NOVEMBER 18, 2016 | VOL. 5 ISSUE 47
Learn TO
LEAD THE LEADERSHIP ISSUE
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LESSONS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD Q&A WITH UPSTATE CEOS LEADERS4TOMORROW
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TOP-OF-MIND AND IN THE MIX THIS WEEK
| THE RUNDOWN | 3
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 47 Featured this issue: Seeking Greenville’s next planning and development manager ..........................6 Plans advance for Abernathy hotel at Clemson .......................................................21 The Affordable Care Act’s death spiral....................................................................... 25
A group including Matt Madden, managing shareholder of the tax department at Elliott Davis Decosimo, walks the route of Pickett’s Charge at the Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania as part of the Battlefield Leadership program, which offers training based in history. Madden and the others spent three days learning the hard-won lessons of Gettysburg, and how to apply them in a 21st-century business context. Read more on page 17.
WORTH REPEATING “How you get recognized as leaders is being outside of your organization and doing things that you are not required to do.” Page 15
“The only thing wrong with nothing is happening is that nothing happens.” Page 17
“I had a friend tell me, ‘One of your problems, Joe, is you want everybody to love you.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, busted.’” Page 18
VERBATIM
On GHS’ new behavioral health hospital “This partnership, which would not have been possible under our previous governance structure, gives us the ability to maximize our resources and bring together the strengths of both GHS and Acadia to enhance and expand much-needed behavioral health services in our community.” Mike Riordan, CEO of the Strategic Coordinating Organization for the Greenville Health System, announcing a new $64 million inpatient behavioral health hospital to be built in partnership with Acadia Healthcare to replace the Marshall I. Pickens Hospital.
4 | HEALTH CARE |
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Rodney Smith, executive chef and chief operating officer, helps patients at Doctor for Life learn to prepare and cook healthy, portion-controlled meals.
One-Stop Docs New clinic ‘prescribes’ swimming, weights and healthy meals — all on-site MELINDA YOUNG | CONTRIBUTOR
myoung@communityjournals.com The Doctor for Life building, which opened several months ago on Tanner Road, might look like just about any other doctor’s clinic from the outside, but what’s inside is an entirely different world. The clinic contains a fitness and weights room with a separate lap pool, offices for private behavioral counseling and meetings with a dietitian and a showcase kitchen with observation tables arranged in stadium seating. Patients, and anyone who cares to have breakfast, lunch or dinner there, can watch a professional chef do his magic with vegetables that were grown in the lot behind the building.
“We have a facility where we have a complete service to offer patients,” says Dr. Cheryl Sarmiento, medical director and co-owner of Doctor for Life. An internal medicine physician, Sarmiento has had a subspecialty in obesity for more than 20 years. Doctor for Life’s Sarmiento and her husband and business partner, Dr. Emmanuel Sarmiento, started the business after years of frustration with their limitations in treating patients with heart disease, diabetes, strokes and cancer. “The common denominator is carrying extra weight and obesity, and there’s no one place to take care of these people,” he says. The concept is similar to university-based weight loss clinics nation-
wide, including the Weight Management Center at the Medical University of South Carolina and the Duke Diet & Fitness Center at Duke University. It’s also similar to some private clinics, such as the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, which provides medical weight-loss services on-site and fitness at a nearby aerobics site. A chief obstacle to treating obese adults is stigma. People are intimidated by visiting gyms, in which many members look young, healthy or like body-builders, the Sarmientos say. “So we make this facility like a home environment,” Cheryl says. The clinic’s pool serves as a bridge to a physical lifestyle change. “So if you’re a beginner at exercise,
you can start with the pool,” she says. “The kitchen is designed like a home kitchen, and we teach them how to cook healthy food.” The philosophy behind Doctor for Life is that good health is a journey, not a destination. “It’s a journey where we hold our patients’ hands in the beginning,” she says. “The goal really is for them to be independent and take care of themselves and not depend on doctors or medications.” This doctor-guided, patient-centered care model is aimed at helping patients lose weight and get off as many medications as possible, says Emmanuel, who is an allergist and chief executive officer of the business.
