GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES
YE AR !
A spotlight on Chamber members that provide services and products to seniors and their familes.
EW N Y HAPP
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BUSINESS WWW.CARLSBAD.ORG
JOURNAL
VOL. 31, NO. 1
Details released for Chamber's 1920s celebration The television. Movies with sound and in 3-D. The first winter Olympics. The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. All of these were a product of the 1920s, a decade that the Chamber of Commerce will honor at its 2014 Annual Business Awards Dinner. “Spirit of the Twenties: Business is Roaring” will be held at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa COHEN on Friday, Feb. 28. “The 1920s was a great era for new discoveries. It really set the stage for a lot of the things that we take for granted these days,” said Toni Padron, Executive Vice President and COO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. “In a lot of ways, we share a lot of common traits with the spirit of that era — the sense of wonderment of scientific discovery, economic advancement and progress. That’s the environment that the founders of this Chamber were in, and it’s very similar to our situation today.” The Chamber has formed new categories for the awards it presents to showcase Carlsbad’s key industries. Awards will be presented in: Information and Communications Technology; Action Sports & Manufacturing; Life Sciences; Hospitality & Leisure; and Clean Technologies. The nomination period closes on our website (www.carlsbad.org) on Jan. 15. Nominations can come from a number of sources: From the businesses themselves or their employees, business partners or clients. Don’t delay, nominate a business today. The Chamber is also pleased to announce that CBS 8 San Diego-KFMB's
PRESORT STD U.S. Postage PAID Carlsbad, CA Permit #67
SEE AWARDS Page 8
JANUARY 2014
AN AWARD-WINNING, MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE CARLSBAD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
THE CHAMBER ASKS: WHERE DO YOU WANT TO TAKE YOUR BUSINESS IN 2014?
T
he smallbusiness person can... make just as great of an impact on the local community as larger companies make globally.
Christine Davis of Coolest Shoes in California looks over her donation to the Women’s Resource Center Thrift Shop with Manager Glenda Pullen and Assistant Manager Matt Hoover.
— Toni Padron, Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce
GIVING LOCALLY YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A BIG COMPANY TO GIVE BACK
BY JOSÉ A. LÓPEZ Editor | Carlsbad Business Journal
E
very so often, you hear about a company that integrates philanthropy into its mission. Much has been written, for example, about Santa Monica-based TOMS and its “One for One” philosophy, under which it donates a pair of shoes to a poor child with every sale it makes. That “buy one, give one” philosophy has been adopted by other successful companies, such as online eyeglass retailer Warby Parker. You don’t have to be big to incorporate giving into your business plan. All you have to do is think creatively, and focus on what is important to you, said Toni Padron, executive vice president and COO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, who has worked
with dozens of small businesses through the Chamber’s Pathways program, a peer advisory group. “TOMS and the larger companies are not the only ones that can do those types of things,” Padron said. “It’s like we at the Chamber always tell our members: you, the small-business person can do the same thing and make just as great of an impact on the local community as larger companies make globally.”
A LOCAL EXAMPLE
Like many retailers, Christine Davis of Coolest Shoes in California was ending 2013 with a surplus of unsold shoes in styles that were being discontinued by their manufacturers for the new year. After fall clearance sales, she still had about 60 pairs of shoes she needed to get off the books. A
retail consultant suggested she sell them to a liquidator, but Davis decided she wanted to take another route. “Since we are not going to be carrying these particular styles and colors in 2014, we felt it best to donate them at the end of the year, rather than liquidate them, so that they could go to good use,” Davis said. “Finding a local venue to donate to was also important so that the benefits could be realized right here in our community.” Since she specializes in the sale of women’s shoes, Davis said she also wanted to find a place that would benefit women. After bringing the issue up to her Pathways group she discovered the perfect place in another Chamber member: The Women’s Resource Center.
SEE GIVING Page 8
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Leading for the sake of others Servant Leadership Institute Winter Conference Focuses on Changing the Game BY ROBIN SWIFT
5934 Priestly Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008
Servant Leadership Institute
Even if you are unfamiliar with servant leadership and know nothing about its methodology, it’s quite likely you have benefited from it. Many well-known organizations have successfully implemented servant leadership, including Southwest Airlines, Nordstrom, Zappos and Starbucks. What do they all have in common? Their employees are empowered to make a difference because management is focused on leading for
the sake of others. One of the most simplistic ways to think about it is service before self. Servant leadership is not a new concept; in 1968, AT&T executive Robert Greenleaf launched the modern movement in corporate America. It has taken some time to be embraced by organizations with leadership teams that have
been trained to lead with power and intimidation, but over the last couple years, we’ve seen a shift: instead of being asked to explain what servant leadership is, we’re more often queried about how it can be implemented.
FOCUS ON CULTURE CHANGE
Servant leadership is a set of principles and practices designed to enhance the lives of individuals, organizations and communities
SEE LEADING Page 8