Greater Charlotte Biz 2009.02

McColl School of Business

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M o re h e a d A s s o c i a t e s

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Marsh USA

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J e n k i n s - Pe e r A rc h i t e c t s

february 2009

d e s s e Obs

with

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Dr. Peter C. Gorman Superintendent Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools 5601 77 Center Dr., Ste. 250, Charlotte, N.C. 28217

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

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

CMS Superintendent Intent on Improving Student Performance

TOP 10 REASONS WHY YOU WON’T GET ALCOHOLIC TREATMENT 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

You know it doesn’t work for 80% of patients.

You can’t take a month off.

You keep thinking you can manage.

You can’t spare $25,000.

You haven’t gotten a DUI yet.

6. You don’t like name tags.

7. You tried the meeting.

8. You aren’t into group hugs.

9. You know you aren’t powerless.

10. You don’t need to “share.”

There is a solution:

Drinking Problem Solved.

10 REASONS TO CHECK OUT LAST CALL 1.

2.

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Success rates 4x higher than standard programs.

Guaranteed.

Opportunity to get treatment earlier.

Learn lifestyle skills to make positive changes.

Relieve the physiological cravings for alcohol.

6. Only 2 missed work days.

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8. Restore family relationships.

9. Restore dignity and self-respect.

10. Stay at Precious Wood Farm Resort.

Lots more reasons at...

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in this issue

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cover story

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools He presides over one of the nation’s largest public school systems, but Dr. Peter Gorman employs a simple measure of success: Did Susie have a good day at school? The superintendent of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools calls that a performance referendum “that goes on every day in every one of our homes.”

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Marsh USA For a positive story in a bad economy, look no further than the Charlotte office of Marsh USA. Healthy growth continues in the Carolinas for this world leader in insurance brokerage and risk advisory as companies seek more balance sheet protection.

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Morehead Associates Enhancing the bottom line by building employee commitment sounds simple but is hard to achieve. Morehead Associates uses scientific surveys, sophisticated analyses and employee opinion research to help companies and organizations pull it off.

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McColl School of Business Dean Terry Broderick is working hard to cultivate tomorrow’s leaders through competence, character and commitment to community, creating a place of ideas where transformational experiences with real-world applications happen.

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departments bizinnovation

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publisher’spost

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workforcebiz

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bizxperts

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bizhealth

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employersbiz

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biznetwork

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bizbits

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ontop

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bizmarketing

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on the cover:

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M o re h e a d A s s o c i a t e s

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Marsh USA

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Je n k i n s - Pe e r A rc h i t e c t s

february 2009

Dr. Peter C. Gorman Superintendent Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

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Dr. Peter C. Gorman Superintendent Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Jenkins-Peer Architects When Tyke Jenkins and Joddy Peer combined their vision and talent they created a firm intent on designing for their clients, helping them quantify their vision, understanding their tangible goals, and doing the necessary research before going to the drawing table.

McColl School of Business

Photography by Wayne Morris

Obsessed

with

!"#$%&%'%()

CMS Superintendent Intent on Improving Student Performance

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Better Ideas for Business Success

[bizinnovation]

Innovating Through Recession Moments of economic turbulence provide surprising and unique opportunities to start new businesses, launch disruptive new products, and strengthen customer loyalty—often at a discount

G

reat leaders and the organization’s they lead translate moments of uncertainty into moments of opportunity in which to not only streamline operations, but also to innovate. Economic downturns make innovation not only more important, but one could argue that the process of innovation is actually easier to manage and much more cost-effective during economic downturns. In this period of economic turbulence, there is no better time to widen the gap between you and your competition.

Listen to the market. It’s quieter when it’s less crowded. Unmet needs abound.

First, difficult economic times expose unmet needs in the market making it much easier to identify opportunities for new product development. Rather than pull back on innovation in new products, consider how you may use this time to create and launch your most disruptive ideas.

In February 1930, four short months after the stock market crash, Henry R. Luce launched an audacious, irreverent, and vibrantly-colored arsenal of human interest stories in the form of new media product called Fortune Magazine.

Not only did he have the gall to launch a new product in the shadow of the Great Depression, he launched an expensive new product. At the outrageously-lofty price of $1 per issue, Fortune launched with only 30,000 subscribers. By 1937, the magazine netted a half-million dollars on its circulation of 460,000. By the end of the decade, Fortune had become required reading on Wall Street.

Like innovators before us, use this time to be aware of the market, not afraid of it. The great mistake many organizations make during turbulent times is that they quit listening

to the market. They pull back on research and development precisely at the moment when the market is speaking most loudly. Now is the time to listen to your customers. Now is the time to get out into the market and identify those elusive unarticulated needs you’ve been searching for. Listen to the market. It’s speaking to you.

Unmet needs abound.

Invest in your customers. Now they need you most. Loyalty hangs in the balance.

Downturns provide the opportunity to strengthen relationships with customers thereby improving customer loyalty. At a time when consumer sentiment is nearly at an all-time low, rather than reduce customer service, use this time to get closer to your customers, connect with them on a deeper level, and show them what’s possible—what the future will hold.

Consider the furniture brand La-Z-Boy for example. La-Z-Boy launched its iconic reclining chair in 1929 just months before the stock market crash but sales continued as customers bartered everything from wheat to coal to farm animals for their very own chair. The company’s founders did everything they could to keep their customers seated in their products.

Extend better terms. Service their accounts more quickly. Help them stay afloat. By the end of the Depression, not only had La-Z-Boy collected a wide-array of farm animals, it had amassed unparalleled customer loyalty for its service and quality.

Likewise, in 2003, when the Dow was at historical lows over a 10-year period, Apple continued their research and development spending. Their belief was that if they kept putting great products in front of customers, they would continue to open their wallets. And that’s what they did, and Apple is one of the only two companies making money in the PC business.

New products are not only required to remain relevant, they are signs of hope to employees and to customers that your company and your brand are valuable in their lives. During these times, remember that your customers

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are as worried as you are. Stay close to them.

Help them get what they want and they’ll remember you over the long haul.

If you don’t have the money, at least spend the time.

Finally, realize that creativity loves constraints. Innovation thrives when it has no other choice. In this way, innovation is the most basic and primal of human experiences. We do it best when we have to. It may sound cliché (because it is), but necessity is indeed the mother of invention.

Consider the birth of the world’s first instant coffee: in 1930, the Brazilian Coffee Institute had a problem: it was sitting on a huge surplus of coffee beans. Thinking, correctly, that a new product could help increase consumption, the Institute contacted Nestlé’s chairman with a request to develop “a coffee that was soluble in hot water and retained its flavor.” Seven years later, Nestlé’s scientists emerged with the solution and launched Nescafé, which became a staple beverage of consumers through the world most notably among the United States armed forces. In fact, by World War II, Nescafé had become so popular among American military personnel that the entire production of its U.S. plant (one million cases per year) was reserved for military use only.

Now is the time to unleash corporate creativity. The greatest mistake you can make now is to mortgage your future by failing to innovate. Remember: you don’t need a lot of money to think, but you do need time. And if you are already in the process of tightening your belt anyway, you might as well consider investing in a new pair of pants.

Selected excerpts reprinted with permission from “Innovating Through Recession” by Andrew Razeghi, an adjunct associate professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Visit his Web site at www.andrewrazeghi. com, or for speaking inquiries contact Cindy Rubash at 773-755-3100.

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[publisher’spost] 704-676-5850

Choose Your Weapon – Shotgun or Rifle?

Let’s face it. Times are tough! The economic outlook tells us we are in the depth of a recession. In fact, we have been in this recession for over a year. Even the most optimistic forecasts suggest that we will not begin to come out of this recession until the third quarter of this year, that the recovery is likely to take longer than normal, and it will more likely require two to three years to show real growth.

When times are tough, businesses become more wary, watchful and careful about where they spend their money.

That is appropriate and good.

What is not good is the wholesale slashing of budgetary allocations without any consideration for return on investment. In particular, slashing advertising dollars is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Why do you advertise in the first place? You advertise to increase sales. When times are tough and you expect sales to decline, you should be increasing your advertising spending. In fact, if you decrease advertising, your sales will probably go down even further than they might have otherwise. That is, if you cut back, but your competition continues or expands their advertising, they stand to gain the customers that you will lose!

Instead of taking a shotgun approach to advertising that reaches many who will never buy from you, choose a rifle approach that targets your prospects and is more likely to provide a return on your investment.

1.Reduce spending any way you can so you can save for advertising! Obviously, cut out extraneous spending. Second, trim a small percentage off all budgetary categories so you do not cut advertising. Eliminate spending that does not directly contribute to the bottom line.

2.Do more with less! We are all going to work longer hours for less income, but we must do more with less so we can keep doing business with our customers and prospects and grow our way out of this recession.

3.Know your target customer! How well do you know your customers and the prospects that you want to be your customers? You don’t have time or money to chase prospects who will never buy from you. Take the time to listen to your customers and learn as much as you can.

4.Target your message! What do you do better than your competitors? Learn why people do business with you that will help you get more customers and clients. Match your message to your customer with the right media vehicles that reach those customers.

5.Negotiate your media buys! Call the advertising vehicles that reach your target customers. Ask what specials they are offering. Tell them you want a special advertising package. Be clear about what you have to spend and how you want to spend it. Seek extra insertions, better placements, reduced rates, sponsorships, Web site advertising, and added value.

6.Push your targeted customer to your Web site! You have an investment in your Web site. You should have all the pertinent information about your company, your products and your services on it. Your Web site is of no value if no one ever visits it. Include your Web site on all your advertising.

7.Use broadcast e-mail! Keep your customers informed about your products and services. Tell them about specials. Be careful, be courteous and don’t overdo it.

8.Look for joint advertising opportunities! Find ways to work with other companies.

Take advantage of coop advertising dollars.

Ultimately, you need to advertise more discriminately in a recession. Don’t waste your advertising dollars. Use them wisely to reach your targeted customers and prospects.

Educate them about all that you do. Show them how you can save them money. They are in this recession with you and they need to be smart, too.

When you advertise more wisely than your competitors, you stand to grow as the economy recovers. Sure this is a struggle; but this is also a huge opportunity. Take advantage of this critical time and pick up that rifle! biz

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

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February 2009 Volume 10 • Issue 2 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 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

NEW 2009 SPEAKER LINEUP

UPCOMING GUEST

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

March 13, 2009

February 13, 2009

Soledad O’Brien Special Correspondent CNN

September 11, 2009

HOSTS SOME 36 EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR FOR ITS MEMBERS

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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

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“Make it Count” Motivational Speaker

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May 1, 2009

November 13, 2009

Jim Nantz

General Hugh Shelton

Broadcaster CBS Sports

Former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff

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Work Force Training and Development

[workforcebiz]

Professional Consultant Certification Four Cornerstones of Operating as a Consulting Professional

C

entral Piedmont Community College (CPCC), in partnership with Consultant Development Group, two of the area’s prominent educators of business professionals, is offering a series of courses addressing the training needs of individuals interested in consulting or providing their services to client companies.

“We are pleased to be working with Consultant Development Group to offer this exciting program,” says Mona Rabon, director of leadership and management at CPCC. “The program is comprised of four courses that are the cornerstones of operating as a consulting professional. These courses— Professional Consulting Skills, Selling Consulting Services, Project Management and Six Sigma—are taught by leaders in their respective fields. Upon successful completion of the program, the participant is awarded the Certified Consulting Professional designation as well as a Six Sigma Green Belt by CPCC.”

that differentiate quality consulting services from services that add little or no value. Participants learn the “Five Constructs of Service Quality” and how adherence to these constructs helps to ensure the highest level of service to a client company and to secure a long-term working relationship. Forming and managing cross-functional teams, listening and interviewing skills, change management, conflict management and managing the client relationship are all integral components of the Professional Consulting Skills course.

According to Dr. Eric Threatt, founder of Consultant Development Group and one of the instructors for the program, “This course of instruction is excellent for individuals who have been displaced from their jobs or who have reached a point in their career where they are thinking about ‘hanging out their own shingle.’

“It is also extremely valuable to those already in the consulting or other professional services fields (accounting, etc.) who have had little or no formal training in consulting skills, selling consulting services, project management, process reengineering and Six Sigma. We also deliver these courses inside of Fortune 500 corporations for departments that want to be more ‘consultative’ in the way that they work with their internal customers.”

Consultant Development Group conducts ongoing research into the science behind consulting and providing professional services. Dr. Threatt’s dissertation research, Professional Service Quality: Strategic Implications Affecting the Competitiveness of Consulting Firms, was one of the first applications of contemporary service quality theory to the consulting industry.

The Project Management course focuses on translating the body of work defined in the proposal into measurable, controllable tasks that can be effectively managed and tracked over the course of the consulting engagement. Regardless of whether the project is large or small, the need to successfully manage the effort and the budget is key to the success of the service offered by the consulting professional.

The Professional Consulting Skills course focuses on ensuring the balance between the client’s expectation of the consultant and their actual experience with the service provided. The course explores the science behind consulting and the fundamentals

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In the Selling Services and Solutions course, participants learn not only selling fundamentals and techniques, but also those attributes that differentiate selling consulting services from other services and products.