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䰀攀愀搀攀爀猀栀椀瀀 䤀渀渀漀瘀愀琀攀⸀ 䤀渀琀攀爀愀挀琀⸀ 䤀渀猀瀀椀爀攀⸀
Many clients who are just beginning to incorporate exercise into their everyday lifestyle begin in the center’s pool. One of the keys to weight loss is to eat portion-controlled, healthy foods. Since this is a major challenge for many people, the clinic has executive chef Rodney Foster make such meals and teach people how to do it themselves. Foster, who also is the chief operations officer, owned Slate Restaurant in Atlanta before moving to Greenville. The clinic’s 0.25-acre “healthy farm” garden grows yellow onions, collards, spinach, sweet potatoes, turnips, Swiss chard, arugula, kale and a dozen other vegetables. One of Foster’s recent lunch items was a five-spice turkey and lettuce wrap, made with fresh ginger. It’s served with chili-garlic sauce and rice vinegar, and its total calories equal 276. Doctor for Life has state-of-art equipment to pinpoint precisely a person’s body composition. This assessment, along with an individualized
health assessment, a culinary lab experience and a personalized exercise plan, are included in a 30-day First Step program. For people who do not want to cook or would like help with some meals each week, the clinic offers the option of buying meals for the week, with prices around $5-10 per meal. Visiting the clinic is like an a la carte buffet where you pay for what you use. Some patients might only see the doctor, in which their visit is covered by insurance. Others might want a gym membership with personal trainers available to assist. For overweight patients who would like a mental boost to their willpower, there is a behavioral counselor available, Emmanuel says. “The most important thing is we have a team approach,” he explains. “We have a team of professionals, working with you in a homey place where you can feel safe.”
“It’s a journey where we hold our patients’ hands in the beginning. The goal is for them to take care of themselves and not depend on doctors or medications.” Dr. Cheryl Sarmiento
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6 | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
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Who’s Got the Plan? Greenville’s interim planning and development manager is leaving, and the top position remains unfilled CINDY LANDRUM | STAFF
clandrum@communityjournals.com Greenville has been without a
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planning and development manager since July, and now the longtime city employee who has served in the interim is leaving. Bryan Wood, the city’s zoning administrator and interim planning and development manager, has accepted a job as community development director in Perry, Ga., a city about 30 miles south of Macon. His first day on the job is Dec. 20. Greenville City Manager John Castile said in an email last Thursday that the city has made a contingent offer and could announce a new planning and development manager as soon as next week. Greenville conducted a national search to fill the position, one of the most important positions in a city where development is booming and is expected to continue to do so. If the new planning manager is not in place by the time Wood leaves, the city does have a contingency plan, Castile said. The city will use the Appalachian Council of Governments under a contractual agreement. The Council of Governments provides support throughout 10 counties in the Upstate and is well-versed in planning and development, the city manager said. In addition, Castile said the city’s economic development and community development staff will provide support during the transition, and Nancy Whitworth, the city’s economic development director and deputy city manager, will provide direct oversight, Castile said. Castile said the new manager would provide guidance in structuring, staffing and managing a planning division. “We will focus very quickly on filling any gaps we have and ensuring that all aspects of planning are properly addressed including process, design, development review, long-range planning and regulation,” Castile said. Wood said city employees work well
together making sure plans are reviewed in a timely manner. Still, he said, given the amount of development Greenville sees, the city’s planning and development department is smaller than departments in other cities with a similar amount of development.
“We will focus very quickly on filling any gaps we have and ensuring that all aspects of planning are properly addressed.” Greenville City Manager John Castile The city is also has a contract with Bello Garris Architects to provide design review for major development projects, Castile said. Formed in 2015, Bello Garris Architects is a partnership with Eddie Bello, who had previously served as director of urban design and preservation for the City of Charleston, and Eric Garris, Wood said he decided to become Perry’s community development director because it was a department head position and it offered a new challenge. “It was time for a change,” he said. Perry’s community development director position was vacant for more than a year, according to a report in the Macon Telegraph. The city eventually hired a company that searches for job candidates and Wood was among the applicants, the Telegraph reported. The newspaper reported Wood was selected based on his experience in urban planning and code enforcement. Wood is originally from Spartanburg. He has a bachelor’s degree in architectural design and a master’s degree in city planning from Clemson University.
