. A designated Harris Conference Center coordinator assists each client with all aspects of their event, from beverage selection to creating a meeting format that promotes interaction. Says Harris Conference Center Coordinator Kayla George, “I make sure everything is perfect, from the refreshments to the room temperature.”

An on-site A/V technician also contributes to

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

the “high touch” experience, a term commonly associated with the Harris Conference Center.

Hotels frequently outsource their A/V equipment and services from third party vendors. But at the Harris Conference Center, Media Equipment Specialist Jeff Jarvis is on-site and available to provide clients with real-time solutions throughout the event’s agenda.

High-Tech The Harris Conference Center recognizes the importance of a flawless presentation. The facility’s meeting rooms feature drop-down screens, wireless access, independent lighting and sound controls, and ergonomically-designed chairs and conference tables to make the meeting experience more enjoyable and comfortable for guests. Smart Podium technology is available in various rooms.

With the single touch of a button, users may instantaneously switch between LCD projections or a DVD player and circle items on screen with a stylus pen. Groups have an option to request a digital recording that captures meeting sessions in MP3 format for Podcasts or to burn to CD. Cost Effective As travel and meeting budgets are slashed and the market becomes more competitive, the Harris Conference Center offers its clients the Complete Meeting Package (CMP). The CMP takes the hard work out of conference planning and pricing, simplifying the process into one convenient, easyto-budget cost per attendee. Easy, flexible and cost-effective, the center’s CMP offers all-inclusive pricing packages that include rooms, standard A/V equipment, meals, refreshments and planning assistance from a dedicated HCC coordinator.

So whether your group consists of five business executives, 50 customers or 500 employees, an IACC-certified conference center will provide a unique environment for relaxed learning and productivity. In Charlotte, the Harris Conference Center can help you maximize your meeting investment and get results. To learn more about the Harris Conference Center, please visit www. meetatharris.com. biz This section is intended to highlight work force training and development programs and initiatives delivered by community colleges within the Charlotte region. Community colleges are invited to submit substantive content ideas to editor@ greatercharlottebiz.com.

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[bizXperts]

Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

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managing and delivering change: fighting the buzzword !

It’s everywhere, affecting our personal and professional lives at an increasingly fast pace. There’s been so much talk of change, it’s one of the biggest buzzwords used today. While many resist change, we instinctively know there’s value to it. But how do you transform the buzzword into a meaningful strategy that delivers results, strengthens your organization, and facilitates innovation?

How we manage change in our organizations is a great challenge. However, the ability to seamlessly implement change is what takes good companies to the next level. It can enable struggling companies to survive, even thrive. In today’s marketplace, the ability to manage and deliver upon change is THE essential differentiator.

We embark upon change for many reasons. But, the reality is that change happens, and frankly needs to happen. To reap the rewards and avoid pitfalls, it needs to be implemented effectively. The best recipe for managing and delivering change is to balance the change across three key dimensions: people, process and technology.

All too often, we witness or experience poor change management. For instance, a traditional information technology project can fail for many reasons. Common culprits include lack of end user buy-in, inadequate training and misunderstanding of requirements. If the new technology doesn’t meet business and process needs, users won’t adopt it.

A process improvement project can fail if redesigned processes don’t align with the roles and skills of the employees responsible for the process.

+#,!-./#!

If technology is part of the solution, it must support process efficiencies.

Finally, a people-focused initiative will fail without considering dependencies on process and technology.

New organizational design and business processes must align. Technology solutions must be configured to meet user needs. Effective use of targeted communications T.J. Eberle and training ties it all together.

These examples illustrate a pattern—people, process and technology must be aligned for successful change. So how do you do this? An effective approach integrates the following activities: Portfolio management— Delivering change across your total “change portfolio” through program and project management; Stakeholder management and communications; Process reengineering; and Training and solutions integration.

So leave the buzzword behind. By focusing the dimensions of people, process and technology, and applying an integrated approach, you can effectively manage and deliver the change required for success in today’s dynamic marketplace.

T.J. Eberle is president and CEO of NouvEON, a regional business and technology consulting firm. Contact him at 704-944-3155 or visit www.NouvEON.com.

maximize your online business plan in 2009 !

Competing in today’s challenging business climate requires that you make the most of your organization’s combined Web and e-mail communication resources. Your online presence must function as more than a simple promotional vehicle for your organization—it should serve as a direct extension of your entire business process—working as your sales representative, customer service manager, vendor coordinator, fulfillment and delivery center, customer retention manager, document archive, accounts receivable representative, research and development department, your public relations manager, and more.

An effective online business plan is your key to working smarter, selling more effectively, speeding product development, retaining more customers, enhancing service delivery, generating more referrals, streamlining operations, and doing it all at a significantly lower cost.

Here is an initial thought to build a successful, comprehensive online business strategy for the coming year…Think “MULTI-CHANNEL.” Your Web site should promote and support your business on many different levels at the same time. Consider the many different audiences that your organization must attract and serve in order to grow and prosper: new sales prospects, existing customers, employees and associates, stakeholders, vendors, industry and media influencers, and many others. A comprehensive online communications plan will ensure that you are reaching and responding to each of these critical audiences.

The days of “one-size-fits-all” Web site design are quickly fading. Instead,

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consider the creation of a series of interconnected, but highly targeted “landing pages” or “micro-Web sites,” each implementing a single, unique business task positioned under your unifying brand. For instance, offer a dedicated technical support page where existing customers and their previous online service history are identified automatically by login Kip Cozart when requesting new assistance. Or, create a product-specific “trial offer” page, with its own stand-alone Web address, promoted exclusively via short-term, keyword pay-per-click advertising.

Use the same multi-channel approach with your proactive e-mail communications. Instead of sending a lengthy comprehensive “newsletter” to your entire mailing list, try creating shorter, precise “micro messages” written and designed to elicit a single response from a more narrowly defined audience. Under this approach, the right message will be delivered only to the most appropriate and receptive audience member, increasing the chances that your communication will be read and acted upon.

What’s next? We’ll look at more ways to enhance your online business plan next month.

Kip Cozart is president of CC Communications, an Internet production and marketing company. Contact him at 704-543-1171 or visit www.cccommunications.com.

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0#)1(

Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

[bizXperts]

the importance of asset protection planning part II !

Last month we introduced you to Adam and Andrea, a couple who were the victims of bad luck and a lack of foresight.

You will recall, faced with a run of unfortunate events, Adam and Andrea, seeking to protect the assets they had from their creditors, turned to their friend Jack who advised the couple to follow his patented four-step plan. His first step was to have Adam and Andrea put all their money in a revocable trust for the benefit of their children.

Unfortunately, as you will see, this step would have been ineffectual at best, as Jack did not understand the concept of a revocable trust, nor did he consider North Carolina law on fraudulent transfers.

Trusts A trust is a vehicle by which a party can transfer legal title to an asset to another party, the trustee, while transferring the beneficial interest in the asset to one or more third parties, the beneficiaries.

For example, Adam and Andrea could transfer the management and control of their two rental properties to Adam’s brother for the benefit of Adam and Andrea’s children. Thereafter, subject to the terms of the trust, Adam’s brother would be legally responsible for decisions regarding the rental properties—like whether to rebuild after a hurricane or to upgrade with a flat screen television and a hot tub—but the net income from those properties would benefit the couple’s children. Adam and Andrea would be completely out of the picture.

There are multiple ways to create trusts depending on how and when they are created and their permanency. The question of a trust’s permanency is an important one for asset protection planning. Trusts can be revocable and irrevocable. As the names suggest, the first can be undone at any time; the second cannot. Revocable trusts have absolutely NO asset protection advantages. A judge can order Adam and Andrea to revoke a revocable trust. Thus, in order to insulate property or money from creditors, Adam and Andrea would have to create an irrevocable trust. This is what Jack did not understand.

Further, by creating a spendthrift trust, Adam and Andrea could

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

insulate the assets not only from their own creditors but any creditors of their children. A spendthrift trust is created with the insertion of certain language in the trust but has the practical effect of preventing the creditors of the beneficiary from accessing the assets, as long as the beneficiary does not withdraw the assets from the trust.

Bob Wishart However, even if Jack had suggested an irrevocable trust, spendthrift or otherwise, there still would have been problems. First, it is not clear that an irrevocable trust would be right for Adam and Andrea. If they were seeking temporary protection from a combination of bad luck and poor planning, an irrevocable asset protection vehicle requiring Adam and Andrea to give up control and the benefits of the assets for the entire term of the trust, would not seem to fit their needs at all.

The second problem with transferring their assets into a trust, even an irrevocable trust, is that it could be viewed by creditors, or, more importantly, by the court, as a fraudulent transfer and therefore could be undone.

Fraudulent Transfers What North Carolina law says that would have been applicable to Adam and Andrea is that a transfer, say to an irrevocable trust, could be essentially undone if the transfer was done “with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud” any of their creditors or potential creditors. There are 13 factors listed in the applicable statute that the court will examine to determine if Adam and Andrea “intended” to defraud their creditors. While often this is a fact-intensive inquiry, in their case it would be simple, Adam and Andrea would have been named as defendants in a lawsuit and would have been liable for fraudulent transfer resulting in the court undoing their attempt to hide their assets.

Like so many other asset protection vehicles, in order to reap the asset protection rewards of a trust and avoid claims of fraudulent transfers, Adam and Andrea needed to begin planning early and before serious problems arose. While a sudden transfer of all of their property and assets out of their control would certainly raise red flags and likely expose Adam and Andrea to liability, had those same transfers occurred over time and prior to problems developing, those transfers would likely have been considered legitimate, and thus not undone by the courts, and would do what they were intended to do, which is protect assets.

Join us next month when we discuss why Adam and Andrea should not listen to Jack’s advice to walk away from their mortgages and why Adam and Andrea would have had a lot less to worry about if they had formed entities to own their rental properties rather than owning them in their own name.

Bob Wishart is a founding partner and head of litigation of Wishart, Norris, Henninger & Pittman, P.A., a law firm which focuses on helping business owners define and achieve their business and personal objectives. Contact him at 704-364-0010 or visit www.wnhplaw.com.

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[bizXperts]

Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

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what precisely is a certified public accountant… !