Building on the skills acquired in the Professional Consulting Skills course, the Selling Services and Solutions course concentrates on services selling fundamentals, identifying sales opportunities, client development and retention, service offering development, proposal development and aligning the services offered with the client’s needs.

Understanding process improvement and controlling variation are important skills for the consulting professional. One of the most widely used methodologies for achieving these goals in today’s business environment is Six Sigma. Participants learn the terms and tools of Six Sigma and how to apply them, and complete a project to reinforce their skills.

The schedule for the Certified Consulting Professional Program begins this month, continuing on through May. To learn more about the program, join CPCC and Consultant Development Group for a “Lunch & Learn” on Thurs., Feb. 12, 2009, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the CPCC Harris Campus. Call 704-330-4625 to reserve a seat. Visit www. cpcc.edu/cce for more information.

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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some business insights from those at the top… !

KEY RESULTS: Are You Using the 80/20 Rule? Most of us have heard of the 80/20 rule, but few have continuously used it. For example: • 80 percent of our business comes from 20 percent of our customers.

• 80 percent of our revenue comes from 20 percent of our products or services.

• 80 percent of our complaints come from 20 percent of our customers.

• 80 percent of our sales are generated by 20 percent of the people who do the selling.

Business owners need to understand what their 20 percent areas are.

It is also important that they help their employees define the 20 percent areas that generate 80 percent of their results. These 20 percent areas are their key result areas. Key result areas are the priorities on which employees should be concentrating the majority of their time and resources. These are areas of accountability in which each of us must excel to add value to the rest of the organization. (Bob H., Denver, Colo.)

A Focus on Prioritization: My new service manager instituted a prioritization program that speeds up followthrough on his technicians’ suggestions for needed equipment, new techniques, etc. If it is a “fire issue,” he immediately takes care of it. A “fire issue” is defined as an immediate need which will substantially

affect a customer’s order. Other ideas, suggestions and requests are placed on the “parking lot” bulletin board.

These ideas are in full sight of everyone, allowing the employees to see that they haven’t been ignored. Items on the board are taken care of as opportunities, budget dollars or time allows. Anyone who suggests an idea that won’t be pursued gets a personal response, and if Jeff Raynor needed, an explanation as to why not. This has been an efficient way to handle suggestions and improve communications—two long-standing problems in my shop. (Heath B., Green Bay, Wis.) Price is Not King: Regardless of the large size of a particular client or the impersonal nature of the contact (as found for instance in working with the Navy and the Army), the relationship and the human contact is still the most important part of the business transaction. It also goes to show that price is still not the most important consideration in making a sale. The most important consideration is value. (Robert A., Charlotte, N.C.) Jeff Raynor, TAB Certified FacilitatorTM, heads TAB Carolinas - part of The Alternative Board®, a global CEO peer group and executive coaching firm. Some tips extracted from “Tips from the Top®” © TAB Boards International, Inc. Contact Jeff at 704-554-6200 or visit www.TheAlternativeBoard.com.

24 Years In Business

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Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

[bizXperts]

the importance of asset protection planning part III !

A couple months ago we introduced you to Adam and Andrea, the hapless couple who suffered the consequences of their failure to establish an effective asset protection plan.

After Adam and Andrea were faced with a run of unfortunate events, they sought to protect their assets by turning to their friend Jack who advised the couple to follow his patented four-step plan. Last month we discussed the pitfalls of his first step; this month we tackle his second step, which was to simply walk away from the pending lawsuits and their mortgages. Unfortunately, Jack failed to advise Adam and Andrea about default judgments and deficiency judgments. A far better strategy, if Adam and Andrea had planned far enough ahead would have been asset protection via corporate protection.

Default Judgments In North Carolina, when a defendant is properly served with a complaint, the defendant has 30 days to respond to that complaint. If Adam and Andrea had followed Jack’s advice and “walked away” from any lawsuits filed against them, they would make the plaintiff’s job easy.

First, without having received a timely response to the complaint, the plaintiff would have sought an entry of default from the clerk of the court and scheduled a hearing with the court for a default judgment. In all likelihood, at the hearing the plaintiff would obtain that default judgment.

Depending on the circumstances, the law allows Adam and Andrea to attempt to undo any step along this path, including even after a judgment has been entered. However, the likelihood of success is tied to both the reason why Adam and Andrea did not participate in the judicial process and the length of time they waited before seeking such relief. The bottom line is the sooner Adam and Andrea participate, the better their chances.

If Adam and Andrea did have a judgment entered against them (default or otherwise), the plaintiff, or now, judgment creditor, after waiting 30 days could begin collection efforts. Collection efforts can include obtaining a lien against Adam and Andrea’s home or investment properties or having the sheriff seize bank accounts, automobiles and household furnishings.

Put simply, by ignoring the lawsuits, Adam and Andrea risk losing almost everything they own.

Deficiency Judgments Jack’s advice to Adam and Andrea to walk away from their mortgages was similarly foolish. A deficiency judgment arises when the security for the loan is insufficient to pay off the loan. For example, if Adam and Andrea owed $100,000 on their beach house when it was foreclosed upon

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

and sold for $60,000, there would be a deficiency judgment of $40,000.

While North Carolina has an anti-deficiency judgment statute which limits certain lenders to the value of the security (e.g. the beach house), it only protects borrowers who utilized purchase money mortgages or deeds of trust. Essentially, it limits the lender from recovering Bob Wishart more than the security when the lender was also the seller, which is not common.

For the rest of North Carolinians, likely including Adam and Andrea, the bank who loaned them the money to purchase their beach house could, after having foreclosed upon the beach house, obtain a judgment for the deficiency in the amount owed and come after Adam and Andrea for that amount with the collection efforts explained above.

Corporate Protections What could Adam and Andrea have done? One of the more effective asset protection devices is the formation of corporate entities to hold assets. If assets are owned by corporate entities, they are isolated from one another. This kind of asset protection planning, like most asset protection planning, must be done prior to problems arising so as to avoid claims of fraudulent transfer as discussed last month.

There are a number of corporate entities individuals can form—corporations, partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, the list goes on. They each have formation requirements and have differing tax consequences and impacts as to liability protections for the individuals within them. However, if properly formed and properly maintained, an individual can enjoy the benefits of owning an asset and lessen the risk of liability from that asset.

As an example, Adam and Andrea owned two rental properties.

If instead of owning them in their individual names, one property was owned by Adam, LLC and the other by Andrea, LLC, if someone tripped over a fish sculpture in the foyer of the property owned by Adam, LLC they likely could not collect on assets owned by Andrea, LLC or by Adam and Andrea individually. Further, if the uninsured Adam was sued for hitting Al with his Hummer, the assets in Adam, LLC and Andrea, LLC would likely be out of the reach of Al. Join us next month when we discuss why Adam and Andrea should not listen to Jack’s advice to avoid reporting incidents to their insurance company and how bankruptcy might not be the cure-all Jack led Adam and Andrea to believe.

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 704364-0010 or visit www.wnhplaw.com.

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[bizXperts]

Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

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resolution 2009: improve your figures !

As an accountant and consultant, I generally try to challenge my clients, so let me ask you a question: “What are your New Year’s resolutions for your business?”

You’re probably thinking, “It’s February. Isn’t it a little late for New Year’s resolutions?”

On the contrary; this is the perfect time, February is typically the month when most businesses have completed their books for the prior year and are getting their information ready for tax preparation (if you haven’t completed this, I have your first resolution for you).

I want you to take perhaps the most important five minutes of your business year and write down a few business resolutions you will accomplish this year. I have a few that I recommend to my clients to get you started.

Understand your financials. Most business owners don’t spend enough time on the “business aspect” of their business. They feel operations are where they need to be or they evaluate the current situation by looking at their checkbook. If the checkbook shows cash, then the business is doing well; if cash is slim, then it is doing poorly and they react or over-react accordingly.

Every business owner should understand the three basic financial statements: profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow statement. These are like report cards, reflecting on past performance.

But they tell more of the story—look closer; they contain details on revenues, expenses, assets, and liabilities, along with sources and uses of cash. With this information you can extrapolate out useful ratios such as return on investment, receivable aging, profit multiples, to name but a few.

These matrixes are the compass of every business, whether understood or not. My most successful clients understand and evaluate their business metrics constantly, such as profit margin by product, total product cost, inventory turn, etc. In these economic times, reviewing your expenses to evaluate appropriateness, setting a budget and periodic evaluation are fundamental business practices.

Communicate with your accountant. It may sound cliché, but it is true: Your accountant should be viewed as a trusted advisor, providing business guidance and offering more than tax preparation services. If you view your accountant as only a tax preparer and are not engaging him or her in consulting dialog related to your business, you are wasting a valuable resource.

Generally your accountant has a deep understanding of your business and is able to offer different and objective views, so their perspective should provide valuable insight. Plus accountants are involved with other businesses and will share their experiences and knowledge with you.

Periodic meetings to discuss important business matters with your

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accountant are imperative. These meetings force you to focus on business, reflecting on the past, understanding the present and planning for the future. If you don’t have a good consulting relationship with your accountant, talk to them or get a new accountant.

Goals and alignment. This year set attainable George Bohlé measurable business goals. Items like total revenue, net profit, profit margin, head count and, maybe most important, take-home pay (net of taxes of course). What could be more important than the direction you are heading? Decide on a course of action that will help you reach your goals, assess your goals regularly against your current activity, and adjust for factors unknown at the time of goal-setting, such as the economy, capacity or other opportunities.

Once you have your goals, communicate appropriate goals to every person in your organization and make sure they understand the part they are to play; this is called alignment. Making sure every person in your organization knows, understands and executes their function as efficiently as possible should add to your success. The importance of alignment is often overlooked or worse, business owners presume that each person understands the common vision, understand how they are to implement that vision and how they impact the process. Working together in a cohesive team environment with common perspective is the foundation for a prosperous organization. Think everyone in your organization is aligned perfectly? You’re fooling yourself. Ask each person what the company mission is if you don’t believe me.

No matter what the newspaper is saying or the economy is doing, someone, somewhere is prospering. Are these people any smarter than you? Do they work harder than you? Probably not. They succeed because they take the time to step back, evaluate current and future opportunities, and focus on what will make them successful, and then make resolutions and act upon them.

So for you, starting today, become one of those people. Commit your resolutions to paper, get your management team involved (even if it’s only your spouse), call your accountant and start acting on your resolutions. You may find your business a few pounds leaner and your wallet a little heavier this time next year.

George W. Bohlé Jr. is a managing partner at Blair, Bohlé & 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

3$4!5('$

[bizXperts]

personalize online marketing and customer service content !

Your online content often conveys the first and most lasting impression of your business’ overall value and personality. People buy from and recommend companies that they like and trust. Customers respond more quickly and more favorably when they feel welcomed, important and understood. This can be accomplished by establishing a more direct, oneto-one relationship between you and the customer by carefully structuring your online dialogue.

Modern Web and e-mail communication strategies can create this essential business dynamic…Think “PERSONAL.” Communicate on a first-name basis. Personalize e-mail correspondence using the individual’s own name and organization, even within broadcast mailings.

Embed a courtesy link inside all outbound messages leading recipients back to a short online form to add or update any personalization information.

For Web sites, employ a simple registration feature, allowing customers to both be welcomed by name and to receive and retrieve other personalized information upon their return. Remember too, to invite first-time visitors to register, so that they may also be welcomed in the future.

Encourage a more active exchange of information. The more you know about the individual, the more personalized experience you can offer. Fill-in-theblank online forms, interactive surveys and ranking polls are goods ways to start this process, but they don’t typically offer the chance to respond back

with an immediate, personal response. Consider adding a “Live Chat” or “Click to Call” option, creating an instant, one-to-one conversation between you and your customer.

On your home page, present only a few, pre-qualifying navigation link choices, allowing visitors to identify their core interest with their initial selection of the type of information that is most relevant to them. With cookies, “click Kip Cozart path recognition” can later link individuals directly back to frequently accessed content.

E-mail can also automate the exchange of personalized content. Customers may sign up to receive a personalized selection of product-related “E-mail Alerts.” By preselecting from a diverse list of specified alert topics, individuals can tailor their own “information channel(s).”

Leverage previous interaction and past history. Offer pre-built tools so visitors may easily flag and retrieve pages or documents for future reference. Further, post data collection forms that feature “pre-filled” information, incorporating the customer’s last submission, using cookie or login identification.

Kip Cozart is CEO of CC Communications, a Web design, programming and Internet media company. Contact him at 704-543-1171 or visit www. ccommunications.com. For additional information on this topic, please visit www.cccommunications.com/bizXperts/.

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by ellison clary

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Marsh Sees Risk Where Others Don't Unlocks Opportunities Where Others Can't

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or a positive story in a bad economy, look no further than the Charlotte office of Marsh USA Inc. Healthy growth continues in the Carolinas for the world leader in insurance brokerage and risk advisory.

The reason, says Scott Mercer, managing director and Charlotte office head, makes sense: A recessionary time causes companies to seek more balance sheet protection.

“They tend to buy more insurance and take less risk,” Mercer says of his corporate clients.

“They’ll spend $25 to save $100.”

The insurance industry traditionally stabilizes when the investment markets are in a down cycle, but then again, there is nothing traditional about this economic downturn.

“We have a lot of compassion for our clients that are going through tough times.” Mercer cautions from his corner office on the 32nd floor at Bank of America Corporate Center. “We can be part of the solution during tough economic times, not part of the problem.”