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Study: Spartanburg’s tourism marketing shows big ROI TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF
tanderson@communityjournals.com Tourism marketing efforts in Spartanburg County really paid off in 2016, according to a new study. The Spartanburg Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) last Thursday released its 2016 Marketing and Media Effectiveness Study, which measured the impact of the CVB’s advertising on visitation, travel spending and return on investment (ROI). According to the study, tourism had a $17.4 million economic impact on the county, while the CVB inv e s t e d $158,000 in paid advertising during the year. That means that for every $1 the CVB spent on advertising, there was a more than $110 economic impact. “The county and municipalities have been very supportive,” said Chris Jennings, executive vice president of the CVB. “It’s great to be able to prove to them that [their financial support] is working. From a marketing standpoint, it’s justifying.” The CVB said the study was conducted by H2R Market Research in August. The firm interviewed 1,203 travelers who live within a 51- to 300-mile radius of Spartanburg. Of those travelers, 37 percent said they saw or heard a Spartanburg advertisement. And 82 percent of that group said they believed the ads made Spartanburg seem more appealing as a destination. The study said the county’s overall marketing reached 4.3 million households and resulted in 32,800 incremental trips. Visitors to Spartanburg spent an average of $531 each during their stay, according to the study.
It also found that 75 percent of visitors came to have fun. The desire for something new was 69 percent and the opportunity to find a unique destination was 66 percent. “Tourism dollars are an economic driver for Spartanburg County,” said Allen Smith, president and CEO of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce. “We are excited to be learning more about why people are choosing Spartanburg.” Spartanburg’s tourism industry has continued to benefit from youth sports, and the NFL Carolina Panthers training camp, which had a $13.1 million impact this year. Local officials expect the new public art project Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light will continue to attract visitors. In February, the county will host the annual state Governor’s Conference on Tourism & Travel. Jennings said the Spartanburg Chamber’s strategic visioning plan, which is currently being developed with the help of Atlanta-based consulting firm Market Street Services, will help the county’s tourism efforts. The CVB’s marketing efforts have focused on the cultural and artistic opportunities in the community, its history and heritage, recreational opportunities, sports tourism, parks and a unique “Made in Spartanburg” campaign. Jennings said the CVB will continue to market those areas and hopes to increase the focus on agritourism opportunities in the county. “It’s a great time to be in Spartanburg,” Jennings said. “If this is the perfect storm, I say we just keep riding it.” For more information, visit visitspartanburg.com.
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11.18.2016
JDA continues expansion into self-storage industry TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF
tanderson@communityjournals.com On the ground floor of the four-story One Morgan Square building in downtown Spartanburg, behind an average-looking wooden door, a new venture is taking shape. The space is home to Johnson Development Associates’ self-storage division launched in January 2015 as the latest addition to the company founded in the early 1980s by Spartanburg entrepreneur George Dean Johnson Jr. Fueled by the explosion of multifamily residential developments in large markets across the Eastern seaboard, the division’s portfolio has already grown to include 60 properties in various stages of development under the CubeSmart and Extra Space banners. The properties are in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Washington D.C., Tennessee, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the company plans to soon
For their One Morgan Square HQ, JDA designed an open floor plan consisting of low-height cubicles, no private offices, phone booths, ample conference room space, adjustable-height desks, white noise and LED lighting. Photo provided. enter New York and California. More than 30 employees have been hired for the new division, and the company plans to add more associates to support its growing business. “We’re very excited about the new self-storage division,” said Geordy
Johnson, CEO of Johnson Development. “During the coming year, we will be slowing down the pace of new development, but will continue to add new employees.” Johnson said the job openings could include a mix of entry-level
analyst positions, as well as managerial and regional executive roles. He said the company has seen some of the “fundamentals” in the self-storage market deteriorate and a lot of new companies are entering the market. That’s the reason for the
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slowing of development. “We’re going to be in this business for the long term,” Johnson said. “We do see a lot of new companies entering the market … Storage is not as sexy as office or retail, but we like it. There is a lot of potential.” The company has four properties in the Upstate, including one CubeSmart off Highway 290 in Duncan and three locations under construction in Greenville County off Wade Hampton Boulevard, and Woodruff and Pelham roads. He said the division’s properties vary depending on their location, but on average represent a $10 million investment, range from 75,000 to 100,000 square feet, include multiple stories and are climate-controlled. The storage units within the centers include a variety of options for customers that range from lockers all the way up to 200-square-foot rooms. “These aren’t those metal buildings surrounded by gravel,” Johnson said. Self-storage has been a part of Johnson Development’s business since 1985, when it purchased properties to create American Storage.