For your business to be successful you must manage a multitude of variables, among them the nuts and bolts of your product or service offerings, the complexities of your marketplace and shifting political inclinations that affect the legal environments in which you operate.

However, no matter how well you manage your business activities, you must also account for those business activities properly.

“But,” you say, “That is really not the business of running the business”…or is it?

Very much so. It is, in fact, integral to running your business successfully.

To be successful, your business need not only manage its product or service offerings and respond to the market, but be capable of summarizing and clearly communicating the outcome of business activities for financing, tax and legal purposes as well. More specifically, it must communicate those results in the unique language of business: accounting. And for that, the business should seek guidance from an expert in that language: an accountant.

Just as words and grammar are used to communicate meaning and describe conditions, accounting uses numbers and generally accepted accounting principles to communicate business transactions and conditions. Fundamentally, a certified public accountant (CPA) is a communications expert, a professional who can help you precisely describe the activities of your business in that language and enhance your understanding of that language.

Some perceive CPAs as calculating clairvoyants capable of divining an exact mix of expenditures that allows businesses to minimize taxable income while maximizing cash flows to owners; others see them as overly organized professionals who delight in regulatory minutiae and crunching numbers. Regardless, they are essential to every business.

Equally essential is the establishment of an accounting system capable of capturing, recording and appropriately summarizing your business’s activities. Today computer software is universally employed to accomplish this task. Given the variety of specialized software available, however, the selection of it should include a discussion with your CPA to insure it is capable of meeting your needs.

Understand that the method employed to input data has a significant impact on any software’s ability to communicate accurately the activities of the business. The old adage “Garbage-in, Garbage-out” comes to mind. Here’s where a CPA’s training and experience with analyzing the flow of transactions through a business and identifying points in the flow where control procedures can be performed is critical.

Simple procedures, implemented and operating properly, insure the reliability of the information about the business operations and,

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more importantly, help the CPA in developing controls to insure that your business’s resources are being fully employed, preventing misappropriation of assets or early detection to minimize the cost of any such occurrences to your business.

Furthermore, the results of your business activities obtained from your accounting system can be John Blair compared against specific performance measures and benchmarking data unique to your industry. The results of this comparison can be analyzed with the help of your CPA to determine whether your business is operating efficiently and any areas in need of improvement.

Historically, a CPA’s most important contribution to helping you to communicate the results of your business has been to provide reasonable assurance that its financial statements recognize only the transactions occurring during the period covered by the statements and that the transactions have been measured and disclosed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. They check the grammar so to speak.

While not immediately evident, this assurance reduces a business’s cost of financing. It provides lenders with confidence that the financial statements accurately reflect the business operations and are reliable, enabling them to extend credit at the lowest cost possible.

To give further creditability to the assurance they provide, every CPA firm that issues a report as to the accuracy of financial statements is required to undergo an examination, referred to as Peer Review, of the system the firm maintains to insure such engagements are performed in compliance with auditing and accounting standards. Consequently, if your business will need an audit or review, the firm you select must have completed its Peer Review.

While a firm that does not perform assurance services, it is not required to complete a Peer Review and not completing one should not detract in any from its competencies or capabilities in non-assurance services it renders.

Common sense dictates that, if successful communication requires you to use as unique language, you should utilize a professional trained in and possessing experience with it. For communicating in the unique language of accounting, a CPA is just the professional you can count on.

John D. Blair Sr. is a managing partner at Blair, Bohle & Whitsitt, PLLC, a CPA firm that provides accounting, assurance, tax compliance and planning ser vices, in addition to strategic planning and tax minimization strategies to privately held businesses. Contact him at 704-841-9800 or visit www.bbwpllc.com.

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Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

[bizXperts]

my boss just got a coach—what does that mean to me? !

I recently had a friend call me with this question. My friend (we’ll call her Jill) had been asked to talk with the coach to provide insight and information about the boss’s strong and weak points.

Jill was a little concerned about this process. I advised Jill in the following way.

First, congratulations. Your boss is working on himself, and that’s a good thing. We all need to improve, and a coach is a good way to help us on that journey. I encouraged Jill to see it as a positive thing.

Second, ask questions. Before you talk with the coach about your boss, ask about the ground rules. What information will be shared with the boss? How many people are participating in this process? Will your information be combined with others so that you don’t risk putting yourself in a tough situation because of your honest responses? These are fair and reasonable questions. Each coach is different and you want to feel comfortable before you start baring your soul.

Third, give honest and balanced feedback. Almost everyone has positive and negative points. You may really like your boss, but you can still see areas where improvements could be made. Conversely, you may really dislike your boss, but even the worst boss usually

has a positive characteristic or two that could be built on.

Fourth, after you’ve participated in the data gathering phase, be supportive of your boss’s efforts. As you notice behaviors changing, let the boss know you appreciate the effort. Positive reinforcement will go a long way toward helping your boss continue Denise Altman his progress. It takes effort to change behavior, and effort that goes unrewarded will not likely be sustained.

Jill felt better after our discussion. She did ask the coach about confidentiality and learned that a fairly large number of people were being polled, and her comments would not be directly attributed to her. That freed her to speak frankly.

Since the coaching has begun, Jill has noticed subtle changes.

She can see that her boss is making an effort to be more approachable and interactive with the team. She’s been able to let him know she appreciates the effort. The boss’s coaching is proving to be a positive experience for the whole team.

Denise Altman is president of Altman Initiative Group, Inc., providing targeted coaching processes to bosses and employees. Contact her at 704-315-9090 or visit www.altmaninitiative.com.

24 Years In Business

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by janet kropinak

hoose C

[bizlife]

Wellness

CHS CORPORATE HEALTH AND THE YMCA TEAM UP FOR HEALTHY CHOICES

T

he benefits of a healthy work/life balance can’t be ignored and employers in greater Charlotte are recognizing that employee-oriented wellness initiatives can no longer be viewed as simply optional extras.

Based on current health care trends, aggressive action to maintain employee wellness is increasingly perceived as the best way to control premium and insurance costs, decrease absenteeism and maintain higher levels of productivity.

Promoting employee health is a proven key to controlling health care costs and as a result businesses are searching for employee wellness programs that are affordable, easily managed and readily available.

Quality wellness programs encourage healthy dietary choices and active lifestyles including regular exercise which are known factors in reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer, diabetes and other serious impairments.

To meet these objectives, two of Charlotte’s premier, health-oriented organizations, Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) and YMCA of Greater Charlotte (YMCA), have teamed together creating LiveWELL Carolinas! Corporate Health, a corporate health initiative designed to promote health and wellness throughout the business community.

LiveWELL Carolinas! Corporate Health gives employees making unhealthy choices the knowledge and support they need to adopt and maintain a healthier lifestyle, while encouraging and rewarding employees engaging in healthy lifestyles to continue.

Natural Synergy Although the program was formally launched in January 2008, there has been a synergy between the YMCA and CHS for many years.

“We’ve had a strong business relationship with YMCA for years,” explains Jared Pankowski, manager for occupational health and wellness for CHS Corporate Health. “Our missions mirror each other in that we are both looking to serve the community by promoting health and wellness.” !

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The program includes subsidized YMCA memberships, health risk assessments and biometric

In fact, most YMCA facilities have a health center with a full-time CHS nurse, an arrangement that has been in place for over nine years.

Before LiveWELL Carolinas!

Corporate Health was launched, both organizations had been promoting health and wellness independently. The YMCA had been running a similar wellness program through its 17 branches, and although they were able to encourage people to participate in the fitness side, they were looking for more to offer in terms of health education.

“We’ve had a strong business relationship with YMCA for years. Our missions mirror each other in that we are both looking to serve the community by promoting health and wellness.” ~Jared Pankowski Manager, Occupational Health and Wellness Services, CHS Corporate Health

CHS Corporate Health had been providing health and wellness services to employers in the Charlotte Metro region for over 15 years. Three years ago Carolinas Healthcare System established its own internal wellness program promoting health and wellness to its employees, which was in conjunction with the YMCA. It soon became apparent to both groups that by combining their resources they could become a one-stop shop for employers looking to create health and wellness offerings to their employees. A new, combined program was designed and branded under LiveWELL Carolinas! Corporate Health.

Bill Watson, corporate health director for YMCA, expounds on the relationship: “Our partnership with CHS has allowed us to combine our resources and offer a more comprehensive program to the business community.”

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screenings, health fairs, wellness seminars and behavior modification programs.

“The unique thing about the program is that a company can pick and choose which elements they are interested in for their employees,” explains Pankowski.

Companies that are looking to get a handle on the current health and wellness of their employees might enlist in a health risk assessment, which includes a lifestyle questionnaire identifying both strengths and weaknesses in the employee’s health. A company-wide report is also provided to the employer giving them an overview of their company’s health as a whole.

The program is designed to offer companies a variety of programs and services suited for people of all ages, fitness levels and health status, the convenience of locations across the greater Charlotte area, as well as the option of bringing the services to the workplace, the expertise of nurses, certified personal trainers, dieticians, and fitness and wellness experts, and the element of a team-dynamic in getting healthy together.

Watson explains the YMCA membership component: “Part of the program includes subsidized YMCA memberships. The level of subsidy is at the discretion of the company, but must be a minimum of 20 percent and the employees’ joining fees will be waived.”

Another feature are wellness seminars, which are conducted at the workplace by a representative of the corporate health group, offering insight into topics such as Nutrition 101, Cold vs. Flu,

Life Balance, Stress Management, and Getting the Most of Your Doctor’s Visits.

Health fairs and behavior modification programs are also growing in popularity among program participants. Pankowski lists stress management and smoking cessation seminars among the most in demand offerings.

A year into the program, both Watson and Pankowski are happy with the results and the evolving relationship between the companies.

“We are still learning how to work together but we are very proud of the strong working relationship we have,” says Watson. “The program is constantly evolving and expanding as we learn more about what companies are looking for and what works.”

Customized Solutions Recognizing the different needs and financial means of participating companies, LiveWELL Carolinas! Corporate Health can tailor the program to meet each company’s needs and budget.

Don Nowak, president of Charlottebased Falcon Metal, enlisted the help of CHS Corporate Health in October when he sponsored health assessments for each of his 16 employees and he is currently working on a more structured program based around Pankowski’s recommendations.