One of the world’s largest insurance brokers, Marsh is the flagship unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global professional services firm. Both Marsh and MMC are based in New York City. Of MMC’s 55,000 employees, 24,000 work for Marsh, which contributed approximately $4.5 billion of MMC’s $11 billion in annual revenue in 2007.

The Charlotte office of Marsh also oversees an operation in Greenville, S.C. With more than 100 employees, Mercer reckons Charlotte is in the top 20 of Marsh’s 65 North American locations.

The company professes to “help transform risk from a liability into an advantage.”

Mercer, a Chattanooga, Tenn., native who’s been with Marsh and a predecessor since 1984, explains how that happens. !

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wordle.net

Large corporations as well as middle-market companies need to manage liabilities. They have physical assets such as airplanes and trucks. They have employees.

If they are financial institutions, they experience the liabilities of dealing with other people’s money.

“Most of that requires insurance, particularly in a regulated industry,” Mercer says. “A lot of it is risk they don’t need to take on themselves. It’s just cheaper to insure through a third-party insurance carrier than it is to retain the risk.”

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e have to mirror the demographics of the territory. We keep a finger on the economic pulse.” ~Scott Mercer Managing Director, Charlotte Office

Marsh does that, Mercer says, but it doesn’t stop there.

Many firms do keep some risk. A large corporation might self-insure in some areas— perhaps worker compensation—for the first half-million dollars.

“Where we really add a lot of value is in that retained cost area, where we apply our consultants to help manage the costs of their losses,” Mercer explains. “The more loss they can reduce in frequency and in severity, the better off they’re going to be.”

Marsh can show a client how to reduce claims. It can advise on how to create a safer working environment. And it can help manage claims when they occur.

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“No claim gets better with age,” Mercer adds. “The longer claims hang out there, the more expensive they are, the more litigious they become. We help clients resolve claims in a timely fashion.”

Claims Management a Strength “That’s one area where we add so much value, and that’s quite frankly what I think makes us different versus some of our very worthy competitors,” Mercer continues. “It’s the amount of dedicated resources we have in claims management and loss control.”

The Charlotte office has eight people in loss control and 10 more in claims management, numbers Mercer characterizes as “pretty robust” compared to what typical competitors maintain in the Carolinas.

With clients in more than 100 countries, Marsh often is thought of as specializing in service to Fortune 1000 firms, Mercer says, but only half its revenue comes from those behemoths. The other 50 percent originates with what Marsh classifies as middle market, companies with revenues of $50 million or more.

Besides Goodrich, notable Carolinas clients include Muzak LLC and Duke Energy. The Greenville office serves BMW Manufacturing, Fluor Corporation and Michelin North America, among others.

“We have a strong and stable colleague base,” Mercer adds in explaining the firm’s performance for its clients. “Clients like the consistency of dealing with the same people.”

Top performance is another reason clients stay around, Mercer says, and singles out Dick Oelhafen, South Zone Claims Manager based in Charlotte for personally saving clients hundreds of millions of dollars in claims costs over the years.

Marsh can benefit after a firm moves

a significant presence here. Aerospace and defense giant Goodrich signed on with the Carolinas office in 2004.

Tim Carter, director of risk management and real estate sales for Goodrich, mentions a recent challenging claim where Marsh “has been absolutely brilliant on working all the issues to get things resolved.”

Marsh manages more than 70 percent of the world’s aviation accounts, Carter points out. “They have proved over and over they are an excellent broker worldwide as well as on a local basis,” he adds.

Most of Marsh’s new business in the Carolinas for 2008 came through expanded opportunities with existing clients, Mercer says. That reflects the desire for enhanced balance sheet protection.

Halfway through 2008, Mercer and his team recognized signs of impending economic downturn. “We saw capital expenditures were being put on hold, funding for new capital expenditures or new projects or new plants was put on hold or shelved altogether. Acquisitions were not taking place.

“People just started hunkering down,” he summarizes.

For 2009, Marsh is also hunkering, Mercer says. He’s obviously pained as he mentions the January closing of R.L. Stowe Inc., a stalwart employer in Gaston County for 108 years. The textile firm was a Marsh client.

Mercer has held recent, in-person discussions with other manufacturing leaders and clients of Marsh. “They’re concerned,” he says with a wrinkled brow. “It’s a tough economy.”

Service Sea Change Still, Mercer has been in Charlotte long enough to watch the Carolinas economy experience a sea change.

“We used to serve 80 percent of all the textile manufacturing in this state,” he says. “We did work for Milliken, Burlington, you name it, we did it. That was our forte.”

With the demise of textiles in the Carolinas, that has waned.

Transportation also was important once for

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the Charlotte office. It served clients such as one-time trucking icon Carolina Freight, also an acquisition casualty.

“Our client mix has changed tremendously,” Mercer continues. “It’s now one of financial services, power, energy, retail, life sciences and real estate development.”

Another strength of the Carolinas operation is public risk management. The City of Charlotte is one of many municipalities in both states that use Marsh.

“We have to mirror the demographics of the territory,” he says. “We keep a finger on the economic pulse.”

Marsh does much of that in the Carolinas through connections with banks and the law firms that serve them. It also helps law firms with their own legal liabilities.

Mercer professes to remain bullish on the Carolinas economy. That’s notwithstanding trouble spots such as real estate development, where he worries about developer friends who are in tight straits.

“I see the banks still growing, staying strong,” Mercer says. “I see the energy sector really robust in the alternative, renewable energy field. I think that’s going to have a big influence on this area.”

He cites the Shaw Group, a Baton Rouge, La.-based energy company that had only a handful of people in Charlotte three years ago but now counts about 1,000 here, with a strong presence in center city.

“They’re not a client,” he quickly adds, “but we know a lot of people over there who are doing work with Duke Energy, so we cross paths quite a bit.”

Potential in Energy Nuclear specialists in the Charlotte office work not only with Duke Energy but with nuclear power facilities across the country. Charlotte’s Mark Fishbaugh is Marsh’s national renewable energy practice leader and he’s also the client executive for Duke Energy.

Mercer praises Duke Energy’s positive reputation and the simultaneous development that utility has initiated in both nuclear and renewable energy. He calls energy risk management a “sweet spot” for his office, adding he views it as a strong growth area.

Now 47, Mercer is doing what he angled for since graduating from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s in insurance and a focus on risk management, a discipline that

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e’re kind of an unseen part of the real fabric of this community because of the corporate clients we support.” ~Scott Mercer Managing Director, Charlotte Office

fascinated him. He earned an international management graduate degree from the American Graduate School of International Management in Phoenix, Ariz., to better qualify for a position managing risk.

That job was in Manhattan, with Marsh predecessor Johnson & Higgins (J&H). With J&H, he also worked in Chicago where he met wife Julie. He wrangled a job in sales, which brought him to Charlotte in 1992. The Charlotte office grew impressively and Mercer was anointed senior vice president of sales for the South region. He was firmly footed by 1997, when Marsh bought J&H. For a time, Mercer served Marsh as national sales leader, based in Charlotte. He visited most of the firm’s 65 domestic offices. Now, as he runs the Carolinas, he reflects on those visits and is thankful to live here.

“I’ve been to a lot of towns and I can’t think of a better place than Charlotte, North Carolina,” says the father of two sons and two daughters. “It’s one of these places that, if you want to be involved, just raise your hand.”

In Charlotte, besides the United Way and the Arts and Science Council, Marsh supports Lifespan, a Charlotte based nonprofit whose vision and mission is to transform the lives of children and adults with developmental disabilities by providing education, employment and enrichment programs that promote inclusion, choice, family support, and other best practices.

For the past nine years, Marsh Charlotte has hosted Marsh Day, which is their annual day to give back to the community, and for the past five years has partnered with Lifespan.

Marsh Day provides Marsh colleagues along with colleagues from sister MMC firms Mercer and Oliver Wyman the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with each other along with partnering clients to complete various improvement projects at their Charlotte locations.

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Marsh employees also donate to a weekly “denim for dollars” kitty in which colleagues donate $5 each Friday to wear denim. Each month colleagues choose a local charity such as the Charlotte Rescue Mission, Charlotte Soup Kitchen, Petey’s Promise or Crisis Assistance Ministry who will receive these donations.

Mercer is personally involved with Trinity Episcopal School and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Foundation. He’s the new president of the city’s British-American Business Council. It promotes business investment from the United Kingdom to the Carolinas.

Mercer doesn’t mind if a great many people don’t realize these involvements, just as he’s not concerned that Marsh itself is largely anonymous in Charlotte.

“We’re kind of an unseen part of the real fabric of this community because of the corporate clients we support,” he says.

“We’re helping our corporate clients make their goals,” he sums up. “We’re helping them manage their risks, which are changing every day. And we’re among the few people with the latitude and the depth and breadth of resources to really address that.” biz Ellison Clary is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

Marsh USA Inc. [Charlotte Operations] 100 North Tryon St., Ste. 3200 Charlotte, N.C. 28202 704-374-8000; 800-662-1284 Company Headquarters: New York City Offices in North America: 65 Employees: 24,000 Revenues: Approaching $4.5 billion Charlotte Principal: R. Scott Mercer, Managing Director Charlotte Operations: Serves the Carolinas with approximately 100 employees; also oversees operation in Greenville, S.C. Parent Company: International insurer Marsh & McLennan Companies, headquartered in New York City, with revenues of $11 billion (2007), 55,000 employees, 400 offices worldwide, clients in over 100 countries.

NYSE: MMC Business: Global insurance broker and risk advisor, devoted to finding opportunity in risk; endeavoring “to navigate the global risk landscape, to see risk where others don’t and unlock opportunities others can’t.” www.marsh.com

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Background Illustration by Kyle T.Webster

(l to r) Larry Tilson President Lyman “Sandy” Welton Chairman and CEO Morehead Associates

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[bizprofile]

by ellison clary

y e v r u S Says…

Morehead Associates Uses Surveys, Research and Analysis for Strategic Assessment

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nhancing the bottom line by building employee commitment sounds simple but is hard to achieve. Morehead Associates uses scientific surveys and sophisticated analyses to help a company or organization pull it off.

The 36-person Charlotte firm does that for hundreds of clients, primarily in health care, as well as manufacturing and services financial services, utilities, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and retail.

Sandy Welton started Morehead Associates as a broad-ranging human resources consulting company in 1979, but changed it in 1991 into an entity that, he says, does one thing very well. “We conduct employee opinion research to help organizations align their human capital with their business performance,” he says.

After asking employees the right questions, Morehead uses the responses to tell a company or organization where to “fix” employee experiences and thereby enhance customer satisfaction and other business outcomes.

The survey questions, says marketing and corporate communications vice president Wanda Craig, fall in three “buckets” and are based on Morehead’s empirical model.

“You ask about the organization, about the manager and about fellow employees,” Craig explains.

Combined answers provide a holistic view of employees’ perceptions about the workplace.

Morehead helps a client build what Welton calls a dashboard, a gathering of critical determinants for success and measures of how human capital—employees—affects them. For example, a bank might track human resource metrics like turnover and employee engagement.

Morehead has a decided bent toward health care.Welton’s background helps explain why.

A native Charlottean, Welton spent a decade with non-profits in what today is called “community organizing.” He toiled on Manhattan’s lower east side for what became Communities in Schools and he co-founded the Vietnamese Children’s Fund. He’s long been concerned with race relations and calls Clarence Jordan, founder of an interracial community near Americus, Ga., a strong mentor.

Welton spent time in the 1970s with First Union Corporation, recruited by then-chairman Ed Crutchfield, to concentrate on changing work force culture. !

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PROFILE/SETTING

HELP

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Welcome Ellen

Documents PDF/Print Center Action Planning

Your Results

Overall > 2008

based on 2516 Averages are blue. are shown in

Overall

responses and Print this report

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ration Overv

Results Explo Entities Entity Main Campus

Medical Practice Groups Medical Center Rehabilitation Centers

3.97 Number Responding 658 173 1134

291 260

Organizational Domain 3.96 4.02 3.96 4.01 3.99

3.67 Manager Domain 3.96 3.94

3.98 3.69

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4.02 Employee Domain

4.01 Commitment Indicator 4.02

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MANAGER DOMAIN

ORGANIZATION DOMAIN

MANAGER DOMAIN

EMPLOYEE DOMAIN

ORGANIZATION DOMAIN

“I knew I didn’t want to become a banker and that’s whyEMPLOYEE I didn’t stay,” says Welton. “I wanted to DOMAIN do something more specifically that spoke to me.

That’s what Morehead became.”

Clientele Samplings With its focus on health care, Morehead regularly monitors and assesses health care delivery on behalf of various entities.

“Health care is not what it should be in this country,” Welton says, “and yet health care is very expensive here. So there’s a huge challenge for everyone whose task it is to try and change health care. We’re very pleased to play a role in that.”

Charlotte’s Carolinas HealthCare System appears on the Morehead client list that includes 42 percent of U.S. News & World Report “Honor Roll Hospitals.”

Morehead’s client list also boasts Harris-Teeter, the Matthews-based supermarket chain. “We want to help them do a better job of delivering better food,” Welton says.