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The company sold its portfolio of 30 American Storage stores in March. Behind the momentum of the self-storage division, the company is hoping to create more white-collar jobs in Spartanburg. Johnson said the company has put a lot of thought into the division’s corporate office in hopes of attracting and retaining talented employees, particularly individuals from Spartanburg. Unlike other offices in the One Morgan Square building and other office buildings in downtown, the self-storage division’s space has an open floor plan, cubicles with low partitions and a handful of private offices. He said the space is meant to encourage collaboration and teamwork, but also to give employees some space for privacy if they need it. Johnson said the company could expand the space depending on its needs. “As we continue to grow, we may need to [expand],” he said. Johnson said, as a whole, Johnson Development is stepping up its efforts to recruit a more culturally
diverse workforce. It is primarily looking for talented employees with integrity, good values and a strong work ethic. He said the company has begun reaching out to local colleges and universities in hopes of creating a good pipeline of talent. “Diversity is important,” Johnson said. “We want to be able to recruit the best talent.” On the entrepreneurial side, Johnson Development has a history of investing in burgeoning opportunities and developing them into thriving companies. A few of those examples include Extended Stay America, Advance America, American Credit Acceptance (ACA), OTO Development, Pure Barre and WJB Video, a 209store video chain that was at one point the largest franchise for Blockbuster. Some of those ventures, including Advance America, ACA, OTO and Pure Barre, still employ hundreds of people in Spartanburg. The company’s multifamily residential division, founded in 1996, has developed more than 6,500 luxury
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apartment homes across the country. Its industrial division, founded in 1988, has become one of the top developers in the Southeast, managing or developing multiple standalone sites and 25 industrial parks consisting of 20 million square feet of commercial space. The division’s portfolio consists of 1,800 acres of industrial land with the capacity for about 15 million square feet of space for future development. “They are a tremendous partner in our community,” said Carter Smith, executive vice president of the Economic Futures Group. “I’ve known them as a premier developer in our local market and in substantial markets around the country. If you look at how they’ve expanded their portfolio of speculative industrial product in this market and recognized growth opportunities in the community that have created corporate or regional offices, it’s just remarkable. Their attitude is they want to be a part of the community where they work. They are truly a champion for Spartanburg.”
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Magna Seating will open new plant in Spartanburg County TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF
tanderson@communityjournals.com A BMW supplier based in Canada plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in Spartanburg County that will create about 250 new jobs, according to sources familiar with the project. Magna Seating, a division of Ontario-based Magna International, will set up shop in a 230,000-square-foot plant on about 20 acres in Moore within Pacolet Milliken’s Tyger River Industrial Park North. Property records showed the site was purchased for $935,000 on Nov. 1 by Anderson Mill Road Spartanburg LLC, a subsidiary of Charlotte, N.C.based SunCap Property Group. A site plan showed SunCap is building the facility for its tenant Magna Seating. Sources said the project represents about a $60 million investment. Magna spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst could not be reached for comment Tuesday. A representative for SunCap could also not be reached. Magna operates nine divisions, including vehicle engineering and contract manufacturing, electronics, roof systems, closures, vision systems, seating, exteriors, powertrain and body and chassis. Those divisions have more than 155 facilities and 73,000 employees in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The company has three plants in Greenville County and has a history in Spartanburg County. In 2005, the company opened an
Monroe Rd
Moore Duncan Hwy / Hwy 290
interiors plant at 304 John Martin Road, but the facility was sold and renamed in 2015. Magna said its seating division specializes in the "development and manufacturing of high-quality complete seating systems, mechanism and hardware solutions, specialty mechanism solutions, seat structures and foam and trim products for the global automotive industry." Local officials could not be reached for comment. John Montgomery, principal of Montgomery Development Group, and Garrett Scott, Brockton Hall and Givens Stewart represented Pacolet Milliken in the sale of the property. The brokers declined to comment on the project due to their nondisclosure agreement. Magna is the first company to move to the 882-acre northern tract of Pacolet Milliken's industrial park off Highway 290. The park's southern properties, which total almost 1,500 acres, have already attracted nearly $2 billion in new investments from several companies, including Toray, Kobelco, Ritrama and Sterling CPI. Those investments have created hundreds of new jobs for the county. A master plan for the northern tract showed it has the potential to house 13 facilities with a combined footprint of 7 million square feet, including two massive distribution centers that would each total about 1.4 million square feet.