“We had been discussing the need to address wellness with our staff for over a year. We have very low turnover and an aging employee population,” explains Nowak. “We were looking to provide them the opportunity to maintain and improve the quality of their lives.”

Although participation in the health assessments was optional, Nowak says they had 100 percent participation. “We saw that some of the folks were quite serious about making lifestyle changes after reviewing the results with the corporate health representative. Our one smoker quit and at least two of the staff have joined health clubs.”

Being a small business owner, Nowak is aware that he isn’t likely to see much relief in health care costs, but feels strongly the benefits of the program outweigh the monetary savings.

“We are too small a group to get any tangible benefits like reduced insurance costs. Our goal is to have more healthy employees,” says Nowak.

“This is a small investment to provide our staff the opportunity to improve the quality of their lives.

If 20 percent of the staff does something positive with the results, it will be well worth it.”

Another example of a business wanting to do more for their employees’ health and wellness

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is Cox Schepp Construction who enrolled in LiveWELL Carolinas! Corporate Health in August.

HR Manager Barrett Trapnell explains the catalyst for their decision: “Our COO, Rodger Foresman, wanted to make sure our superintendents had the option for all around better wellness.

Superintendent is a very stressful position both mentally and physically.”

Cox Schepp’s program includes partially subsidized YMCA memberships for its employees and their families. “The company pays a portion of the monthly dues, if they go a certain amount of time we give them an additional reimbursement,” Trapnell explains.

What would Trapnell say to an employer worried about the return on investment (ROI) of such a program? “If you are doing it solely to see an ROI on your medical premiums, you are in it for the wrong reason,” he comments. “There is so much more to consider. Ask someone who is using it and you will get your ROI. And if you still need more measurements, then there is a simple formula: happy employees = better production.”

Perhaps one of the most compelling stories of the program’s success comes from Blythe Construction, who began their health initiative last

“Every indication we are getting from the community and businesses is telling us that we’ve got a home run with this program.” ~Bill Watson Corporate Health Director, YMCA

(l to r) Bill Watson Corporate Health Director,YMCA Jared Pankowski Manager, Occupational Health and Wellness Services, CHS Corporate Health

summer. During a company-sponsored health assessment test, it was discovered that Jerry Queen, a bridge superintendent, had a blood sugar count of 311, a red flag for diabetes.

Through his participation in the program and after visiting a doctor, it was determined that he was suffering from type 2 diabetes. “If not for the Blythe program, I may have suffered a heart attack or coma. I could have been permanently disabled due to a disease I had no idea I had,” comments Queen, who today controls his diabetes through medication and better nutrition.

In addition to health assessments, Blythe also hosted a health fair for its employees.

“Employee reaction to the program has been very positive. We’ve had 198 people participate out of our 450 employees,” says Sandy Whitaker-Pratt, Blythe’s communication manager.

“We are currently working on specific programs for the new year that focus on nutrition, exercise and smoking cessation.”

Benefits of Balance Pankowski and Watson both acknowledge that for some employers, it still comes down to the numbers and the return on their investment.

“It is important to understand that this is a long term investment you are making,” Pankowski explains. “It can be challenging to get management to buy into the investment but once they understand the impact it can have on morale, productivity and overall performance, I think it is hard to argue against.”

But for those employers who are still asking why their company should invest in a corporate health plan? Consider this. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, of every 100 employees, 27 have cardiovascular disease, 24 have high blood pressure, 50 have high cholesterol, 26 are at least 20 percent overweight, 59 do not get adequate exercise, and 21 smoke.

Convinced yet? You might be when you learn about the impact a corporate health and wellness plan can have on your health care costs. A review of 56 published studies of worksite health programs (The Art of Health Promotion) shows an average of 26 percent reduction in both sick leave absenteeism and reduction in health care costs, an average of 32 percent reduction in worker’s compensation and disability management costs, and an average of $5.81 to $1.00 savings-to-cost ratio.

“If done right, creating a health and wellness program for your company creates an environment where people feel valued and cared for,” Pankowski explains.

Currently there are over 150 companies who have enlisted services from either the YMCA or CHS. Nearly every company who enrolled in

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2008 has committed to continuing in 2009.

As for Pankowski and Watson’s commitment to 2009 and beyond, they are focusing on expanding services and the program’s exposure in the business community, which they hope in turn betters the overall health of the community-at-large.

“Every indication we are getting from the community and businesses is telling us that we’ve got a home run with this program,” Watson says enthusiastically. “I am so proud to be part of a program that is truly helping make a difference and impacting peoples’ lives.”

Pankowski shares in Watson’s enthusiasm: “It is really exciting when you are part of the catalyst that helps people live a healthier lifestyle.”

So as the New Year begins, consider taking advantage of the many benefits of the LiveWELL Carolinas! Corporate Health program. Benefits to your company include reduction of injuries, reduced health care costs, lower absenteeism and increased retention and productivity…and happier, well-cared-for employees.

Whether your business is small, medium or large—whether you want elaborate on-site programming or simply a few motivational tools to reward healthier employee choices—LiveWELL Carolinas! Corporate Health initiative has an option that will fit your needs and budget. biz Janet Kropinak is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

LiveWell Carolinas!

Corporate Health A joint program of Carolinas HealthCare System and YMCA of Greater Charlotte CMC Corporate Health 1900 Scott Avenue Charlotte, N.C. 28203 Phone: 704-446-8400 YMCA of Greater Charlotte 500 East Morehead St., Ste. 300 Charlotte, N.C. 28202 Phone: 704-716-6200 Principals: Jared Pankowski, Manager, Occupational Health and Wellness Services, Carolinas Healthcare System–Corporate Health; Bill Watson, Corporate Health Director,YMCA of Greater Charlotte Business: A corporate health and wellness initiative, which involves YMCA memberships, health risk assessments and biometric screenings, health fairs, wellness seminars, and behavior modification programs provided by Carolinas HealthCare System. www.livewellcarolinascorporate.org

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(l to r) Sally Mitchner, Certified Coach Peter Popovich, Certified Coach, Sales Expert Lou Solomon, President Terri Murphy, Media Expert Interact Skills, LLC

SS

Stressing the importance of self-awareness as essential for leadership, Lou Solomon, president and founder of Interact Skills, LLC, more briefly referred to as Interact, describes authentic communication as the true game changer in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business world. Interact strives to teach its clients to maintain and build on their credibility by connecting with audience members on a personal and professional level.

It sounds simple, right: Be yourself? It is a lesson we begin learning early on in our childhood but few truly master, even in adulthood. But what we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t realize is, as we get older, the need to be authentic becomes more

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important and has a bigger impact on how we and our businesses are perceived by others.

Solomon has dedicated herself to helping business people learn to empower themselves by taking advantage of their greatest giftâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;by simply being who they are.

Defining Moments Solomon defines her passion as helping teach business people to speak to one another in an authentic way. Authentic communication is communication that allows participants to have genuine and spontaneous experiences. It is also the medium in which individuals innovate and make their organizations more competitive. w w w. g re a t e rc h a r l o t t e b i z . c o m

by janet kropinak

[bizprofile]

Now Playing...

RYou

The

eal

Interact Coaches Authentic Communication Authentic communication is communication that allows participants to have genuine and spontaneous experiences. It is also the medium in which individuals innovate and make their organizations more competitive.

This approach is in strong contrast to what Solomon describes as sophisticated bull, complicated and meaningless communication that stems from fear of failure, bad habits and ultra-busyness.

“When people take our classes, we have them speak without slides, scripts or business jargon. We encourage them to pause and discover the wonderful power of silence,” Solomon explains. “Most of all, we have them tell their stories. Not the facts or timelines of their lives, but their stories. Telling these stories helps them understand their core values and increase their value as a leader and a communicator.”

Interact sessions often begin with participants getting up and sharing with their class in an informal setting. One of the topics of discussion is defining moments.

“Your defining moments say everything about who you are,” explains Solomon. “They are code for your core values. Defining moments at work tell us

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

what your organization does for customers and how to communicate these things in a real way.”

When asked about her defining moment, Solomon gets comfortable in her chair and remembers back to 1989 when she was going through a bad time and eventually “hit rock bottom.”

At the time she was a rising star in the world of corporate broadcasting, where her life typically consisted of 70-hour work weeks and little else.

She describes herself at the time as a super-achiever, a perfectionist and very inauthentic.

“I was always trying to be more, and speak from who I thought I should be,” she remembers. “It took me a long time to realize that simply being me was good enough.”

After Solomon finally accepted this she left her career in broadcasting behind and began her own public relations and consulting business.

She reflects back to the ’90s and the abundance of new technology that !

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followed: “It was becoming harder and harder for us to communicate in an authentic way. People were becoming so busy and distracted by an overload of information that they were losing sight of the importance of human conversation.”

This became the founding principal for InteractSkills, LLC in 2000.

The premise behind the company was to provide training to business people that helped them break out of the old mindset of public speaking— to get away from polished and scripted deliveries to something more authentic.

Solomon and her team believe that once business people feel comfortable being themselves, they are able to “cut through the clutter” and connect with customers to open up more possibility for business that benefits everyone.

An Authentic Approach Interact’s offerings are divided into training for individuals, teams, and leadership.

The centerpiece of individual training is the monthly course “Your Authentic Style.” Eight to 10 business people participate in a two-day on-camera session that changes they think about speaking and presenting.

Team training is customized to incorporate industry relevance. In addition to the on-camera workshops, Interact offers “Dry Run for Success,” “Designing the Authentic Presentation,” and “Team Conversation.”

Solomon uses a positive approach to draw

out the strengths of participants. She stresses the rediscovery of the tools of expression owned by everyone and creates a relaxed atmosphere that allows learning and does not force it.

Denny Hammack, president of Patterson Pope, weighs in with his company’s experience.

“We started with Interact because we had several people in positions that were presenting a lot to the architectural and design firms and wanted them to feel comfortable doing so. But we have since enrolled our entire sales group as well as our management team.”

He continues, “We quickly found out that everyone on our team thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was a lot more than helping a person learn to speak in front of others.”

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The added value he speaks of is the team building. “We walked out amazed at what we had learned about the people we work with every day, which helped us communicate better within our own office and grow together as a team. In my opinion, this was the strongest value and the biggest takeaway.”