In manufacturing, Morehead has helped numerous textile firms, but not so many today because of the industry’s decline. Currently on Morehead’s manufacturing client

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ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT

ENHANCED BUSINESS OUTCOMES

Morehead’s WORKFORCE COMMITMENT MODEL assesses commitment and its key drivers, gauging employee attitudes toward three primary levels: organization, manager, and employee. These domains ATTITUDE significantly impact the AND employee’s level of commitment.

ENHANCED BUSINESS OUTCOMES

BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT

roster is General Dynamics. rate in terms of satisfaction and importance. Some Morehead serves clients nationwide. It has a examples: “The person I report to treats me with number of local clients as well, and the southrespect.” “Employees’ actions support this organieast has become a big growth area in the last zation’s mission and values.” “I am satisfied with two years. the recognition I receive for doing a good job.”

A sampling of its products includes surveys To determine what to ask and what to do about related to work force commitment, physician the results, each client is assigned a senior consulengagement, reasons for leaving, turnover vulnertant from Morehead who is typically an industrial/ 1. Attractpsychologist & ability, diversity analysis and change readiness. organizational at the doctoral level.

Recruit Morehead takes on firms of all sizes, says Working with that consultant is a project manager Welton, but the average client has and a team of specialists. about 5,000 employees. Cur“There are three things we 1. Attract & Recruit rently, its largest client has a focus on,” says Larry Tilson, 60,000-person work force. who joined Morehead in Yet Morehead has helped 2001 as vice president of smaller companies as marketing and in 2008 4. Transition 2. Onboard or Exit well, some as small as became president. He 100 employees. lists the survey, fol4. Transition 2. Onboard lowed by the informa“I am not sure of or Exit the exact number of tion from the survey people we’re surveyboiled down to some ing annually, but it’s meaningful metrics, 3. Align, somewhere between a and finally, the most Develop half-million and a milimportant, the solutions. & Retain 3. Align, Develop lion across the country,” & Retain Welton adds.

Morehead's WORKFORCE COMMITMENT SURVEY reduces the uncertainty in managing The surveys actually use statehuman capital and provides insights for aligning, ments which employees are asked to

EMPLOYMENT LIFECYCLE

EMPLOYMENT LIFECYCLE

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“The solutions are the consulting that goes on around that data with senior management, helping them understand how to respond,” Tilson says.

Getting Real Results Morehead operates with two cardinal rules for the process that typically takes six months. “One, share the results with everyone. Two, construct an action plan for afterward,” Welton says. “Everyone needs to take these results and say, ‘Now, what are we going to do about them?’”

Craig recalls a health care organization with overall employee results that weren’t particularly bad, but the employees were dissatisfied with their retirement plan. The entity put together employee forums and subsequently made significant changes to the plan. Employee participation quickly jumped from 18 percent to 65 percent. Concurrently, the organization markedly improved its overall performance scores against its national peer group.

“We conduct employee opinion research to help organizations align their human capital with their business performance.”

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Yale New Haven Health System, a part of Yale University, has worked with Morehead for more than a decade, according to Kevin Myatt, its senior vice president of human resources.

In April and May 2008, Morehead conducted a complete employee opinion survey for the system’s three locations encompassing 13,000 employees. The system is using the results to address areas of concern with operating unit supervisors and managers, urging development of action plans for improvement.

“We appreciate Morehead’s level of service, their familiarity with products, and their willingness to run specialized reports the way we need to have them run,” says Myatt. “They’re really tailored to meet our needs and they are very customer-focused.”

By contrast, Welton readily admits Morehead sometimes encounters ugly situations.

He remembers two instances where survey responses were so negative that company executives buried them.

“We don’t really want to do a survey with someone if they’re not going to share the results with the employees,” he says. “It’s !

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20

an organization. In the industry, it’s called “embeddedness,” Tilson says.

Measuring those factors for a client, Morehead can predict where it might be at risk of losing employees.

That emphasis on why employees stay is new and valuable, Tilson says.

“Once you know that, you can begin to look at what’s going on in your organization and be proactive rather than reactive.”

Morehead’s DECISION SUPPORT MODEL delivers metrics with speed Welton picks up the and clarity. It provides knowledge for informed decisions that drive theme of using statistical business outcomes. analysis very creatively for counterproductive. It’s why people have cynical unusually good results. “It’s a dynamic field,” he attitudes about employee opinion surveys.” says. “Today, our clients will buy multiple products and services whereas 10 years ago they were buying one product and that was ‘How satisfied “We appreciate Morehead’s are our employees?’” level of service, their familRemembering his roots, Welton feels many clients, in a de facto way, seek to build a socially iarity with products, and just organization. “The concept,” he says, “is their willingness to run whether everyone who works here is going to be specialized reports the way treated as valuable as opposed to being treated as we need to have them run. someone we can use and throw away.”

That marks a difference between what Morehead offers and the typical employee surveys of decades past, he says. He uses the term “rearview mirror” to describe older-style assessments that reported to management: “Here’s what you have been like, based on what employees said, so here’s your good news and bad news about what they think of you.”

Morehead goes far beyond that by using advanced statistical techniques and other lessons learned through the years. Indeed, Craig calls what the company does a science.

Tilson picks up on that. “It’s a science in that we know what to measure,” he says. For hospitals, for example, Morehead uses advanced statistical methods such as structural equation modeling to look at employee behaviors that drive positive outcomes for patients. “You’re allowing the client to increase the probability of an outcome,” Tilson explains.

Another way Morehead uses research, both its own and what is available in the field, is to identify factors that cause employees to stay with

Setting a Good Example Operating in 10,000 square feet in a former warehouse on West Morehead Street, Morehead boasts several progressive internal practices.

“We’re an open book company,” Welton says, explaining that every employee can see all financial details except individual salaries. Further, there are no executive perks. Welton has devised his own program for employee ownership, and shares of the firm are available for everyone within a year of employment.

“It’s not a gift, because I consider it earned,” Welton says. “But you don’t pay for it. It’s performance-based.”

Morehead has invested heavily in technology. “Three years ago,” Tilson says, “we made the decision strategically that technology was no longer a back office, peripheral system. It had to be moved to the forefront and merged with our science for our value to be sustained. We did begin investing and have a proprietary technology platform that gives us a lot of flexibility.”

Welton stresses work-life balance, in contrast to many consulting firms that keep key personnel on the road from Sunday night until Friday evening. Yet he does value a strong work ethic. “It’s management’s job not to abuse that,” he says.

Now 64, Welton last year made Tilson, 51,

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president and put him in charge of Morehead’s daily activity.

“It was a pretty big deal for me,” Welton says.

“I was chairman, CEO and president for 29 years.

I think Larry is a wonderful person for this time and for the future of Morehead. Everyone in this organization respects Larry. They trust him.”

Tilson names Welton as his mentor, acknowledging that Welton taught him a bias for action.

“I lean a little bit on the analytical side. There comes a point when you stop analyzing and act.”

Welton calls Tilson “a genius model builder,” praising his acumen for building the processes and business models for the firm.

“We’re a fast-growing company,” says Welton, citing a 23 percent annual revenue growth from 2006 through 2008. Given the recession, that could drop to 15 percent this year. Still, he projects Morehead will double its size in four years.

Geographic expansion is likely. Morehead already operates a small office in San Francisco, reflective of a strong west coast client base. Welton wants a presence in Chicago and New York and maybe other strategic spots.

But expansion won’t be haphazard. Showing his analytical affinity, Tilson says the firm will be deliberate in building its capability and size. He emphasizes careful growth.

“That transition from a small, entrepreneurial company to a more fully managed, mature company,” he says, “that’s been something we’ve been very focused on in the last couple of years.” biz Ellison Clary is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

Illustrations provided by Morehead Associates.

Morehead Associates, Inc. 1410 West Morehead St., Ste. 100 Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Phone: 704-522-0776; 800-849-2292 Principals: Lyman “Sandy” Welton, Chairman and CEO; Larry Tilson, President Founded: 1979 Employees: 36 Representative Clients: Carolinas HealthCare System, Harris Teeter, General Dynamics, Movado Group Inc., Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Assurant Group, Blue Cross Blue Shield, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Assurant, Continental Business: Delivers human capital surveys, metrics and solutions to help leaders make better decisions, retain talented employees, and drive the performance of critical outcomes. www.moreheadassociates.com

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Photo: Wayne Morris

Dr. Peter C. Gorman Superintendent Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

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by ellison clary

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CMS SUPERINTENDENT INTENT ON IMPROVING STUDENT PERFORMACE

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e presides over one of the nation’s largest public school systems, but Dr. Peter Gorman employs a simple measure of success.

Did Susie have a good day at school?

The superintendent of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) calls that a performance referendum “that goes on every day in every one of our homes.”

Parents say to him most frequently, “All I want you to do is match my child’s needs and help them grow educationally.”

Gorman believes the answer to that simple question is positive more often for the 137,000 students in Pre-K through 12th grade. With 174 schools, CMS ranks in the top 25 in size.

The Pace of Improvement “For the National Assessment of Education Progress, the nation’s report card, we’re the highest scoring large system with an urban core in the nation,” he says. “For our SAT scores, we’ve come from being 17 points behind the state to being equal with the state.”

But he quickly voices frustration that academic achievement isn’t improving fast enough. “Every student should have that minimum one year’s growth in one year’s time,” he says. “Understand you’ve got to have that growth happen exponentially for some kids to catch up.”

By example, he says, a seventh-grader who tests at secondgrade levels can’t close the gap by growing 1.1 grades a year.

The pace of improvement seems an obsession for Gorman, who took the top job at CMS in mid-2006 and who aspires to lead it for at least a decade.

Perhaps his biggest obstacle is funding, particularly in recessionary times. As he participates in a this interview, he has recently announced budget cuts from a state mandate to pare $5.3 million in funds it provides to the system’s $1.2

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billion budget.

That’s only .75 percent of the state allocation, says Gorman, adding he wants to make initial cuts as painless as possible.

Then he mentions a letter from Harry Jones, Mecklenburg County manager, asking him what a 5 percent reduction in state and county money would mean.

“That’ll be $17.5 million,” Gorman calculates. “Just to offer the same services next year, our county piece will need to go up $20 million. We’re opening six new schools next year. We have the average inflationary costs like everyone else.”

Since few want less money to impact the system’s 19,000 employees or to spark cutbacks at schools, the system must operate more efficiently.

Gorman believes that is happening.

Though the system includes more than 20 million square feet of space, compared to 8.5 million !

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in 1985, it employs a smaller great. He lists several factors. maintenance staff today. MainAmong them, society doesn’t or the National Assessment of Education tenance people simply work hold teachers in the esteem smarter, he says. they once enjoyed, and some Progress, the nation’s report He’s proud of a reduction in the Charlotte area residents view card, we’re the highest scoring cost to build a new school—from the public system as dysfunclarge system with an urban $136 to $132 per square foot. tional. Difficult economic core in the nation.”

Meanwhile, the system is paying times mean a teacher’s spouse ~Peter Gorman more attention to constructing may be concerned about a Superintendent schools with environmentally career, possibly with a bank friendly precepts such as emphathat is trimming payroll. sizing natural light and using Still, many teachers and renewable materials. principals believe they are CMS is on its way to reducing doing what they should be mobile classrooms by 15 percent doing, he says. by 2011, mainly by opening new The system’s quality of teaching is improving, He thinks CMS is building schools. That pace is sustainable, Gorman says, as Gorman says, for several reasons. Recruiting and community faith in its performance. “I believe in long as sales of bonds in the $516 million issue vothiring has been enhanced by the economic bind choice for parents,” Gorman professes. “I want us ers approved in 2007 remain on track. that has hit the Midwest and Northeast harder than to be good enough that parents consider us. In “We’ve not raised our meal prices for our stuthe Carolinas. “We’ve found more teachers coming the majority of cases, I think they do.” dents’ lunches in eight years,” he adds. “Yet we had to us,” he says. “Our volume has increased and our a $12 million surplus last year. And in eight years, quality has increased.”

No Child Left Unimproved food and production costs have gone up, yet the Better principals are also a factor, says Gorman, Still, he recognizes that numbers point to a premeals per employee produced have gone up to who has replaced a quarter of those he inherited ponderance of students from poverty-level homes. balance that.” and has another 40 retirement-eligible.

“We’re up to 48 percent free and reduced“I’ve never seen a great school with a poor price lunch,” he says, “yet the county is in the Hard Times Impact Goals principal,” Gorman maintains. “Great schools 20s for percentage that live in poverty. That tells Still, Gorman admits that hard financial times have great principals.” me we’re losing market share in areas that are will have an impact on seven ambitious goals he set Early on, CMS negotiated with Winthrop less-impoverished. in late 2006. Their achievement target was 2010.

University to tailor a graduate school curriculum “I don’t have a concern about teaching kids in “We’ve decided we’re going to hunker down that leads to a master’s in school administration. It poverty,” he continues. “But we should more closely on the first two,” he says. Those are increasing accepts 25 top teachers each year. mirror the community.” student learning and building a more effective In December, CMS won a partnership with What does concern Gorman are newly minted instructional staff.