Anderson Mill Rd
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12 | NEWS IN BRIEF |
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EXPANSION
Family-owned Martin Printing expands Easley operation
When I decided to purchase in the Historic Downtown Greer Area, like many business owners, I looked at location, foot traffic and existing stores before making a decision. When it came down to who I was going to bank with, Greer State Bank was my first and only choice. I just like the way they do business. James Carter Owner, Empire LTD. Studio
A family-owned printing business in Easley has expanded, creating about 20 new jobs for Pickens County. Martin Printing Co. announced Wednesday it has invested $2 million to relocate its production operation to an 80,000-squarefoot facility at 1765 Powdersville Road. The company said it has purchased a Heidelberg XL Press, which it said is the first of its kind in the Upstate and one of only two in South Carolina, and also plans to add new prepress, bindery and mailing equipment. “Our expansion is part of our continued dedication to improving efficiency so we can provide outstanding service for our clients,” said William Ragsdale, CEO of Martin Printing, in a statement. “We wouldn’t be here without loyal clients and a hardworking team. Pickens County and the Upstate have provided a wonderful business environment in which to grow our company.” Martin Printing, founded in 1902, is under its third generation of family ownership. The company said it provides a range of print solutions, including concept development, graphic design, printing, digital publishing and fulfillment. It specializes in the production of magazines, direct mail, customer collateral, packaging and more. “Pickens County is delighted to celebrate the success, growth and expansion of Martin Printing Co.,” said Pickens County Council Chairwoman Jennifer Willis. “We are thrilled to congratulate this third-generation company. The growth of this company in today’s changing print marketplace is a testament to the company’s ownership and leadership, as well as the talented workforce who have helped this company succeed for over 100 years.” The company said it has begun hiring for the new positions. Job seekers are encouraged to visit its career page online. For more information, visit martinprinting.com. – Trevor Anderson
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| NEWS IN BRIEF | 13
TRANSPORTATION
Louisville adds 6 Greenville-made electric buses to fleet
The Transit Authority of River City in Louisville, Ky., has 15 Proterra buses in its fleet.
A transit agency in Louisville, Ky., has become the second-largest operator of electric buses made in Greenville by Proterra Inc. The Transit Authority of River City, which serves the greater Louisville area, has added six more Proterra buses to its fleet for a total of 15, according to a press release. The largest operator of Proterra buses remains Foothill Transit in Los Angeles County, Calif. Foothill, an early Proterra customer, operates 17 of the battery-powered buses and has ordered 14 more. All of the 32 Proterra buses currently operated by the two transit agencies were manufactured at the company’s plant along Interstate 85 in Greenville, said Proterra spokesman Steven Brewster. Proterra is building a second factory in City of Industry in Southern California, but Brewster said it isn’t scheduled to begin production until next year. – Rudoph Bell
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Three Reasons All Women Should Lift Weights FRED DILWORTH Head Coach of Iron Tribe Fitness Exercise Science
YOU’LL BURN MORE CALORIES Lifting weights breaks down muscle fibers and the body has to repair those muscle fibers in the following days, that’s how stronger muscles are built. The process of repairing and building muscle fibers takes time and during that process the body has to burn more calories. Studies have shown that individuals who do a total body weightlifting workout can have an elevated metabolism up to 39 hours after the workout. The calories that are burned are going to be more targeted towards fat loss because the body needs to hang on to the muscle if it’s being used. People who only do long runs or bike rides are losing some fat but they are also losing muscle which might drop the weight on the scale but it doesn’t necessarily make the appearance in the mirror any better. Doing a shorter run with weightlifting is a more effective strategy to achieving a healthier body composition. YOU’LL BUILD STRONGER BONES Once we turn 40 years old our bone density starts to significantly decline, especially in women once menopause begins. This often leads to osteoporosis which can radically decrease your quality of life after one slip and fall.