Further benefits include competitive differentiation, increased trust of teammates and management, confidence, inspiration and the nonpitch sales pitch.

“If there’s a deal on the fence, the one thing that will push it your way is authenticity,” Solomon explains.

Suzanne Fetscher, president of the McColl Center for Visual Art, echoes the benefits of the training: “Interact’s program was powerful and amazingly helpful for a relatively short workshop. I felt so much more at ease about making authentic presentations after it.”

Another division of Interact is its Leadership Circle. Membership means inclusion in a small group of six decision-makers from different industries who are interested in authentic speaking as a strategy for success. Groups meet four times over the course of three months and participants exit with an authentic leadership story that communicates who they are in a powerful way.

“Your values come from the story of your life—not a how-to handbook. You use what you have. And, for many people, authenticity is the discovery that what they have is more than enough,” comments Solomon.

“Authentic leaders have self-awareness, which

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starts with being able to tell others what your life has taught you,” Solomon explains, “I have watched so many executives bore audiences by sharing the company’s vision through complex charts and slides. But when given permission, these same executives can inspire people and earn trust by telling a personal story.”

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The typical Interact learning experience includes a pre-course assessment, two senior course facilitators teaching the Interact model, breakout video viewing, six videotaped presentations, a video DVD, an individual strength summary, and options for follow up. Some opt for private coaching for help with facing a career change or an important presentation. Solomon describes the mission of these coaching sessions as providing “a personal jolt of empowerment.”

The Necessary Tools Solomon explains that Interact’s training can beneficial to people from all walks of business, but for the training to be effective, participants must come with an open mind. !

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it all adds up!

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THE INTERACT LEARNING QUADRANTS Rediscover: Rediscover your primary tools of expression. Tap your theater of face and vocal energy. Connect with your eyes. Rediscover natural breathing, pacing and pausing.

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STEP 1 REDISCOVER

STEP 2 RELEASE

STEP 3 EXPLORE

STEP 4 ACCESS

Release: Release yourself into your own authenticity and passion.

Share your stories, your insights and your life experiences. Be spontaneous and conversational.

Explore: Explore your space. Move with intention and show up with energy. Communicate physical confidence. Stand tall and take command of the room.

Access: Access the practical tools for message development, team presentations, meetings, teleconferencing and use of visual aids.

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“It is essential that people are willing to learn and be vulnerable,” says Solomon. “The moment a leader is no longer coachable, he or she becomes brittle and inauthentic.”

“We spend most of our lives struggling to gain the credibility that only comes from being who we really are. It’s a full-circle track.” ~Lou Solomon President

Solomon continues to talk about the obstacles Interact participants face listing without hesitation “natural anxiety and the adrenaline experience.”

Solomon observes that most people have had only negative experiences with the adrenaline experience that comes with speaking and presenting.

“Athletes, performers, snowboarders and emergency medics all know that adrenaline is a good thing. Part of our job is to demystify the process. We insist on having fun with this, so the laughter starts early,” she states. “By the last round everyone looks forward to their turn.”

Another hurdle is convincing people that it’s not all about the information. “Professionals feel they are valued for the truckload of information parked in their heads. Today we are inundated with so much messaging that we’ve come to believe that our only role is to pass along the messages,” Solomon states, “When people spend too much time focusing on the information they are presenting and ‘getting it right,’ they lose the natural energy of conversation.”

Solomon praises the Interact team of teachers who she describes as individuals who have “a love affair with empowering people and a passion for self-expression.” She is joined by longtime colleague Sally Mitchener, certified coach and sales expert Peter Popovich, consultant Terri Murphy, media expert and former anchor Janet England, and award-winning

writing coach Patrick McLean.

Although she is quick to credit her team members and clients, they will tell you that the heart of Interact’s successful program stems from the knowledge and dedication of its leader.

Solomon describers herself as a teacher but for the many she has helped on their journey to authenticity, it is obvious her strengths extend much further.

“Lou delivers her subject matter very well and she is an incredibly good listener. Her background helps her get her foot in the door but it’s her style, demeanor and perceptiveness that are her biggest strengths,” boasts client and friend Denny Hammack.

Hammack isn’t the only client whose life and business has been transformed by Solomon and her training. The list of former students that have moved on to Interact’s Speakers Bureau is constantly growing.

“We are proud that not only are we helping business people increase their value as communicators, these people are releasing themselves into service and authentic leadership. They are taking what they learn and giving that back to the community,” says Solomon. “I can’t believe I get to be a part of this process.”

Looking Ahead As Solomon references a recent article titled How to be an Authentic Speaker in the Harvard Business Review, she smiles as she explains that the idea is finally on its way to replacing the old way of teaching the ‘rules’ of public speaking.

People are beginning to catch on that this is so much more than ‘soft skills’ training.”

It is partly this shift to mainstream that allows her to knock on wood as she happily acknowledges that business hasn’t been impacted by the current state of the economy.

“People need help navigating the downturn in the economy,” she explains. “Businesses are hungry for the real-deal and more than ever people are finding out that they can’t survive being inauthentic.”

She continues: “I believe the future economy demands that we take responsibility for the way

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we communicate. The ability to connect with and inspire one another is what makes us miraculously human. And the more that we use and understand this power, the more human we become. The more inauthentic we become, the less human and less powerful we become.”

This month marks the release of Solomon’s first book, Say Something Real. The two-year labor of love was written out of what she saw as a demand for practical knowledge and training for authentic speaking. The book is meant to serve as a companion piece to the Interact training.

With Solomon’s first book under her belt, she is already planning her next. “At the moment I am designing a course that will train others to teach authentic speaking,” she says, “There will be another book to go with that curriculum.”

A self-described “lifelong learner,” Solomon is enrolled at Queens University where she is continuing her education with a Master of Science in Organizational Development. She attends class with young people who, she says, “have a completely different orientation to life. They are more inclusive and they think globally. They are looking for authentic leadership. I would like to help my own generation to change the way we communicate and offer that inspiration.”

“We spend most of our lives struggling to gain the credibility that only comes from being who we really are,” Solomon says. “It’s a fullcircle track.” biz

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Interact Skills, LLC dba

Interact 1435 West Morehead St., Studio 210 Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Phone: 704-374-0423 Principal: Lou M. Solomon, President and Founder Founded: 2000 Author: Say Something Real, January 2009 Awards: Achievement Awards for Women in Business, Charlotte Business Journal, 2004; Queens University Woman of the Year, Finalist, 2006 Representative Clients: Wachovia, Carolinas Healthcare System, Duke Energy, Patterson Pope, Carolina Panthers, Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, Harris Teeter, GMR Marketing.

Business: Offers a development program to individuals and teams centered on authentic communication. www.interactskills.com

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Photo: Wayne Morris

Joe L. Price Chief Financial Officer Bank of America Photo taken at the Bank of America trading floor in the Hearst Tower in Charlotte.

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by ellison clary

[bizprofile]

Bank of

OPPORTUNITY BofA CFO Running a Sprinter's Pace in a Global Race

C

Completing two years as chief financial officer for Charlotte-based Bank of America, Joe Price reflects on the challenges he’s faced and still addresses at one of the world’s largest financial institutions.

“I had six months of what I thought was a tough introduction,” he smiles. “As it turns out, the last 17 months have been the real challenge.”

Price has been instrumental in the acquisition and integration of entities of staggering size and stature. There was LaSalle Bank Corporation, the largest bank holding company in Chicago, which cost $21 billion in cash at handshake time and deepened the bank’s presence in the Chicago area as well as Michigan and Indiana.

On the heels of LaSalle was Countrywide Financial Corporation, the largest U.S. mortgage lender and servicer, which came in a stock transaction eventually worth $2.5 billion, making Bank of America the nation’s largest mortgage lender and loan servicer.

And most recently, a true blockbuster. For what initially was $50 billion in stock, the Charlotte bank, headquartered in a 60-story tower on The Square, bought Wall Street’s Merrill Lynch, one of the world’s leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies with total client assets of $1.6 trillion.

Oh, and you can throw in the recent purchase of an additional stake in China Construction Bank, bringing Bank of America’s ownership to a bit more than 19 percent.

Helping facilitate such mammoth deals is part of the job but helping the bank’s core businesses is what Price calls his greatest job satisfaction. “On the business side,” he says, “it’s seeing us succeed. It’s being able to serve our customers and providing a role for our associates.” !

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“Everybody’s running into challenges,” he elaborates in the accent of a native Charlottean, “but there’s no place I’d rather be. I hope we create an environment where our associate base feels the same way and our customers do, as well.”

“It’s been a little like running a marathon at a sprinter’s pace,” Price acknowledges. “But when you’re in the middle of it, you can’t slow down.”

Each of these huge transactions fills a specific need for Bank of America, which boasts that it serves 99 percent of U.S Fortune 500 companies and maintains 59 million consumer and small business relationships.

Chicago represented a gaping hole in the bank’s retail footprint. So Bank of America jumped at the chance to buy LaSalle and went to work bolstering that institution’s retail reach in the upper Midwest. The operational consolidation of LaSalle concluded in the fourth quarter.

Bank of America had been growing its mortgage operation dramatically, Price says, when the chance to buy Countrywide appeared.

“So all the effort we’ve been putting into building the mortgage product gets combined with Countrywide and the collective team there,” he says. “We’ve got the expertise; we’ve got the integration resources. If you think about alignment with what we were already doing, it fits into the mold.”

The Countrywide integration is on schedule, with the initial larger scale operational conversion planned for the second quarter. It will continue throughout 2009.

Price makes a clear case that the Countrywide acquisition is nothing like Wachovia’s purchase of the Golden West mortgage operation. That transaction played a huge role in the financial undoing of Charlotte’s other homegrown bank, Wachovia, foreshadowing its ultimate sale to San Francisco-based Wells Fargo.

“Countrywide is a very different scenario, given the purchase price, given the valuation we put on the loans, and given the current underwriting criteria that we’re using to make loans,” Price maintains.

Merrill Lynch Fills Product Need The Merrill Lynch transaction, closed at yearend, fills another consumer product need, Price continues. Merrill Lynch also brings the bank a strong brokerage force as well as an impressive platform for international, corporate investment banking and equities businesses.