New Leaders for New Schools, a nationally teachers who aren’t equipped for special challenges He’s quick to add that, even with budget conrecognized non-profit that helps educators and of children living in poverty. “We’ve got kids who straints, the other five goals that include an emphanon-educators alike become successful principals go home and don’t have dinner,” Gorman says. sis on safe and orderly schools must receive some in high-need schools. Those chosen must have “People just aren’t prepared for that.” attention. If violent campus some classroom experience, but can come from Students’ racial breakdown is 41.8 percent incidents scare parents and non-profits, corporations or the military, as well as African-American, 33.7 percent Caucasian and students, for instance, from school systems.

15.5 percent Hispanic. Some schools are easily then learning is likely to “We’ve got a lot of vacancies coming up,” Goridentifiable by race. suffer. man says. “I want the best group of folks.”

Gorman cites a strong push for neighborhood Gorman calls CMS morale good but not schools accompanied by a robust desire for diversity in classrooms. He says he participates regularly in discussions about

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how to balance both. of the Tustin (Cal.) Unified School District with most anytime.

Gorman is friends with Arne Duncan, the for20,000 students. He and wife Sue, whom he met Another way he could leave is if Education mer Chicago Public Schools superintendent who at Michigan State University, decided they wanted Secretary Duncan invited him to Washington, a is President Obama’s secretary of education. He to be involved with a large system. They visited request he would consider. “Arne’s not asked,” he believes an early hurdle for Duncan is reauthoboth Charlotte and Las Vegas and chose Charlotte. quickly adds. rization of the “No Child Left Behind” program.

He calls his parents Dave and Joyce Gorman Gorman wants to stay in Charlotte long Calling himself a program advocate, Gorman major influences as he was growing up in Dearenough to see if measures he’s initiated generexplains what he calls his “biggest beef” with it: born, Mich., the middle of three brothers. His ate lasting positive results. “You don’t get to call The program mandates a child should read on the dad, a Ford Motor Company executive, emphaanything a success until you know when you’re seventh-grade level if he or she is in the seventh sized options and choices. gone, it sticks around,” he says. grade. But it doesn’t take into account dramatic “If you make decisions and leave yourself “We made a lot of promises,” he adds, citimprovement, such as with a student who begins options,” his father told him, “you control which ing the campaign for the successful bond issue seventh grade at a second-grade reading level and, direction you go.” of 2007. For the inevitable next bond drive, the during the year, improves to mid-year sixth grade.

A strong mentor of Gorman’s is Tim Quinn, CMS goal is to campaign on “Promises made, By a “No Child Left Behind” measure, West founder and president of Michigan Leadership promises kept,” he says.

Charlotte High School Principal John Moderhaps the biggest obstacle is funding, particularly in recessionary est’s widely recognized academic improvetimes. Gorman has already announced budget cuts from a state ment efforts are clasmandate to pare $5.3 million in funds it provides to the system’s $1.2 sified as a failure, even billion budget. though he has brought the school from 39 percent of students performing on grade level to Institute. Quinn also is managing director of Ending his interview, Gorman adds a last 61 percent.

The Broad Center for the Management of School sentiment. “I don’t think this job is doable for a Gorman recently received encouragement Systems and the national Broad Urban Superinperson who has a family without the complete on the performance of West Charlotte High tendents Academy. Gorman calls Quinn often to support of their family,” he says. “My family from an unlikely source. Superior Court Judge sound out ideas. makes sacrifices, and they do it willingly, and I Howard Manning, who in 2005 threatened to “What I really like is, he never tells me anycouldn’t do my job without Sue and Katie.” biz Ellison Clary is a Charlotte-based freelance writer. close West Charlotte and three other low-perthing,” Gorman says of Quinn. “He asks me forming CMS high schools, dialed Gorman’s cell questions to help me find the path on my own.” phone with praise.

Quinn succinctly lists Gorman’s attributes as “He told me how proud he was of the Charnative intellect, integrity as a human being, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools lotte-Mecklenburg Schools,” Gorman smiles. “He passion for serving kids.

Education Center in particular cited West Charlotte.”

“He takes a business-like approach to an 701 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. organization that doesn’t customarily run like Charlotte, N.C. 28202 Direction Early On one,” Quinn adds. “The work he has initiated in Phone: 980-343-3000 Gorman decided in college he wanted to terms of system-wide accountability in Charlotte Principal: Dr. Peter C. Gorman, Superintendent be an educator. He rose through the is as good as any I’ve seen around the country, Operating Budget (2008-09): $1.19 secondary education ranks from eleand I’ve been really interested in that.” billion mentary teacher to superintendent “We tell folks we’ve got to deliver our message Employees: 19,485 with clarity, context and candor,” Gorman says.

Full-time teachers: 9,363 He mentions the December reports customized Number of Schools: 174 for each school and sent to all parents. “We’re Enrollment: 137,180 proud of the progress reports for the majority of 2008 Graduates: 6,731 our schools,” he says.

Distinction: Thirteen CMS high schools At 44, Gorman plans to run CMS were ranked among America’s top 900 for years to come. Once 9-year-old out of more than 27,000 high schools daughter Katie completes high surveyed by Newsweek magazine (2007). school in CMS, he might make Two CMS high schools—Myers Park and a change. Meanwhile, an oftenHarding University—were among the top fractious school board could 100, coming in at 29th and 58th, respecsack him with severance tively. Newsweek’s ranking “recognizes schools that do the best job of preparing average students for college.” www.cms.k12.nc.us

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[biz ealth]

Making Healthy Work and Lifestyle Choices

REDUCE STRESS AT WORK

2008 National Health Rankings

North Carolina Overall National Rank: 36th Change: (no change from 2007) Strengths: • Low prevalence of binge drinking • Low occupational fatalities rate Challenges: • High prevalence of smoking • High prevalence of obesity • High percentage of children in poverty • High infant mortality rate Significant Changes: • In the past year, the prevalence of obesity increased by 8% • In the past five years, the percentage of children in poverty increased by 28% • Since 1990, the rate of uninsured population increased by 37% • Since 1990, the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease decreased by 29% (www.americashealthrankings.org)

Employer-Sponsored Workouts Boost Workers’ Health

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Your job can be a great source of stress, which can significantly impact your physical and emotional health.

The AARP offers these suggestions for handling stress on the job: • Set up regular evaluations and meetings with your manager to establish expectations, goals and discuss your workload.

• Build your prioritization and time management skills, so that you avoid having to always work overtime, or take work home with you. Allow yourself free time away from work to relax and do things you enjoy.

• Take advantage of any flexible work schedules, long lunch breaks and exercise opportunities that your employer offers.

• Don’t check e-mail or answer work-related calls at home, unless it can’t be avoided.

• Recognize when it’s time to look for another job if your current one is causing significant stress and unhappiness.

(AARP; HealthDay News)

Consumer Health Care Out-of-pocket Expenses Up Due to slower spending on prescription drugs, health care spending in the United States grew at the lowest rate in a decade in 2007 according to a federal report. Yet despite the slowdown, most health care costs continue to rise, with consumers’ outof-pocket expenses having increased 40 percent in the last 10 years, largely due to an aging population and chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

In a recent report, researchers from the Maryland-based Center for Health Policy and

ncouraging your workers to work out works according to a recent study.

Home Depot employees who participated in a company-sponsored program to support workers in setting exercise goals notably increased their levels of moderate or vigorous physical activity.

For three months, 1,442 participants set weekly personal and team physical activity goals and reaped incentives for meeting them. After six weeks, slightly more than half of the participants did at least five 30-minute moderate exercise sessions or two 20-minute vigorous exercise sessions weekly—up from about 30 percent at the study’s start. Meanwhile, only 25 percent of those in a control group of non-participants logged similar exercise sessions.

Throughout the study, the participants maintained their increased levels of activity, and few people dropped out.

“The biggest pleasant surprise was the steady and sustained progress.

That can probably be explained by the social incentives and support from personal goals and achievements that had direct impact on team success,” study lead author Rod Dishman, a professor of exercise science

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Research, Social and Scientific Systems found that consumers’ out-of-pocket expenses for health care continued to increase at a fast clip. Average annual out-of-pocket spending increased from $427 in 1996 to $741 in 2005. The out-of-pocket increase owed largely to the increase in chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, particularly among baby boomers and older adults, according to Kathryn Paez, lead author of the study.

(HealthDay News)

at the University of Georgia, said in a news release issued by Health Behavior News Service.

Key to the program’s success may have been the use of group and organizational goal-setting along with individual goals, because they provide vital peer encouragement, Katherine Alaimo, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, said in the same news release.

“Personal and team goals work best when they are self-set, specific about how much activity and when, realistic but attainable and easily assessed, such as by weekly logs or pedometer steps,” Dishman added.

(American Journal of Preventive Medicine, news release, Jan. 6, 2009; HealthDay News)

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Making Healthy Work and Lifestyle Choices

Dealing With Heartburn

2008 National Health Rankings

That burning, uncomfortable feeling in the chest after a big meal, lying down or eating certain foods is known as heartburn. Heartburn occurs when acid from the stomach backs up into the esophagus.

The American Academy of Family Physicians says the following foods can trigger or aggravate heartburn: •Coffee and other products with caffeine, carbonated drinks and alcohol.

•Citrus fruits, onions and chocolate.

•Tomato-based foods.

•Peppermints and other mint-flavored products.

•Fattening or spicy foods.

Avoiding foods and beverages that trigger your symptoms is paramount, but you can also do other things to prevent the onset of heartburn, the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse says: •If you are overweight, come up with a plan to lose those extra pounds.

•Don't smoke.

•When you lie down, make sure your head is about 6 inches higher than your feet.

•Don't lie down for at least two hours after you eat.

•Take an antacid.

(HealthDay News)

HEALTHY HEART!

Wine could benefit the heart, but only in moderation. Having a single glass of red wine each day could help the heart, according to the U.S. Library of Medicine.

The flavonoids found in red wine (also in grapes and grape juice) are thought to be the heart-healthy components.

Women, however, should consume no more than one drink each day, and no more than two drinks each day for men, says the NLM, which equates a drink of wine to four ounces’ worth.

Other ways to help boost heart health include getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, avoiding tobacco, and maintaining a proper body weight.

(HealthDay News)

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[biz ealth]

South Carolina Overall National Rank: 48 Change: 42 in 2007 Strengths: • High immunization coverage • Low prevalence of binge drinking • Moderate per capita public health funding Challenges: • Low high school graduation rate • High violent crime rate • High infant mortality rate Significant Changes: • In the past year, the incidence of infectious disease decreased by 11% • In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty increased by 35% • In the last five years, the rate of uninsured population increased by 36% • Since 1990, the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease declined by 31% (www.americashealthrankings.org)

Feel Better by Looking Good If you’re sick, don’t ignore your appearance. Even if you have a long-term illness, improving your appearance can help you feel better, the American Cancer Society says.

The ACS offers the following suggestions for improving the way you look (and feel): • Take time to shave, wash and fix your hair or put on a wig or toupee, and put on makeup. Do this if you’re at home, even in bed.

• Get new clothes or tailor your old ones to fit better.

• If you’re able and it’s okay with your doctor, treat yourself to a massage,

facial, pedicure or manicure.

• Try to get as much exercise as you can each day. Even a brisk walk, if approved by your doctor, can do wonders toward making you look and feel better.

• Keep brushing and flossing your teeth regularly, and get dental checkups.

• Be sure to get enough sleep.

(HealthDay News)

HELP MANAGE BACK PAIN: KEEP MOVING When you begin to feel back pain, resist the urge to stay in bed for a prolonged period.

It’s better to remain active, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC).

As long as you don’t have a serious underlying medical problem that’s causing your pain, the UMMC offers these suggestions for how to tame it: • For the first few days, take it easier, but only for a few days. After that, gradually become more active until you’re back to your regular routine.

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• Apply either heat or ice to your sore back—whichever feels better.

You can also alternate between the two, starting with ice for the first two or three days, followed by muscle-relaxing heat beginning the next day.

• If it’s okay with your doctor, take an over-the-counter pain reliever such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

• Take a warm bath before bed to soothe your back and help you sleep.

• Sleep with a pillow between your legs (if on your side), or under your knees (if on your back).

(HealthDay News)

This section is intended to highlight healthy work and lifestyle choices for area businesses and their employees. This month’s content provided

by Carolinas Healthcare System. For more information on any of these subjects, please contact Betsy Hayden at 704-446-8400 or betsy. hayden@carolinashealthcare.org or visit www.carolinashealthcare.org.

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Terry Broderick Dean McColl School of Business Queens University of Charlotte

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by janet kropinak

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!/:;!"%/ 0*/$<%!= THE MCCOLL SCHOOL GIVES STUDENTS TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCES WITH REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS

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ocusing leadership development around the 3Cs—competence, character and commitment to community, the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte helps individuals prepare for their future success by sharpening their judgment and heightening their awareness of management realities.

At the helm of the school is Dean Terry Broderick who is working hard to cultivate tomorrow’s leaders by engaging the faculty, students and community and creating a place of ideas where transformational experiences with real-world applications happen.

The McColl Advantage When Terry Broderick retired from his position as CEO of Royal & SunAlliance in 2002, he continued his involvement with the McColl School of Business as a member of Queens’ board of trustees, an executive in residence and professional coach.

In early 2005, Queens’ President Pamela Davies (and former McColl School dean) asked Broderick to serve as interim dean while they conducted a national search for a permanent

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replacement. Five months later, Broderick was named dean of the McColl School, succeeding Peter Browning.

“I’ve been so energized by the opportunities this position has allowed me. I feel very privileged to be involved in something so important, where I am affecting and enriching the lives of those around me,” exclaims Broderick. “Queens has a rich history and a dynamic president who is really helping carry the business school forward.”

Davies’ respect for Broderick is shared. On naming him dean she remarked: “Terry’s leadership and connections with the local and regional business community will help bring us to new heights.”

Broderick is equally quick to praise the school’s faculty and staff for the success the McColl School has seen over the last few years. “We are fortunate to have a faculty and staff of extraordinary individuals who are available, accessible and approachable to students,” he says.

The McColl School has worked hard over the years to create a stimulating learning climate through talented program participants !

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and a well-qualified and skilled faculty. Broderick explains that the McColl School has been fortunate, but also deliberate, in attracting faculty who are passionate about developing people to their fullest potential as leaders in their organizations.

“Our professors focus on teaching first. That means they are dedicated to advancing your career, not theirs,” Broderick explains. “In every class discussion you find lively debates, challenging questions, and unique insights.”

Real business experience is a mandatory requirement for all McColl faculty members. “One responsibility of our faculty is to draw upon their real life business experience and marry that with the theoretical—creating a broader perspective for the students,” comments Broderick.

With a strong faculty in place, Broderick says the other piece to the puzzle is finding the right students. The McColl School seeks persons of extraordinary energy and ability who, because of their intellect and character, will attain positions of leadership and high responsibility in the world of commerce and practical affairs.

Because nearly 90 percent of McColl’s graduate students are currently employed, Broderick explains, “We’ve done everything in our power to make the program accessible to business folks looking to achieve a higher degree.”

changed my outlook and thinking about life, my surrounding, and society.”

The McColl Executive MBA program was initiated in 1990 and is the only EMBA program in the Charlotte region. From the start, the program has aimed to deliver a dynamic and practical development experience for mid to senior level managers.

Rod Rauch, COO of Price Brothers, Inc., a Charlotte-based plumbing contractor, recalls his decision to enter the EMBA program: “I liked the fact that we would be studying case studies of actual ‘real world’ events, and in a class of individuals from all different professions that would allow me to learn from their experiences as well.”

He adds: “It also made a difference to me that I would be working alongside individuals who had jobs would be experiencing the same challenges on many fronts while going back to school.”

“I have taken a much deeper look at myself and what I can do more effectively in my job,” comments Rauch. “With the EMBA program you are not learning items for a test or for one semester, you are taking these lessons with you for life.”

And for those worried the benefits don’t outweigh the cost, he answers quickly: “Do it. Make the financial and time sacrifices necessary. The benefits will far exceed your expectations.”

“In particular, the faculty and staff,” Rauch continues. “These are individuals who have experienced success and accomplishments in the corporate world that have the incredible ability to share from their backgrounds while challenging you to expand your boundaries.”

Another program offering, the McColl Master of Science in Organization Development initiated more recently, develops skilled change agents dedicated to improving personal and organizational performance through the utilization of behavioral science interventions in planned change efforts. The MSOD is a 36-credit hour program designed for working professionals who are interested in designing and leading organizational change.

The MSOD curriculum is particularly unique because it includes an emphasis on coaching and leadership development. Students have the opportunity to graduate with an M.S. in Organization Development and a Certificate in Coaching.

The Degrees “I was seeking three things in particular The graduate programs at the McColl from this program: academic knowledge, School include the Professional MBA an opportunity to practice new skills in a (PMBA), Executive MBA (EMBA), and the controlled environment, and networking recently created Master of Science in Organiopportunities,” explains MSOD student zation Development (MSOD).

Alan Barnhardt. “Our study of theories and The PMBA program has a strong comleadership models has confirmed principles mitment and unique approach to leaderthat I have employed and filled in gaps that ship development which includes access to I did not understand. Our assignments, our national and community leaders through the professors and our project partners allow Leaders in Action Lecture Series and Execuus to experiment without fear of serious Photomosaic featuring some notable alumni from the McColl School. tives in Residence program. Students also repercussions.” explore their own leadership philosophy “My experience at the McColl School of through individualized professional coaching “We work very hard at engaging students Business has been terrific. The faculty has to find ways to connect with the community encouraged me to push my personal expectaand a community leadership assignment.

Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Tri and get involved. These experiences are tions to higher levels,” Barnhardt continues.

Tiet says it was the small and intimate learnso important in helping a student discover “Our current economic times provide chaling environment the McColl School offered lenges and opportunities. The MSOD program who they are.” that sold him on the PMBA program. offers one of the best opportunities to polish ~Terry Broderick The flexible program is two to four years, skills in preparation for a leadership position Dean depending upon the number of credit hours during the economic recovery.” completed each term. Program start dates are The program is designed for the needs January, May, and September with courses meeting Participants complete the EMBA 20-month of working professionals and provides a flexible one evening per week. program with a class of professionals with parallel part-time, evening schedule. Students can finish Although he hasn’t obtained his degree just yet, levels of responsibility and experience. The onein as little as two years, or spread their courseTiet is already reaping the rewards from his deciday-a-week class schedule is designed to maximize work across multiple semesters to accommodate sion: “I’ve been exposed to the 3Cs and I’ve learned time with faculty and peers while minimizing time personal schedules and needs. that this program is more than just a degree—it has away from work and personal obligations.

“There is no question that the faculty and

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(left) Students gather outside the Sykes Building, home to the McColl School of Business. (right) Hugh McColl, the former Bank of America CEO and chairman and namesake of the School of Business, interacts with MBA students frequently.

staff at the McColl School of Business want to serve the community,” Barnhardt adds. “Their energy is infectious, their depth of knowledge vast, and their personalities open and welcoming. My investment in time and tuition is already generating healthy dividends.”

McColl’s offerings are not limited to its degree programs. Complimentary departments include the Executive Leadership Institute, which offers custom-designed programs to businesses to meet specific needs that integrate leadership development with a solid foundation of business fundamentals.

development plan which lays out a student’s goals for themselves. To help the students achieve this, they are aligned with a coach who encourages them to find their strengths and works with them on their weaknesses.

“If you are going to be an effective leader, you must understand character,” Broderick says simply.

The third C is commitment to community, which Broderick views as a cornerstone to the McColl School experience. “We work very hard at engaging students to find ways to connect with the community and get involved. These experiences are so important in helping a student discover who they are,” he explains. s these connections “One responsibility of our faculty is to draw upon “It’ and relationships that are their real life business experience and marry going to help carry them that with the theoretical—creating a broader forward once a degree has been obtained.” perspective for the students.”

Even with a strong ~Terry Broderick Dean foundation in place, Broderick is tentative Another facet of the school is the Leaders in about the impact of the economy. Broderick Action Lecture Series which hosts speakers who knocks on the table as he says the school hasn’t integrate business knowledge and leadership been hit by the current downturn. skills, focusing on competence, character and “We are very proud to say that our enrollment commitment to community. numbers for January were up,” he comments.

Broderick also makes mention of the Entre“We’re seeing a lot of people coming to us to help preneurial Leadership Circle (ELC), a group of them retool and build upon their portfolio and entrepreneurs who have embraced the McColl credentials. People are looking for ways to better School by providing support and counsel to its prepare themselves for an uncertain economy.” leadership, students and faculty. “Its goal is to With enrollment numbers holding strong, provide a link between the McColl School and the Broderick remains optimistic about what the future resources of the vibrant Charlotte business comholds for the school and its students. munity,” Broderick explains.

“We plan to continue to add to our faculty and staff as well as grow our student base,” he The 3Cs and More comments. But he is conscious of the fact that As Broderick explains the 3Cs, he describes providing students with an intimate setting is competence as having the necessary credentials part of the appeal of The McColl School and and skills to succeed. “Competence is essential promises this will remain true moving forward. for any good leader,” he adds.

Another commitment Broderick makes is The character component is the discovto maintain the school’s accreditation, which ery and development of self-awareness. Part includes the AACSB International, a distinction of the curriculum includes the creation of a that less than 5 percent of the world’s business

[

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schools attain.

Of the distinction, which the school earned in 2007, Broderick comments: “This accreditation is recognition of the continuing high quality of the McColl School programs and assures our students that they are receiving a business education that is on par with the education provided by the best business schools and programs in the world.”

By valuing diversity in thought, collaboration, risk-taking and the freedom from traditional constraints or paradigms, the McColl School has become a place of big ideas. With international recognition, a dedicated faculty and staff, and an embracing business community, the McColl School offers students much more than a degree…a lifetime experience. biz Janet Kropinak is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

Queens University of Charlotte McColl School of Business 1900 Selwyn Avenue Charlotte, N.C. 28274 Phone: 704-337-2525 Principal: Terry Broderick, Dean Degrees Awarded: 110 (2008) Programs: Professional M.B.A. (PMBA), Executive M.B.A. (EMBA), M.S. in Organization Development (MSOD), Coaching Certificate Program (CCP), Executive Leadership Institute (ELI); B.A. in Business Administration Business: School offers uniquely designed MBA programs. The signature leadership curriculum is part of both the Professional MBA program, which allows for a flexible parttime/evening approach, and the Executive MBA, which is a 20-month lock-step program with classes that meet one day a week on alternating Fridays and Saturdays. www.mccollschool.edu

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Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County - Mountain Island Branch Queens University of Charlotte - Sykes Building

UNC Wilmington - Cultural Arts Building & School of Education

Duke Mansion

UNC Charlotte - Robinson Hall

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by janet kropinak

[bizprofile]

N.C. State University - Venture Center

Davidson College - Duke Residence Hall

Diversified

DESIGN Jenkins-Peer builds a legacy

Fueled by a desire for independence, hands-on involvement with clients and financial security, Tyke Jenkins and Joddy Peer combined their vision and talent in 1978 to form Jenkins-Peer Architects. At 36 and 35 respectively, the ambitious duo set out to make their mark on Charlotte and to redefine “architectural firm” in their own terms.

From their office in Charlotte’s historic Tryon Plaza, a building they are currently renovating in the heart of Center City, Jenkins and Peer proudly tell the story of the firm they’ve created, the role it’s played in shaping Charlotte’s growth, and the team they’ve assembled to carry its legacy forward.

It was their aligned vision and complementary backgrounds that helped Jenkins-Peer get off the ground running. Both N.C. State graduates, Jenkins had a strong background in development while Peer had a focus on corporate and institutional design.

This combination created the diverse platform for the firm’s

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practice. Jenkins-Peer has designed projects throughout the Southeast including classrooms, science and research facilities, performing arts centers, libraries, office/retail, industrial/warehouse, multifamily residential and places of worship.

Strategic Transitions Both Jenkins and Peer chose Charlotte as the best location to grow an architectural firm, recognizing the city’s exponential growth and great potential.

As the firm grew in size and reputation, the partners also had the foresight to develop an ownership transition plan. Although not a common practice in architectural firms, it offered a significant advantage in hiring and recruiting talent.

Peer explains, “Architects are always bumping against the ceiling. We were looking to create a pathway for professional growth and an opportunity to share in the firm’s future.” !

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“We constantly strive to hire people with great have been able to remain architects and are proud potential,” chimes in Jenkins as he glances across to say their job entails much more than office the table at the firm’s newest partners, Ben Benson administration. “Our priority has always been to and Victor Jones. The two will take ownership of maintain the principals’ hands-on involvement,” the firm under the terms of a five-year transition says Peer. plan which was implemented in 2006.

Jenkins-Peer is also proud of their comSimilar to Jenkins and Peer, Benson and mitment to sustainable design, a concept they Jones are North Carolina-bred N.C. State graduhave practiced since 1983, long before the U.S. ates, however spent time with New York City Green Building Council developed their LEED firms after college; experience that Peer says has design criteria. benefited the firm.

Today, Jenkins-Peer practices the entire specBenson reflects back to what drew him to trum of sustainable design opportunities—from Jenkins-Peer nearly 15 years ago. “I found the site topography and building orientation, to sun work at Jenkins-Peer to be most in line with what I wanted to be doing,” he explains. “It felt like important work—work that was really making a difference.”

A few years later, Jones joined the firm after an extensive search throughout North Carolina. “I was taken with the urban environment Jenkins-Peer offered,” he recalls. “I felt that there was a real mutual attraction between myself and the firm; it was a natural fit.”

Jones continues: “Coming from New York City, Charlotte appealed to me because it’s truly (l to r) a developer-friendly city and a Joddy Peer place where you can thrive as a Tyke Jenkins regional architect.”

Victor Jones

Jenkins clarifies: “It is quite simple—quality without value isn’t really much of a value.” Thus the firm implements flexible design in each of their projects, providing for a cost-efficient project now and in the future when renovations may be necessary.

Diversified Portfolio Since the firm’s inception, Jenkins-Peer has been helping colleges and universities create environments that stimulate learning, incorporate the latest technology, and provide on-going flexibility to meet the future’s changing needs.

Their client list continues to grow and includes members of the North Carolina and South Carolina University Systems as well as private colleges and universities. The firm is currently active on projects for Central Piedmont Community College, Davidson College, N.C. State University, UNC Greensboro, UNC School of the Arts, and UNC Wilmington.

Recently Jenkins-Peer completed a renovation of Davidson College’s Chambers Building, the school’s main academic facility, which required a complex phasing plan implemented over a three-year period.