Price believes Bank of America can persuade most Merrill Lynch brokers to stay with the combined entity. He acknowledges that the effort is costly. But it’s justified, he says, because “it’s a people-intensive business.”

After reporting a third quarter 2008 profit

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drop to $1.18 billion from $3.7 billion a year earlier, Bank of America raised $10 billion by selling 455 million shares in October.

Then came the China Construction Bank (CCB) investment, which is an interesting move.

Price explains that Bank of America prizes being the leading financial services institution in North America, yet it is interested in areas enjoying faster growth. Further, it wants to take part in that growth.

“One of the best ways to do that is to participate with someone who runs their bank as we envision we would run a bank in that region,” Price says. “We think CCB is the best run bank in China. That’s why we have a relationship with them.”

So in November, Bank of America exercised an option to increase its 8.4 percent stake in CCB to 19.13 percent.

“The best thing about where he stands on an issue is, it’s factbased. He probably thinks about problems and issues harder and longer and does more research and talks to more people and has a broader knowledge base than just about any CFO you’ll work with.”

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Counting $10 billion for Merrill Lynch, Bank of America received $25 billion in the federal Troubled Assets Relief Program, and that prompts some to ask if the bank sent TARP money to China.

“No,” Price says simply. “We had planned our exercise before the TARP money ever was offered to us.”

He reiterates that Bank of America didn’t seek TARP funds, but decided participation would help strengthen the financial services industry overall and therefore the economy. “It’s enlightened self-interest,” he says.

TARP money brings Bank of America added financial stability and helps it fund any qualifying loan, Price adds. He acknowledges that credit criteria is tighter, but is emphatic that his bank continues to make loans.

Assessing 2009 economically, Price predicts some positive signs in the second half, leading to a better 2010. “Unemployment levels !

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generally lag a little, so the peak in unemployment probably is a tad farther out,” he says.

Price Knows Corporate Strategy If Price sounds savvy in recounting reasons for the bank’s unprecedented acquisition spree, it’s because he spent time on the corporate strategy team in the progression that landed him as a direct report to Chief Executive Ken Lewis.

“The corporate strategy team works with the entire management team on not just the game plan of where we’re going, but also preparing us in the event an opportunity comes along,” Price says. He names Greg Curl, global corporate plan-

ning and strategy executive, as a big influence on his career.

Price grew up the son of a father who worked in a Charlotte machinist shop and a mother who taught in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system and a stepfather who was a Charlotte police officer. He credits his mother Ella for instilling his strong work ethic.

Price graduated from Charlotte’s Independence High School and earned a bachelor’s in accounting at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1983. While still a student, he started at accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) as a “gofer,” tackling odd jobs.

“When he’s here, he’s fully engaged. He is making a contribution to what we’re doing.

He’s listening. He has a very creative and critical input to the question at hand. You’re engaged by the guy when you’re in his presence. He’s a down-to-earth guy.” ~ Bert Green, Executive Director Charlotte Habitat for Humanity

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After graduation, he signed on full-time in the PWC Audit Group. He worked with Marc Oken, then a partner at PWC in Charlotte, who subsequently joined Bank of America and rose to chief financial officer.

While Oken was chief accounting officer at Bank of America, he recruited Price to work in his team. This was in late 1991, when the old NCNB acquired C&S/Sovran and formed Bank of America predecessor NationsBank.

Price calls Oken a mentor and credits him with shaping the way he conducts business.

Oken, in turn, praises Price.

“Joe is one of those guys you can always depend on to demonstrate good judgment and to have good solutions,” says Oken, now managing partner at Falfurrias Capital Partners, which he co-founded.

“The best thing about where he stands on an issue is, it’s fact-based,” Oken says. “He probably thinks about problems and issues harder and longer and does more research and talks to more people and has a broader knowledge base than just about any CFO you’ll work with.”

Price became Bank of America’s general auditor, and then moved his family to Jacksonville, Florida, where he led, and subsequently exited the bank’s subprime mortgage, auto leasing and manufactured housing lending businesses.

Back in Charlotte by 2002, he joined corporate strategy and later moved into risk management. Price calls Bill Vandiver, who retired that year as corporate risk management executive, a strong influence. Price assumed the CFO role after the departure of predecessor Al de Molina, who ended up as chief executive of GMAC Financial Services.

Charlotte, NC 28203

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Finding Family Time Is Tough Price feels the hardest part of his job is carving out enough time for his family, which is what

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helps him keep things in perspective. His family includes his wife Christine and two daughters in college and a 10-year-old son. His son, a ball boy for the Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball squad, “wants to be on every sports team in Charlotte.”

Outside of business, Price identifies with his alma mater. He and Christine show up at most home basketball games and he supports the effort of UNC Charlotte to add a top-level football team.

Price is a member of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees, and he serves on the advisory board for the school’s Belk College of Business.

He takes pride in naming UNC Charlotte alums in the region with high profile business positions. Among them are CFOs David Hauser of Duke Energy, Terry Lisenby of Nucor, and Bob Hull of Lowe’s, as well as Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock.

Price also serves on the board of Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte.

“He’s been involved with a Bank of America team that comes out on a fairly regular basis to build with us,” says Bert Green, executive director of the Charlotte Habitat.

“When he’s here, he’s fully engaged,” Green adds. “He is making a contribution to what we’re doing. He’s listening. He has a very creative and critical input to the question at hand. You’re

engaged by the guy when you’re in his presence.

He’s a down-to-earth guy.”

That seems to come natural for Price. “I’m pretty simple,” he says. “I was born here, I grew up here, and I want to see the city prosper. I want to see our company, in the same manner, succeed.”

At 47, he believes he will stay at Bank of America for the rest of his career. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be,” he says.

He’s optimistic about the future for Bank of America. He feels it will emerge from recession as the leading global financial services company.

“We think we’re putting the pieces in place to do that,” he says. “I want to be an active part of that, along with my colleagues, because it takes all of us to do this. It takes the entire associate base.”

Is Price surprised that he’s made it to the executive offices on the 58th floor of the Bank of America Corporate Center? Not so much.

To explain why, he shares what he calls his general philosophy since he’s been in the business world.

“Take care of the assignments at hand and the teammates around you and you can step forward at each opportunity,” he says. “You may ultimately end up in a role like this (CFO), or end up in a different kind of role. But whatever the role, you’ll be satisfied and it will be fulfilling.” biz

Bank of America Corporation dba

Bank of America 100 North Tryon Street Charlotte, N.C. 28255 Phone: 704-386-5000 Principals: Ken Lewis, Chairman, President and CEO; Joe L. Price, Chief Financial Officer NYSE: BAC Assets: $1.717 trillion (as of June 30, 2008) Retail Banking Offices: Over 6,100 ATMs: Over 18,000 Online Banking: More than 25 million active users Countries of Operation: More than 150 Business: One of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. www.bankofamerica.com

Ellison Clary is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

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[bizprofile]

by brandee dishner

FIT A STRATEGIC

Bishop, Dulaney and Joyner Perfect the Practice

Meet David Bishop, Dain Dulaney and Matt Joyner, partners in the recently amalgamated Bishop, Dulaney & Joyner, a dynamic team of business lawyers in a boutique corporate law firm, operating out of a SouthPark location and providing highly personalized legal and business advice to business owners, entrepreneurs and investors.

experience in operations, tax, accounting, investment banking and business valuation. This experience enables them to provide practical legal solutions that are both cost efficient and effective.

Assembling the Pieces

In September 2008, the three partners joined their separate practices and became one firm.

“There is real value in the legal business to collegiality. While small law firms Each one of us comes to the table with a different area of typically consist of a expertise and so we are able to combine our resources for handful of attorneys practicing in different our clients and maintain a focus on their needs.” areas of the law, all the ~Matt Joyner attorneys at Bishop, Partner Dulaney & Joyner are Each partner has nearly twenty years all business attorneys. of experience in practicing law, each with “By joining forces, we have enough a specific focus, which adds fuel to the depth to reassure our clients that we collective efforts of the firm to provide can provide timely service. At the same superior service to privately held small time, each partner has a different style businesses, entrepreneurs and inves- and expertise that gives us the breadth tors. Additionally, each have owned and to handle a broad spectrum of corporate operated businesses, gaining valuable legal matters,” explains Bishop. !

{ 28

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(l to r) David M. Bishop, Esq. J. Dain Dulaney, Jr., Esq. Matthew R. Joyner, Esq. Partners Bishop, Dulaney and Joyner, P.A.

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The three partners have known each other for years. They have even worked for opposing clients. All three say that they came together out of mutual respect and trust.

“We truly want our clients to recognize that with our experience, we have all of the bases covered. We want them to feel confident working with us as we provide superior service and counsel. We share the same goal: to grow their business.” ~David Bishop Partner

“Finding partners with similar values was critically important to me,” says Joyner.

Dulaney adds, “When we connected, I knew that we could do something together that would be very different. More than that, these are guys that I trust.”

Beyond sharing the same values, the partners also have a common approach to working with clients. “Each of us has hands-on experience working in a business other than a law firm,” says Joyner. He adds, “That experience enables us to approach legal issues with an awareness and appreciation of business considerations.”

Multi-faceted Piece As an attorney and a CPA, David Bishop strives to integrate the financial, tax and business valuation aspects of a business transaction.

A Charlotte native and a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law, Bishop points to his experience as a tax consultant, investment banker and business appraiser as helping him approach transactions from multiple perspectives.

Bishop regularly advises clients on buying and selling businesses and providing equity compensation plans to employees.

“Clients expect me to have a good grasp

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of the legal issues,” says Bishop. “But what they really want is someone who has a broad perspective, good judgment and will stand by them even when the going gets tough.”

Attesting to Bishop’s ability to bring these qualities and more to the table is Ornamental Post & Panel’s John Iyoob: “David’s biggest strength is diversity. He is not just an attorney; he can help you with tax law, business evaluation and business sale.”

He continues, “His versatility brings added value. Being able to deal with one attorney for many different business issues makes it convenient for business owners like myself.”

Bishop points to his background as an example of the law firm’s philosophy: “We truly want our clients to recognize that we have the experience to cover all the bases.

We want them to feel confident working with us and to know that we take their interests to heart.”

In addition to being a frequent speaker/ writer on merger and acquisition and succession topics, Bishop is also co-contributor to the Mergers and Acquisitions Handbook for Small and Midsize Companies, a John Wiley publication.

Bringing the Pieces Together A graduate from the Wake Forest School of Law and a native of Charlotte, Dain Dulaney’s professional resume includes extensive experience as in-house counsel as well as general counsel for a publicly traded company. In addition, he has experience as a transactional and corporate attorney with several area law firms, both large and small.

While Dulaney assists all types of

acquisitions, angel, venture and mezzanine financing, private placements, board and shareholder representation, employmentrelated issues, technology licensing, securities and general corporate matters.

Dulaney’s knack for seeing the big picture enables him to advise small business, middlemarket owners and entrepreneurs on the legal aspects of purchasing and selling a business and raising capital. When asked, his partners agree, “Dain is the go-to guy to help these high growth businesses with the legal and business structure to raise capital.”

Jim Riggi, CEO of MedFlow, was introduced to Dulaney in November 2007 by the company’s former CEO. He says, “We were looking to be bought out and he brought Dain in to manage the process on behalf of the company. I learned that Dulaney was extremely knowledgeable in contracts related to high tech software companies, and we decided to retain him as our legal counsel from that point forward.”

Now a year later, Riggi confidently says choosing and continuing to work with Dulaney as he joins Bishop and Joyner “has turned out to be a very rewarding decision.”

He continues, “This is the first time in 10 years that I can depend on my legal support to understand the business issues as well as the legal issues during contract negotiations with clients and vendors. Our negotiations are always complicated because our business issues are complicated. I can trust them to be comprehensive and insightful and I don’t have to worry about missing any important points.”

Transaction Attorney Investment Banker Tax Consultant

In-house Council General Council Transactional Attorney

Business Appraiser

businesses, he continues to have a particular focus on advising high growth ventures, especially technology businesses, as they respond to the challenges of rapid growth, eventually leading toward a successful exit.

His practice areas include mergers and

Corporate Attorney

The Triumvirate The firm’s goals could not be reached without the efforts of Matt Joyner, a Chapel Hill native and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Joyner came to Charlotte after clerking for the Hon. J. Dickson Phillips

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Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

After initially practicing as a commercial litigator in large and medium-sized firms, Joyner went in-house with a multinational manufacturing company as division counsel and later served as general counsel and vice president of administration. This change gave Joyner experience in the daily operations of the company beyond legal, including human resources and benefits as well as environment, health and safety.

“Now that I am working as an outside business attorney, I draw on my in-house experience with managing multistate and multinational manufacturing and distribution companies,” says Joyner. “With this background, I am not ‘just a lawyer’ and this benefits my clients.”

Joyner concentrates his practice on the formation of limited liability companies, the purchase and sale of companies, and the preparation and negotiation of contracts.

Jack Humble, president of Classic Dyestuffs, a company that offers dyes and chemicals to various industries, has known Joyner for almost 15 years.

“Several years ago we adopted a strategy to differentiate ourselves and expand our non-textile business interests, Humble says.

“In the past 12 months our business has more than doubled as a result of this strategy.

Joyner has been an integral part of this success, providing expert legal advice and drafting concise contracts that both protect our business interests while being a win-win situation for all contract parties.”

Multinational Experience General Council Admin. & HR Environment & Health & Safety

It All Fits While middle market businesses are just as likely a client for the firm as first-time business owners, the group has seen a new wave of interest in entrepreneurial ventures with the turn of the economy.

The recently amalgamated Bishop, Dulaney & Joyner, a dynamic team of business lawyers in a boutique corporate law firm, operates out of a SouthPark location and provides highly personalized legal and business advice to business owners, entrepreneurs and investors.

“I really enjoy working from the platform of a boutique law firm... As a firm we are always doing everything we can to help our clients reach the next level.” ~Dain Dulaney Partner

“We sometimes joke that we are also lawyers for ‘Plan B’. Whether it is a franchise or starting a business from scratch, people want to make their vision a reality and that is where we come in,” Dulaney says.

“I remember being approached by with a pair of entrepreneurs who wanted to buy and run their own business and they had found an opportunity to purchase a company with over 50 employees and revenues in excess of $10M from an owner who wanted to retire,” recounts Dulaney.

The entrepreneurs needed to raise millions of dollars in capital and had found a private equity group and bank that were willing to fund the acquisition. Dulaney didn’t hesitate to take on the project.

He says, “I was able to work with the entrepreneurs as they negotiated with multiple parties, including the owner and management team of the company, to complete the acquisition of the company on one side and afford the investors and lenders the best possible terms possible on the other side.”

I was able to help them structure the terms of the funding and complete the acquisition so that they could realize their dream and start the hard work of running and growing a company,” he says with obvious satisfaction.

Joyner shares, “I represent clients who are

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starting businesses, running businesses or buying and selling businesses. Over the last few years I have particularly enjoyed helping Charlotte bankers take the next steps in their careers, away from the banks.

“Wachovia and Bank of America bring people into Charlotte from all over the country. They work for the bank a while and realize they need to come up with ‘Plan B’ for their careers. At that point they and their families like living in Charlotte and want to stay here.”

“It is very rewarding to have helped those folks start new businesses and buy existing businesses so they can stay in Charlotte and have a little more control over their lives and destinies,” Joyner says.

As business attorneys, David Bishop, Dain Dulaney and Matt Joyner recognize that they play a small but important role in helping business owners realize their destinies.

As Bishop explains, “We can’t take credit for the successes of our clients, but if we do our job right, we will be there to counsel them along the way, from inception to exit.

Their successes are our rewards.” biz Brandee Dishner is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

Bishop, Dulaney and Joyner, P.A. dba

Bishop Dulaney & Joyner 4521 Sharon Rd., Ste. 375 Charlotte, N.C. 28211 Phone: 704-442-8875 Principals: David M. Bishop, J. Dain Dulaney Jr., and Matthew R. Joyner; Partners Business: A boutique corporate law firm that provides highly personalized legal and business advice to business owners, entrepreneurs and investors. Practice areas include merger and acquisitions, financing, new entity formation, business succession planning, general business, and employment issues and contracts. www.bdj-law.com

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F

rom the time Tracy Trotter was 10 years old, he knew he had to live in North Carolina.

Growing up in Texas, Trotter’s first passion was car racing, and North Carolina, he knew, was the place for motorsports.

“My goal was to be living and working in North Carolina by the time I was 23,” says Trotter.

As a child Trotter also dreamed of owning his own company. Raised by a single parent who depended on food stamps and free school lunches to feed the family, Trotter was impressed by a neighbor’s shiny new Cadillac. When the neighbor told him he could afford the Caddy by “working hard and owning my own business,”

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Trotter knew that he, too, would be a business owner some day.

Consequently, in 1989 when Trotter was 22, he convinced the company he was working with in Texas to open a branch in Charlotte and transfer him to assist in its startup and to help run it. Trotter had spent six years with John Crane, a mechanical seal company in Houston, doing everything from repairs to shipping, so he was well qualified to run their new North Carolina branch.

Soon after moving to North Carolina, Trotter met Harold Elliott, a Winston Cup engine builder who planned to start his own Teflon coatings business for racecar parts.

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by casey jacobus

[bizprofile]

!"#$%#&'(&)*+,#$ *-.*+!*/# Calico Coatings Perform Under Pressure

Elliott hired Trotter to be the general manager of Polydyne, a position that afforded him the opportunity to work with many companies and individuals in the racing industry. Five years later he was ready to start his own company. Trotter, along with two employees, opened Calico Coatings in 1997 in a small facility in Maiden, North Carolina.

“We worked 18 hours a day, seven days a week,” Trotter recalls. “I would work all day making sales calls and then spend the evening in the shop doing coatings. I would go home to take a shower and then go back to the office to do the shipping. I slept at the shop quite a bit that first year.”

The hard work paid off. Calico is now the leading business in the coating industry in North Carolina and one of the top coating companies among 50 to 60 nationwide. Twenty-two employees now work at the company’s main 6,000-square-foot facility in Denver and at a second 4,500-square-foot rental building just down the road where Calico’s PVD coating process is housed.

Plans are underway to build a new $2 million manufacturing plant

p u r s u i n g a b a l a n c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d l i fe

on 4.5 acres north of the current location. The new facility will have 30,000 square feet and could expand to 80,000 square feet in the future. After the move to the new plant, planned for fall 2009, the company will still continue to keep part of its operations in the current building.

Performance Advantage Trotter built Calico Coatings by selling his coatings to the racecar industry. Calico Coatings was able to find solutions for customers who had issues with heat, corrosion or excess wear by applying superior coatings that would reduce friction, save fuel and increase speed. Their coating solutions include Teflon, ceramic, dry film lubricants, and more recently, PVD or hard coatings. Trotter prides himself on thoroughly understanding his customers’ business challenges and works with them to customize a solution that meets their needs.

Crew chiefs, engine builders and drivers rely on Calico’s coatings to reduce friction under the hood, providing them with more !

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"Calico’s anti-corrosive CT-8 Coating for the “well-heads” on off-shore oil rigs reduces downtime of equipment, ultimately increasing the crew’s productivity. This coating addresses the oil industry’s need for an anti-corrosion, chemical-resistant coating for cold, wet steel that could not only reduce corrosion, but could be applied in almost any temperature and to a surface that is constantly wet while in service.

"The marine industry applies Calico’s CT-71 Coating to their shipping vessels where it prevents barnacles from adhering to the heat exchangers, reducing maintenance and manpower. It also reduces drag and increases fuel economy. For example, a Center Console MAKO was getting 5200 RPM. After applying the CT-71 Coating, the vessel’s speed increased to 6000 RPM, a 15.4% increase.

"Calico’s CT-69 Coating is an extremely thin coating (.002”) that protects components from heat and reduces friction, minimizing the chance for malfunction. The U.S. Military trusts Calico to coat many integral parts and equipment that our armed forces rely on during training and on the battlefield, including the ejection seat track and cam in the Air Force T-38 fighter jet trainer. During the ejection sequence, these parts are required to withstand extreme heat, bear a heavy load, and rotate quickly in order to properly and safely eject the pilot.

speed. Engines overheating to the point of oil “breakdown” have avoided total destruction of expensive components such as blocks, rods and crankshafts due to the lubrication provided by coated engine bearings.