David Holthouser, director Ben Benson Partners Core Principles of facilities and engineering, Jenkins-Peer Architects Jenkins-Peer focuses its remarks on Jenkins-Peer’s hanbusiness practice around the dling of the project: “I was most principles of quality and cost impressed by the design and control, sustainable design, and construction team’s ability to diversification. devise four phases for the total Since the beginning, diversiproject, allowing the college fication has been a cornerstone to maintain occupancy of the of its practice, an approach they balance of the building durcredit with helping them weather “We will continue to build on our great client base. ing each phase. As Chambers the current economic downturn. is home to 75 percent There’s nothing more rewarding than doggedly pursuing Building “We’ve created a balance that of our faculty offices and acahas allowed us to get through diffi- what’s in the best interest of your client and being demic classrooms, and we had cult times,” Peer says. This balance appreciated for it.” few means of shifting those includes a mix of educational, functions elsewhere even tem~Victor Jones Partner corporate, cultural, residential and porarily. It was fundamental to industrial projects. keep a majority of the facility “A lot of our success is tied to our agility and angles and air circulation, to construction matein service throughout the project.” our ability to adapt to the marketplace,” Jones rials and methodology. Sustainability uses the Another notable project was the renovation adds. In addition to financial success, it also natural environment to enhance the built environof the 82-year-old Frank Thompson Building at affords a rich work environment for architects and ment, resulting in reduced operating costs over N.C. State. keeps the work interesting for everyone, includthe life of the facility.

“Planning for the renovation of an aged but ing the founding principals.

Perhaps the most compelling feature, though, venerable building was a complex and difficult By delegating management responsibilities of the firm’s practice is their promise of delivering task,” explains Alex Miller, associate vice chancelto senior members of the firm, Jenkins and Peer a quality product at an economical price. lor. “But Jenkins-Peer managed the process with

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great skill, ability and sensitivity. They preserved and respected the beauty and history of this wonderful building while designing spaces that will serve our needs in the future.”

In addition to educational facilities, JenkinsPeer has designed corporate offices, R&D centers and light manufacturing facilities for both Fortune 500 companies and prominent commercial developers. The 470,000-square-foot Venture Center complex on N.C. State’s Centennial Campus was the first public/private development in the Carolinas. This cooperative model is now being implemented on research campuses throughout the Carolinas and remains a strong component of Jenkins-Peer’s portfolio.

Although residential work represents a smaller sector of their business, Jenkins-Peer understands that, while their design style may vary widely, the significance of “home” remains constant. Whether it’s a high-rise condominium or a family vacation home, student housing or senior living, they design places that people enjoy going home to.

But for Jenkins-Peer Architects, one of the most rewarding areas of practice is their community and cultural projects, which connect to the spirit of our community in a variety of ways— through landmarks, libraries, museums, theaters, performance centers and places of worship.

After the successful completion of the Mountain Island Branch Library, a 16,000-square-foot facility that reflects the community’s relationship with the natural environment, the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County asked the firm to consult on its 10-year facilities plan.

Benson explains their role: “It’s interesting to be involved early-on in a project. An important aspect of our job is helping people plan for the future; this is part of our commitment to our clients.”

One of the most exciting projects Jenkins-Peer currently has underway is with the Wachovia/ Wells Fargo Corporate Investment Bank and the Wake Forest Babcock Graduate School of Management, which will share a 60,000-square-foot space on the third floor of the bank’s new 50-story Corporate Center.

Jenkins-Peer is working with both organizations to create state-of-the-art offices, classrooms and conferencing spaces. This collaborative, interactive and flexible environment will enhance creative, innovative teaching and learning with unparalleled technology and design.

The project has targeted LEED Gold

certification as part of a larger initiative to make the Corporate Center the largest LEED Gold-certified building between New York City and Atlanta.

Design for the Client Amidst the economic slowdown, the partners of Jenkins-Peer feel fortunate to be here in the Queen City and remain dedicated to helping the city and the region through these hard times.

With opportunities in other regions of the country more limited, Jenkins-Peer has witnessed a flood of firms competing for projects here in Charlotte and throughout the Carolinas. In spite of the increased competition, they remain optimistic and true to the design philosophy that has served as the firm’s foundation for over 30 years: design for the client.

The firm has worked hard over the years to maintain a strong client focus, avoiding any identifiable “Jenkins-Peer style.”

“One of the most important things for us to remember is that our job, first and foremost, is that we are designing for the client,” Jenkins affirms.

Peer echoes his thoughts: “It’s our job to help them quantify their vision, and the only way to do that is to understand what the tangible goals of the project are and do all the necessary research before we go to the drawing table.”

Davidson’s David Holthouser weighs in: “Jenkins Peer delivered premium service in their projects at Davidson College. They were very respectful of the existing campus’ architectural context, and designed projects for us that blend in and feel as if they have existed throughout time.”

On what the future holds, Jenkins and Peer defer to their younger counterparts: “We plan to keep an emphasis on our core principles,” answers Benson. “And we’ll continue to work hard to find good talent and reward them accordingly because they are the ones who are fueling the company’s growth.”

Jones chimes in: “We as a firm are committed to and invested in the Charlotte community and its future success.” He adds that the feedback received on a project and the contribution it makes to the community is what truly motivates any good architect.

“Our strength as a team comes from our common vision and values,” Benson adds. “Our strengths are very complementary, creating a cohesive working team. We appreciate the expertise and value that each brings to the table and

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work together on everything.”

Moving forward Jenkins-Peer will continue to offer total solutions to their clients, from planning to development and design, and vow to remain tenacious in a competitive market.

“We will continue to build on our great client base,” comments Jones. “There’s nothing more rewarding than doggedly pursuing what’s in the best interest of your client and being appreciated for it.”

And it appears this approach is paying off with their clients. Alex Miller weighs in: “It is with complete confidence that I can say any client would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Jenkins-Peer Architects.”

In fact, when asked about a favorite project, the partners answer enthusiastically and almost in unison: “The next one!” biz Janet Kropinak is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

Jenkins-Peer Architects, P.A. 112 S.Tryon St., Ste. 1300 Charlotte, N.C. 28284 Phone: 704-372-6665 Principals: Gerard W. (Joddy) Peer, FAIA, Founding Partner, Director of Design; Edward L. (Tyke) Jenkins, AIA, Founding Partner, Technical Director; Benjamin D. Benson, AIA, LEED AP, Partner;Victor A. Jones Jr., AIA, LEED AP, Partner Founded: 1978 Employees: Ranges from 15 to 25 2008 Billings: $3,200,000 Representative Clients: CPCC, Davidson College, Queens University of Charlotte, UNC Charlotte, Wake Forest University, The Duke Mansion, First Presbyterian Church, Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, Rack Room Shoes, Electric Power Research Institute, Pinnacle Properties, Crescent Resources, The Simpson Organization, Charlotte Country Club and Charlotte City Club.

Business: Architecture firm specializing in education, corporate, commercial, light industrial and residential projects. Services include programming, architecture, interior design, master planning, construction administration, sustainable design, and historic preservation. www.jenkinspeer.com

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[employersbiz]

Legislative and Regulatory Highlights for Area Employers

Recession forcing more companies to make changes to HR programs The number of companies implementing cost-cutting measures, including layoffs, hiring and salary freezes and smaller pay raises, rose sharply between October and December 2008, according to a recent survey by Watson Wyatt.

The survey conducted during the week of December 8, 2008, found that more than one in five companies (23 percent) plan to make layoffs in the next 12 months, and almost two in five (39 percent) have already done so—a sharp increase from only 19 percent of companies who had done so in October. The number of companies with hiring freezes jumped from 30 percent in October to 47 percent this month, with an additional 18 percent planning a hiring freeze in the next 12 months. Furthermore, the number of companies that have already implemented salary freezes jumped from 4 percent in October to 13 percent currently.

“As the economic downturn has both broadened and deepened, companies in almost every industry can no longer stay the course,” says Laura Sejen, global director of strategic rewards consulting at Watson Wyatt. “The need to contain costs has resulted in stronger measures that are ultimately affecting more workers.”

(CCH)

BASE PAY INCREASES - A COMPARISON OF NATIONAL AND LOCAL FINDINGS Every year The Employers Association (TEA) prepares a Wage & Salary Budget Adjustment Survey—a valuable snapshot of local salary practices in North and South Carolina. But how do local 2008 TEA Adjustment Survey findings compare to the national findings reported by WorldatWork 2008/2009 Salary Budget Survey, the Mercer 2008/2009 U.S. Compensation Planning Survey, and the Watson Wyatt 2008/2009 Global Strategic Rewards Survey?

Across the board, national surveys reported little change to be expected from actual 2008 to projected 2009 increases. TEA’s survey results show the Charlotte Metro area expects a slightly lower increase in 2009 projections though not drastically different from national expectations.

What factors might influence employers to keep base pay increases even or lower them?

Organizations may consider inflation, Consumer Price Index (CPI), unemployment rate, and market comparisons when making base pay decisions. Many employers are also focusing on incentive/ variable pay plans to competitively reward top performers.

Base Pay Increases: All Employees (US) Actual 2008 Projected 2009

TEA (local) 3.8% 3.6%

WorldatWork 3.9% 3.9%

Mercer 3.8% 3.7%

Watson Wyatt 3.5% 3.5%

Project 2009 Base Pay Increases: Employee Category (US) TEA (local) 2009 Proj.

Officers/Executives 3.7% Supervisory, Managerial & Profesionals 3.5% Office/Clerical/Technical 3.4% Production, Maintenance, Service 3.3%

WorldatWork 2009 Proj.

Executives 4.0% Exempt Salaried 3.9% Nonexempt Salaried 3.8% Nonexempt Hourly Nonunion 3.8%

Mercer Category 2009 Proj.

Executives 3.9% Management 3.7% Professional (incl. Sales) 3.7% Office/Clerical/Technician 3.7%

Employees cut back on health costs - for better or worse As health care costs continue to climb and the economy slumps, many employees are taking drastic actions to save money, according to a recent Watson Wyatt study called Employee Perspectives on Health Care.

In the workplace, only 19 percent of employees now (as opposed to 38 percent in 2007) are willing to pay higher premiums to keep deductibles and copays lower and more predictable.

In addition, 66 percent of employees are actively trying to improve their personal health, an increase of 4 percent from last year, the study notes. Only 16 percent of workers are enrolled in a company-run wellness program.

About 35 percent of employees also saved by purchasing lowercost drugs (a 7 percent increase from last year), while others took riskier measures. Seventeen percent of workers avoided doctor visits this year, while 40 percent only visited the doctor for serious conditions or symptoms (up from 35 percent last year).

The same percentage of employees who avoided doctor visits this year also didn’t fill a prescription or skipped doses of prescribed medicine, a significant increase from 2007, when only 13 percent neglected drug prescriptions.

“Workers will continue to look for avenues to save money in tight times,” says Cathy Tripp, national leader of consumerism at

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Watson Wyatt. “In the current financial climate, employers stand to gain from reinforcing messages on preventive care, wellness resources and the importance of following prescribed drug regimens. There are a number of behaviors that, if embraced today, will lead to substantial health cost savings in the long term,” she adds.

Meanwhile, steep health costs continue to force many workers to lessen their retirement savings plan contributions (13 percent).

About 20 percent of workers say their ability to save for retirement is hindered by today’s medical expenses.

“The health-wealth connection is more clear than ever, as pressures from high health costs continue to pose challenges to both companies and employees,” explains Tripp. “Open communication and clear, concise educational tools are effective ways to help employees realize the many steps they can take to manage costs without compromising care.” (EmployeeBenefitNews) 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 Charlotteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading business-to-business suppliers.

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[bizbits] FLOCKING FROM THE GREAT LAKES TO THE MID-ATLANTIC CONTINUES

waynemorrisphotography wayne@wmphoto.biz www.wmphoto.biz

704.545.7001

Editorial, Industrial Advertising, Corporate Architectural Interiors & Exteriors

According to United Van Lines’ 32nd annual migration study, people flocked to the Mid-Atlantic states this year while the Great Lakes states continued to watch residents leave.These results were obtained through United’s household shipment patterns over the past 12 months and showed the following: Top inbound migration states include: • District of Columbia (62.1%) • Nevada (59.2%) • North Carolina (58.2%) • Alabama (58.1%) • Wyoming (57.8%) • South Dakota (57.3%) Top outbound migration states include: • Michigan (67.1%) • North Dakota (58.9%) • New Jersey (58.7%) • Pennsylvania (58%) • Rhode Island (57.8%) • Illinois (57.2%)

High Inbound High Outbound Balanced

United has tracked shipment patterns annually on a state-by-state basis since 1977.

For 2008, the study is based on the 198,962 interstate household moves handled by United among the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. United classifies the states as “high inbound” (55% or more of moves going into a state), “high outbound” (55% or more of moves coming out of a state), or “balanced.”

Mid-Atlantic states came out ahead in 2008, with the District of Columbia (62.1%) reigning as the top destination, North Carolina (58.2%) capturing third place (dropping from the No. 1 spot in 2007) and South Carolina (56.4%) coming in as the seventh highest inbound state. And although it’s not considered a high-inbound state, Delaware (54%) showed signs of growth in 2008.