Originally, motorsports represented 100 percent of Calico’s business. However, other industries gradually discovered the small Denver company as Trotter began attending trade shows around the country. Gradually, Calico added customers in the U.S. military, as well as in the marine, oil, health care and food industries. Today, motorsports represents only 65 percent of Calico’s total business.

Trotter prides himself on thoroughly understanding his customers’ business challenges and works with them to customize a solution that meets their needs.

For the military, Calico uses CT-69, an extremely thin coating, on many of the integral parts of the equipment the armed forces rely on during training and on the battlefield. These parts include the ejection seat track and cam in the Air Force T-38 fighter jet trainer. During the ejection sequence,

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these parts are required to withstand extreme heat, bear a heavy load, and rotate quickly in order to properly and safely eject the pilot. Calico’s coating protects them from heat and reduces friction, minimizing the chance for malfunction.

The marine industry applies Calico’s CT-71 coating to their shipping vessels, where it prevents barnacles from adhering to the heat exchangers. This reduces maintenance and manpower.

Calico’s anti-corrosive coating, CT-8, is used for the wellheads on offshore rigs.

This coating addresses the oil industry’s need for an anti-corrosion, chemical-resistant coating for cold, wet steel that can not only reduce corrosion, but can be applied in almost any temperature and to a surface that is constantly wet. Calico’s coating reduces downtime of equipment and ultimately increases productivity.

Calico also makes coatings that have application for the food industry, where they are used on everything from industrial bakeware and food chutes to coffee plate warmers, sandwich makers, and utensils.

Calico recently moved into the locomotive industry, coating its first train engine to help reduce friction, pollution, maintenance and fuel usage.

Calico is always looking for new coating solutions. Over the past 12 months, Trotter has invested $1 million in equipment

to provide customers with PVD (physical vapor deposition) coatings and he plans to add an additional $10 million over the next 10 years on this line. PVD coatings are used for cutting tools, punches and dies, mold components and medical parts. In addition to increasing the life of these tools up to ten times longer than uncoated parts, PVD coatings improve quality and increase productivity.

A Winning Team Trotter was drawn to North Carolina by his love of racing and his desire to own his own business. Not only has he built Calico Coatings into a highly competitive business, he has also found a way to feed his passion for racing. He is in his fourth year as a car owner with 22 wins to his credit. He owns the Calico Coatings Late Model Stock Car and two “All-American Driver Challenge” USAC midgets, one of which claimed the 2005 USAC National Ford Focus Championship. He is also the owner of the AllAmerican Driver Challenge (AADC), a driver search and competition program.

Coming from a racing family, Trotter’s love of the sport came naturally. His father was a NASCAR late model driver and his uncle raced out of the shops of the legendary A.J. Foyt. Trotter raced go-karts as a kid, winning the Gulf Coast Rookie Karting Association Junior Rookie of the Year Award in 1982. He added more championships in

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CT-2 Coating Reduces temperatures 15-30˚.

Available thickness: 1.0 – 1.2 mil.

CT-3 Skirt Coating Dry film lubricant that allows tighter clearances without scuffing.

Available thickness: 0.5 – 1.10 mil.

1983, 1984 and 1985. While he harbored dreams of racing professionally, he soon realized that he didn’t have enough talent, experience or money to succeed.

“Less than 100 people in the United States make a living driving race cars,” he explains. “Racing is a hard sport; it’s harder than running a business. You have to sacrifice everything to racing, even family and friends, and it can kill you.”

Trotter chose to direct his interest in racing into fostering upand-coming young drivers who might not make it without help. He established the AADC in 2005 to identify talented young drivers

PVD Coating PVD process applies an extremely hard nanocomposite coating that provides dramatically improved wear resistance of drive train components. Super smooth surface finish of 1.0 micro inch or less.

and help them take the next step in their racing careers.

“I was looking for the very best drivers I could get, age 15 to 23, to drive my cars,” says Trotter. “We chose 100 kids who qualified through go-kart centers across the country, took them to Atlanta to the Andretti Karting Center and tested their driving skills, desire, strength and marketability.”

The top ten in Atlanta were invited to Hickory where they spent three days driving Trotter’s USAC midgets while being evaluated by an elite panel of judges from the racing industry, including famed open wheel chassis builder and car owner, Bob East. The winner of that first Challenge in 2005 was Bradley Riethmeyer, a student at Texas A& M. “He’s a prime example of a kid who has talent, but not enough money to make it in racing,” says Trotter.

A second challenge in 2006 identified a 15-year-old from California, Tanner Swanson. Although he may continue the AADC in the future, for the moment Trotter has postponed the program to focus on getting his two new racers to the next level.

“We like racing and we like winning,” says Trotter.

“If I can’t win, I don’t want to play.”

Trotter’s desire to win applies to business as much as it does to racing. While the recent downturn in the economy has slowed business a little, Trotter doesn’t see it making a great impact on Calico Coatings.

“I don’t worry about the economy,” Tracy Trotter President Calico Coatings

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CT-1 Coating Technically engineered to withstand extreme pressure.

Attracts and holds oil while reducing friction, wear and oil temperatures. Available thickness: 0.25 – 0.30 mil.

he says. “I worry about what we can do.”

Calico Coatings’ 10-year plan calls for growing to a $25 million business with 50 employees. Trotter believes that is an achievable goal. “I expect to grow through acquisition,” he grins. “Money is cheap; companies are available. It’s a good time to buy low.”

At age 42, Trotter plans to keep working until the day “it is no longer fun.” However, his goal for the next 10 years is to find someone to replace him in the day-to-day running of the company and then retire to an advisory role.

“There are a lot of people who work here who are smarter than me,” says Trotter. “And I know that as you get older, you have less tolerance for risk. I’m always looking for talent who will help grow the company. Calico is a work in progress and we need to keep trying new things.” biz Casey Jacobus is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

Calico Technologies, Inc. dba

Calico Coatings

The Performance Advantage.

6400 Denver Industrial Park Rd. Denver, N.C. 28037 Phone: 1-888-236-6079; 704-483-2202 (tech line) Principal: Tracy Trotter, Owner Founded: 1997 Employees: 22 Business: Manufacturer of high performance coating solutions which are used to reduce friction, wear, heat and corrosion to the race car industry, as well as the military, marine and other industries.

Coating solutions include Teflon, ceramic, dry film lubricants, phosphate and PVD coating. www.calicocoatings.com

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[employersbiz]

Legislative and Regulatory Highlights for Area Employers

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N.C. Extension of Unemployment Benefits

The President has signed an Extension of the Emergency Unemployment Act of 2008. The legislation will add additional weeks of emergency unemployment compensation. The legislation gives benefits to unemployed workers in states with unemployment rates above 6 percent. North Carolina’s current unemployment rate is 7 percent. The North Carolina Employment Security

MAKE RECOGNIZING EMPLOYEES PART OF YOUR DAILY ROUTINE Good managers remember to recognize and motivate employees. Great managers do it every day. Here are some proven methods for making sure that praising employees becomes part of your daily routine: » Make employees a part of your weekly “to do” list. Add the names of the people who report to you to your list of goals to accomplish. Then cross off names as you praise them. » Use voice mail. Rather than using it only to assign tasks, leave employees voice mail messages praising them for a job well done. Do it from your cellular phone on the way home. » Write notes at the end of the day.

Keep a stack of note cards on your desk, where you can’t ignore them.

At the end of the day, take a minute to write thank-you notes to any employee who made a difference that day. » At the beginning of the day, put five coins in your pocket. Then, during the day, each time you praise an employee, transfer a coin to your other pocket. It may sound corny, but once you get in the habit, you’ll start relying on tricks like this one.

(Motivational Manager; Adapted from Inc. magazine)

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Commission is waiting on implementation guidance from the Department of Labor. But N.C. Governor has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor that will allow for the federal extension of unemployment benefits in North Carolina. The North Carolina current weekly benefit amount recently went up; the weekly benefit amount (maximum) is $494.

IRS

2009 Mileage Rate

Many of our members use the official Internal Revenue Service (IRS) mileage rate to determine how much they will reimburse employees for automobile expenses for business use.

The IRS has issued the 2009 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating a vehicle for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes. As of January 1, 2009 the rates are as follows: • 55 cents per mile for business miles driven (the rate started as 50.5 cents in the first half of 2008 and then was raised to 58.5 cents in the second half).

• 24 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes (the

rate was 19 cents in the first half 2008 and then was raised to 27 cents in the second half).

• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations (same as 2008).

In 2008, there were mid-year rate adjustments to reflect the significant hike in gas prices. Rates for 2009 take into account that gas prices have decreased, but transportation costs in general are higher than in early 2008.

The standard mileage rates for business, medical and moving purposes are based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile.

The mileage rate for charitable miles is set by law. (IRS)

The Employers Association provides comprehensive human resources and training services to a membership of over 865 companies in the greater Charlotte region. For more information, please call Laura Hampton at 704-522-8011 or visit www.employersassoc.com.

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[biznetwork] Thank you to our advertisers who make this publication and its distribution to over 100,000 readers possible! Enjoy their products and services as Charlotte’s leading business-to-business suppliers.

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[bizbits] DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE A BLOGGING POLICY? Not that long ago, employers and HR were rushing to create policies that would protect the organization from various risks posed by employee Internet use. Today, a similar scramble is on as employers and HR rush to stay ahead of the technology curve, this time to create a blogging policy.

Employers should be concerned about employee blogging for several reasons both practical and legal. As a practical matter, blogging can easily result in decreased productivity. Legally, however, the consequences of blogging can be much more significant.

Legal ramifications of blogging include the risks that an organization could be sued for libelous statements or disclosure of private or embarrassing facts, a blogger could release confidential information on the Web, and trade secrets could be placed at risk by an employee who unintentionally disclosed them in a blog.

To best protect against these risks, organizations should implement a blogging policy and consider a code of ethics for bloggers including the following: â&#x20AC;˘ A statement defining the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stance on blogging during working hours and on company-owned equipment; â&#x20AC;˘ A disclaimer (e.g., â&#x20AC;&#x153;all views expressed are those of the blogger and not the organizationâ&#x20AC;?); â&#x20AC;˘ A requirement that all blogs: # respect the confidentiality of company information and trade secrets, # be based upon facts and not speculation, # not contain material which is of critical importance to competitors, coworkers, or customers, and # not contain material which might create a hostile work environment.

Supervise employee blogging practices.

Although it is unlikely that employees could successfully claim that their First Amendment rights were violated by a nongovernmental employer that prohibits blogging in the workplace during working hours, employers could face potentially successful claims brought by coworkers of bloggers who allege invasion of privacy or defamation. Employers have a right to prohibit and/or supervise blogging activities of employees on company-owned systems in the workplace.

Using blogging to the corporate advantage. Many companies, particularly those in information technology like Sun Microsystems, encourage their employees to utilize blogging as a means of communicating,

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[bizbits] learning, and developing new ideas, and have implemented a policy and code of ethics that permit blogging subject to some basic rules, including admonitions to not disperse secrets, avoid financial disclosure and think about consequences.

Blogging is here to stay. There are over a hundred million blogs to date, growing at the rate of over a million a week (www.technorati.com). At the very least, whether reading or writing, those who participate in the trend that is blogging cannot at the same time be working and, as a result, business responsibilities are neglected. (CCH Online)

SAMPLE ANTI-BLOGGING POLICY At [COMPANY NAME], we recognize that our company’s positive reputation is critical to supporting our mission and strategic objectives. As such, all employees have an obligation to uphold the corporate image and not bring the company into disrepute. This duty encompasses employee Internet postings to internal and external Web logs (e.g., blogs) and other electronic forums in the public domain, including communications prepared and submitted by employees when off-duty.

Specifically: # Employee use of Web logs during work hours shall be limited to business purposes only. As with all other communications, employees shall conduct themselves in a professional manner when using such forums. # Public criticism of the company, its employees and/or its customers— whether by name or implication—or dissemination of material contrary to the company’s interests, is not permitted. #$Disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information is prohibited.

Public expression of opinion in conflict with the company’s formal equal employment policy may be conducive to a hostile work environment, and is thus prohibited.

[COMPANY NAME] may, at its option, monitor internal and external sources to identify inappropriate use. Employees responsible for posting disparaging material or for other misuse will be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.

[COMPANY NAME] reserves the right to take legal action if necessary.

(The Employers Association)

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[ontop] NETWORKING SERVICES IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A COMPANY THAT GIVES A PERSONAL TOUCH AND HONESTLY CARES ABOUT THEIR CLIENTS, THEN GIVE US A CALL! We are an innovative, high tech company, specializing in local and wide area networking to the small and medium business market. We provide complete turnkey solutions from concept to reality.

Local & Wide Area Networks Wiring Routers Switches Servers Wireless Workstations Tech Tip: TeamViewer is a fast, easy and secure desktop sharing software that lets you access your partner’s computer or transmits your screen to your partner without having to configure your firewall. It’s a great one-stop solution for remote support, remote administration, training and sales. And best of all, it’s completely free for non-commercial, personal use. Windows, Mac OS X, and cross platform!

For more information call: Walt Fields at 704-560-4897 or Dwayne Stone at 704-560-4900 FieldStone Networking Services • 16041-G Johnston Rd. #161• Charlotte, NC 28277

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Awards & Achievements Allen Tate Jr., founder and chairman of the Allen Tate Company, has received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s Allen Tate Jr. highest civilian honor, recognizing his outstanding service to the state in the areas of planning, regionalism and transportation.

Advertising & Media Pride Magazine has awarded five recipients with Pride Awards: Builder of Excellence Award, Walter B. Davis of Walter B. Davis Company; Designer Extraordinaire, Harvey Gantt of Gantt Huberman Architects; Dream Maker Award, Roger Parham of Headline Realty; Legacy Award, Carol Lilly of Lil Associates II, Inc.; and Stepping Stone Award, Timothy Johnson of Independence High School.

Walker Marketing has been honored by the Davey Awards, receiving the organization’s prestigious awards for five marketing and communications projects.

Moonlight Creative Group has been awarded three 2008 Davey Awards.

John Ketchum, chief executive officer of LKM, has been awarded the Charles Parker Award by the North Carolina Travel Industry Association. LKM’s work on VisitNC.com has been honored by the Travel Industry Association with the 2008 Mercury Award for technical marketing.

Barnhardt, Day & Hines has Leanne Kinsella hired Leanne Kinsella as director of business development.

Jeff Bowman has joined The Catevo Group as associate creative director.

Jeff Bowman

Business & Professional Chief Justice Sarah Parker has awarded the Chief Justice’s Professionalism Award to E. Fitzgerald (Jerry) Parnell III of Poyner Spruill’s Charlotte office.

Jerry Parnell Sherpa has been named the 2008 recipient of Clean Air Works’ Champion Award in the small business category.

Windstream Communications has named Tammy Seifert as vice president of customer services.

FrickTrent, PLLC has named Tammy Seifert

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[ontop]

Architectural Interiors & Exteriors Advertising Industrial Corporate Editorial

Dawn Ulery as managing paralegal and Bonnie Guinn as legal assistant and pre-closer.

Construction & Design SfL+a Architects has added Daniel J. Robinson, AIA, as a principal and director of the Charlotte operations and H. Woodward Middleton, AIA, as a Bonnie Guinn principal architect.

Clark Nexsen has added Walter E. Cole, RLA, ASLA, CDT, LEED AP, as a senior landscape architect in the Charlotte office.

waynemorrisphotography wayne@wmphoto.biz www.wmphoto.biz

Dawn Ulery

704.545.7001

protect your business.

Education & Staffing Integra Staffing & Search has been named by the Charlotte Business Journal as the No. 3 Best Place to Work 2008 in the small business category.

CEO Inc. has been recognized as the sixth Top 25 2008 Best Places to Work in the small business category by the Charlotte Business Journal.

Jeff Anderson has been promoted to development manager, diversity and inclusion, at Bankston Partners.

UNC Charlotte’s College of Computing and Informatics’ former Dean Mirsad Hadzikadic, Ph.D., has received the 2008 Outstanding Achievement Award from the North Carolina Technology Mirsad Hadzikadic Association.

Central Piedmont Community College has hired Jessica Graham as the new assistant to the president for community relations and marketing services.

Jessica Graham Finance & Insurance In Public Accounting Report’s 27th Annual Survey of Accounting Professors, Grant Thornton LLP topped the list of the global accounting firms in the U.S. considered to be the most ethical and the best for work-life balance for the second consecutive year.

Giles Almond, president of Matrix Wealth Advisors, Inc., has been selected

by Medical Economics magazine as Charlotte’s only advisor on its exclusive list of The 150 Best Financial Advisers for Doctors for the fifth consecutive time.

Giles Almond

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[ontop] Charlotte-based Bank of Commerce has promoted three executives: Chief Financial Officer David Keul to the position of executive vice president; Chief Lending Officer Derek Thompson to the position of executive vice president; and Stewart Hester to the position of senior vice president.

SunTrust Banks, Inc. has named John Graham a first vice president within its commercial division.

John Graham Elliott Davis, LLC has expanded its business valuation services by naming firm shareholder Jay Gibson as practice leader for business valuation services and acquiring Linda Fiel as a manager.

Government & Nonprofit The YMCA of Greater Charlotte has recognized four women for outstanding service to the community as follows: The YMCA Servant Leadership Award to Dr. Pamela Davies, president of Queens University of Charlotte; The Spirit of Charlotte Awards for Presence, Passion and Purpose to Margaret Brinkley Sigmon, head of Fletcher School and director of the Rankin Institute; Aretha V. Blake, Esq., special counsel for Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, LLP; and the Honorable Shirley Fulton, partner of Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, PLLC.

Advertising

Web Design

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“Reaching your customers with 360 degrees of marketing.”

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Health Care Vinay Deshmukh, M.D., F.A.C.S., of Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates has earned membership into the American College of Surgeons.

Yvette Denise Page-Turner, M.D., has joined the physicians of Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants providing anesthesia and acute pain management services for patients at Carolinas Medical Center.

Manufacturing Charles Stewart Contract has hired Mel Kelly to manage sales and marketing efforts in its furniture upholstery contract markets.

Kevin Moore has been named parts and service manager for Spiroflow Systems, Inc. Real Estate Commercial/Residential Lake Norman Realty has been named a finalist in the Charlotte Business Journal’s Best Places to Work contest. Mary Anne Michael

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has joined the company as a sales associate in its Cornelius office. Layton Getsinger completed the e-PRO course certification.

Allen Tate Company has named Vina Accomazzo as branch manager/broker for its Mountain Island office. Dave Edwards has been named branch manager and broker-incharge for its Mooresville/150 office.

Retail & Sports & Entertainment Nine Charlotte accommodations and restaurants have earned 2009 AAA Four Diamond ratings; 40 North Carolina and 37 South Carolina facilities were named in total.

The list of award winners and consecutive years won includes: Hilton Charlotte, Center City (2), The Duke Mansion Historic Inn & Meeting Place (4), The Westin Charlotte (5), Ballantyne Resort (6), Omni Charlotte Hotel (8), and Marriott-Charlotte SouthPark (20) in accommodations; Bonterra Dining & Wine Room (5), Zebra Restaurant & Fine Catering (6), and McNinch House (12) in restaurants.

Health magazine recently named Harris Teeter one of America’s ten healthiest grocery stores.

Woody Allen, director of golf the Golf Club at Ballantyne Resort, has been elected as area VI director for the Carolinas PGA for 2009-2010, effective February 2009.

Thomas Wise has joined the ArtHouse in NoDa.

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Technology Peak 10 has been named one of Charlotte Business Journal’s Best Places to Work for 2008.

Exervio Management Consulting has been named one of the Best Places to Work by the Charlotte Business Journal.

Diona Kidd, vice president of Knowmad Technologies, has been elected to the board of directors of the Civic and Cultural Arts Center of Pineville.

Beanstalk Data has hired Daniel Evans as its new business development manager.

Customer Connect Associates has hired Yoshi Gunn as CRM business analyst. biz To be considered for inclusion, please send your news releases and announcements in the body of an e-mail (only photos attached) to editor@ greatercharlottebiz.com, or fax them to 704-6765853, or post them to our business address—at least 30 days prior to our publication date.

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[bizview] The Charlotte Region: The View from Another Perspective 44

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