The historical data pulled from United’s

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[bizbits] migration study over the past 32 years shows an overall outbound trend for the Great Lakes region. Michigan (67.1%) again captured the top outbound spot, a title held since 2006.

Indiana (57%) also earned the distinction of being a high-outbound state, continuing a 15-year trend. Other Great Lakes states that made the high-outbound list were New York (55.1%) and Illinois (57.2%), both of which have been outbound states since the survey was established in 1977. (www.unitedvanlines.com)

BUILDING TRUST FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS We are Certified Public Accountants and business advisors to companies doing business here and

CHARLOTTE BBB 2008 YEAR-END 2008 REPORT

around the world.

In 2008, consumers filed 14,972 complaints against area businesses with the Better Business Bureau of Southern Piedmont, a modest 5% increase over the 2007 level of 14,180 complaints (which was a 25% increase over 2006).

For the second year in a row, 85% of these complaints were closed satisfactorily, thanks to businesses and consumers who worked with the BBB to resolve their disputes, according Tom Bartholomy, president and CEO. The average length of time it took the BBB to close a complaint in 2008 was 17 days from the date that the complaint was filed with the BBB, compared to 16 days in 2007 (and 19 days in 2006).

In 2008, the BBB provided consumers with 832,020 free Reliability Reports on area businesses which is a 71% increase over 2007’s total of 485,798 (which was a 72% increase over the 2006 total of 282,000). “In a down economy, consumers are making careful decisions and checking out businesses with the BBB first,” Bartholomy says.

201 South Tryon Street, Suite1500 Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 704.377.0239 • greerwalker.com

C E RT I F I E D P U B L I C A C C O U N TA N T S

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The top five types of businesses with the most complaints in this area in 2008 include:

MRS:TMR:URBB%

1) Home improvement 2) Auto dealers—new cars 3) Internet gaming 4) Auto repair and service 5) Auto dealers—used cars The BBB encourages individuals to be savvy consumers and to make informed, pre-purchase decisions so that they do not become victims of scams or contract with businesses that have a history of failing to address and resolve consumer complaints. (www.charlotte.bbb.org)

GREER & WALKER, LLP

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Advertising & Media The Stevie Awards for Women in Business named Charlotte’s Zander Guinn Millan a finalist among three firms for the category of Advertising Campaign of the Year.

Eric Mower and Associates has promoted Matt Ferguson to senior Matt Ferguson partner and partner-in-charge of the agency’s Charlotte office.

VantagePoint has promoted Kim Gillis to director, research and strategy, and Kristin Ambory to vice Kim Gills president, client services.

Larry Preslar has been named creative director for SPARK Publications.

Integraphx has hired Jessica Kristin Ambory Motsinger as Web designer.

Business & Professional Partners George V. Laughrun II and Michael J. Greene of Goodman, Carr, Laughrun, Levine, Murray & Greene, P.A. have been named among North Carolina’s Legal Elite by Business North Carolina magazine.

Ten Nexsen Pruet attorneys have been named in Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite.

Business North Carolina’s 2009 Legal Elite has named Lynn Chandler and Jonathan Heyl from Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP’s Charlotte practice.

Poyner Spruill LLP’s Mark Edwards and Jerry Parnell have been named among Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite 2009. Deborah Deborah Crowder Crowder and Jason James have been elected as new partners in the firm’s Charlotte office.

Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe and Garofalo, L.L.P. has named Jason James Tonya D. Jallow, Shannon P. Metcalf, and Harmony W. Taylor firm partners.

Owen Davis, managing director of U.S. operations for TrainingFolks, has been named 2009 president-elect of the Charlotte chapter of the American Society of Training and Development. The company has named Kate Banning as vice president of financial operations and Steve Davis as managing director, technology services.

Josh Jacobson has joined the Charlotte-based philanthropy Josh Jacobson

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[ontop] ©2008 Galles Communications Group, Inc.

consulting firm Vandever Batten as its first fulltime development associate.

Virginia Melvin has joined Environmental Service Systems as director of business development.

Regina Thackston has been hired as a legal assistant in the litigation department of The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo.

Rusty Campbell has joined Thompson Financial Group as a financial representative.

NETWORKING SERVICES

FieldStone Networking Services: Walt Fields at 704-560-4897 or Dwayne Stone at 704-560-4900 www.fieldstonenetworking.com

Construction & Design Clark Nexsen has been recognized as the Firm of the Year by the Charlotte Chapter of the Society for Design Administration, an Affiliate of The American Institute of Architects.

Hendrick Construction, Inc. has been awarded the 2008 Excellence in Construction Merit Award from the Carolinas Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. Sean P. DeLapp has been promoted to vice president and principal at WGM Design, Inc. Robert Napier of Thomas Building Company has been promoted to operations manager.

Scott Mickle has been named director of business development and marketing for LandDesign.

Jenkins-Peer Architects has added Steven J. Houser as a registered architect.

SfL+a Architects has hired John G. Ziebarth as project Steven Houser manager.

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Education & Staffing UNC Charlotte has been selected for a 2008 Community Engagement elective classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The Bernard Osher Foundation has awarded UNC Charlotte a $50,000 grant to create a scholarship program for nontraditional students.

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has been awarded a $250,000 grant from Duke Energy to help equip its cutting-edge biotechnology facility planned for the North Carolina Research Campus.

Clyde A. Higgs, vice president for business development with Castle & Cooke Inc., has been appointed to the Rowan-Cabarrus Community College board of Clyde Higgs trustees.

The Art Institute of Charlotte has

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[ontop] “your business development advisors”

“We’ve found Daniel, Ratliff & Company to be a key member of our team; not only helping us look back at where we’ve been, but also eager to help us look forward to where we’re going.” ~ J. Paul Solitario, Managing Partner Tobin Solitario Investment Banking

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appointed Dennis J. Fantaski and Ronald M. Puntil to the board of trustees.

David. W. Kraus, director of admission at Davidson College, has been elected to the Guidance and Admission Assembly Council of the College Board.

Jeff Anderson, development manger of diversity and inclusion for Bankston Partners, has been named the chairman of strategic planning Jeff Anderson for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Black Chamber of Commerce.

Engineering Engineering and consulting firm QORE Property Sciences has selected Robert M. Freda to head up the firm’s Charlotte operations.

Finance & Insurance Sandi O. Thorman, partner at Greer & Walker, LLP, has been appointed to serve as a member of PFK North American Network’s Women Into Leadership Task Force for 2009. Tony Smith, has been promoted to partner in the firm.

Elliott Davis, LLC has admitted Michael E. Collins to its shareholder group in the Charlotte office. Linda Fiel has been named a manager for the firm’s recently-expanded business valuation services.

Sandi Thorman

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Government & Nonprofit Spencer Lurders, founder and president of 24 Hours of Booty, Inc., has been recognized by the Charlotte Area Peace Corps Association for his contribution to the community.

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Health Care Carolina’s HealthCare System’s CMCMercy has been awarded the 2008 Silver Performance Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

The Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has awarded Rowan Regional Medical Center the Gold Seal of Approval accreditation.

Hickory’s Frye Regional Medical Center has been recognized for its service excellence through J.D. Power and Associates’ Distinguished Hospital program.

Carolinas Neurosurgery & Spine Associates has added Dr. S. Taylor Jarrell as a

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[ontop] neurosurgeon for the Ballantyne and Rock Hill locations.

Joel Bowman

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Manufacturing SouthWood Corporation has hired Joel Bowman to the design department and Matthew Wyatt as purchasing and project manager to the purchasing department.

Kee Auto Top Manufacturing Co. has named Karen Evans St. John president.

Real Estate Commercial/Residential The Women’s Council of the Home Builders Association named Brenda Gordon Woman of the Year.

WEICHERT, REALTORS – Rebhan & Associates has been honored with the WREA Public Relations Silver Scoop Award in recognition of the agency’s awareness of the value of communication to the public through the media.

Melanie McKelvey has been promoted to vice president of sales for Coldwell Banker United, Realtors’ Union County office. Phil Clarkson has been selected to head up the company’s University office as vice president of sales.

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Retail & Sports & Entertainment Case Handyman & Remodeling has been awarded the 2008 Angie’s List Super Service Award.

Eric Kuester has been promoted to director of national accounts for Pinehurst.

The Charlotte Symphony has appointed Mike Warner to vice president of development.

Green Rice Gallery has hired Bethany Hadden as a creative consultant.

Technology CC Communications, Inc. has earned a Gold Award in the 2008 international MarCom Awards competition.

NouvEON has received the Top Ten Growth Award from the Private Company Index (PCI) for the third consecutive quarter.

Shared Resources has added Bethany Howell Brant as an account executive. 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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[bizmarketing]

Maximize Marketing; Magnify Impact

Maximizing the Impact of Marketing Dollars Recessionary Times Magnify Opportunities 340

“When times get tough, companies have a knee-jerk tendency to start slashing and burning.

They lay off employees. They search for cheaper healthcare benefits and eliminate holiday bonuses.

They seek ways to reduce overhead and extraneous costs. Sometimes this crude surgery improves the health of the overall organization; more often it doesn’t.

“But in the thick of all the ‘bad economy’ clearcutting, there’s one business function that should never get the ax—and yet, it’s all too often the first victim: Marketing.”

That’s right, says Sharan Jagpal, Ph.D.: “To cut back on your efforts to market your products and services when people are already reluctant to buy is akin to corporate suicide.”

“In a recession, it’s harder to gain new customers, to convince existing customers to buy more, and to win back customers who have left,” says Jagpal, author of Fusion for Profit: How Marketing & Finance Can Work Together to Create Value. “So companies often need to be spending more money, not less. They just need to be smart about it.”

Recessionary periods present an unusual opportunity to actually magnify the benefit of dollars spent on advertising, increasing both short- and long-term profits and market share. Recessions clearly reward the aggressive advertiser and penalize the timid one.

Increasing Short- and Long-term Sales and Profits In a study of U.S. recessions, McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies from 1980 through 1985. The results showed that business-tobusiness firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth, both during the recession and for the following three years, than those that eliminated or decreased advertising. By 1985, sales of companies that were aggressive recession advertisers had risen 256 percent over those that didn’t keep up their advertising.

Comparison of Sales and Ad Expenditures

340 Recession Starts Here

300 260 220 180 140 100 60 Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Did not cut in Years 3 or 4 Cut in both Years 3 and 4

Year 5

Year 6

Cut in Year 2, but not in Year 3 Cut in Year 3, but not in Year 2

Sales for the companies studied were relatively even before the recession, but varied sharply during and after it. Companies that cut advertising during both of the recessionary years maintained flat sales during the period and only modest sales growth in the following two years. In contrast, the companies that maintained their advertising experienced significant sales growth throughout the four-year period. www.mactech.com:16080/ adsales/recession_marketing/

In analysis of the 1990-91 recession, Penton Research Services, Coopers & Lybrand, in conjunction with Business Science International, 340 found that better businesses focused on a strong marketing Recessionperforming Starts Here 300 program enabling them to solidify their customer base, take business

Recession Starts

from lessHereaggressive competitors, and position themselves for future growth during the recovery.

260 300 away

220 Increasing

Market Share The recessionary market can also provide an opportunity for businesses to build a greater share of market through aggressive advertising. This is accord140 ing to The Strategic Planning Institute of Cambridge, Mass. Correspondingly, 100 businesses that reduce media expenditures suffer loss of market share. It was 60 demonstrated that aggressive businesses can accomplish these gains through Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 greater expenditures without reducing short-term profitability.

180

Did not cut in Years 3 or 4 Cut in both Years 3 and 4

Cut in Year 2, but not in Year 3 Cut in Year 3, but not in Year 2

Comparison of Net Income and Ad Expenditures

340 Recession Starts Here

300 260 220 180 140 100 60 Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Did not cut in Years 3 or 4 Cut in both Years 3 and 4

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Cut in Year 2, but not in Year 3 Cut in Year 3, but not in Year 2

Cuts in advertising during a recession decrease net income over the long haul. Companies that maintained advertising during the recession enjoyed higher net income gains not only during the recession, but even more so, two years after the recession. This in stark contrast to those companies that cut advertising both years and significantly reduced their profits during the recession, and for years following. www.mactech.com:16080/ adsales/recession_marketing/

According to the CARR Report in 2001, businesses that aggressively increased media advertising expenditures during the last recession (only 25 percent of all businesses) increased their market share 2.5 times the average for all businesses in the post-recession period.

And a Cahners and SPI report in 2002 documented a 1.5 point increase in market share among businesses increasing ad spending during recessionary periods. However, the report illustrated that, in contrast, during economic expansion, although 80 percent of businesses increased their advertising spending, there was no improvement in market share simply because everyone had increased spending.

Now is the time to increase communications not cut it back.

Advertising in a recessionary period can skillfully reposition a product to take advantage of new buying concerns, afford the advertiser a stable image in a chaotic environment, and provide the advertiser the chance to dominate the advertising media.

Conclusion A series of six studies conducted by the research firm of Meldrum & Fewsmith showed conclusively that advertising aggressively during recessionary periods not only increases sales but increases profits. It is a fact that has held true for all post-World War II recessions studied by American Business Press starting in 1949.

Overheard from an old pro, “When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise.”

Materials compiled from a variety of sources, including: America Business Media, ARS Group, McGraw-Hill Research, McKinsey & Company, Penton Research Services, Coopers & Lybrand.

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