One of the best ways to prevent osteoporosis is to lift weights. Doing weighted movements puts a healthy stress on your bones which releases hormones that build your bones to be denser. The more you lift weights the denser your bones will be and the more of a shield you will have against osteoporosis. YOUR BODY WILL WORK BETTER Our bodies are filled with muscles that are meant to be used and stressed. When major muscle groups are neglected the body stops moving the way that it is supposed to and starts to compensate. This brings aches, pains, and injuries. Lifting weights with a healthy program and coaching builds up the correct muscles to create the best version of your body. Often times a nagging pain is a result of the muscles around the nagging pain being underdeveloped and underutilized. A common example of this is low back pain. Usually the glutes, hamstrings, and upper back are underdeveloped due to not being used and the lower back becomes overworked. Commonly nagging pains lead to serious injuries because the body is not being used how it is designed to be. A good program will target all of the muscle groups in your body and develop them to be healthy and balanced. A good coach will guide you through the movements and ensure you are doing them safely and effectively.
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THE LEADERSHIP ISSUE
CONTINUING ED From online classes to two-day sessions, good leaders never stop learning WORDS BY MELINDA YOUNG | PHOTOS BY WILL CROOKS
As millennials and other professionals seek new opportunities and leadership roles, they might question which type of leadership training to take and, perhaps as just as important, who will pay for it. Sharon Wilson, director of Conscious Leadership Development for GHS, believes offering in-house leadership training is good for recruitment and job satisfaction — particularly for millennials.
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Terrie Long, GHS director of learning and development, emphasizes that the effectiveness of teams depends on well-trained managers.
“We’re recognizing that millennials will make up the majority of employee populations in the next five to 10 years, and their experience tends to be one in which they want to be developed,” says Sharon Wilson, director of Conscious Leadership Development at the Greenville Health System (GHS). From a large employer’s perspective, offering inhouse leadership training is good for recruitment and job satisfaction, Wilson notes. “It’s not just how much are you going to pay me, but what else do you have for me?” The health system has found that leadership training has proven benefits, including greater employee engagement, Wilson says. “With Clemson University, we’re doing a longitudinal study of conscious leadership,” she says. “We’re seeing great correlation between higher conscious leadership knowledge and employee engagement scores.” GHS’ Academy of Leadership and Professional Development represents a broad commitment to management and leadership development, says Terrie Long, GHS director of learning and development. “In order for every employee and team to function at its highest level, we need for those front-line managers to be as productive and effective as they can be,” Long says. “There long has been acknowledgement that normally the reason employees leave their jobs is because of their manager.” GHS offers the training, which is a combination of in-classroom time and online coursework, at no cost to employees. Staff can be recommended by a supervisor or apply for a spot. Few organizations are large enough to afford an onsite leadership training program, so professionals
with ambitions to move into leadership positions might supplement their on-job experience with online, university or other leadership education. For example, Furman University’s Liberal Arts Leadership (LAL) program provides C-fleet level executive development in three two-day sessions that combine classic literature with films that encapsulate examples of excellent leadership skills, says Brad Bechtold, executive director of continuing education at Furman. “If an organization is serious about its culture and success and values of people, then the argument should not be difficult to make,” Bechtold says. “Invest in your staff and team.” Still, for smaller companies, the cost — $4,000 in the case of Furman’s LAL — can be daunting. So how might an ambitious employee make the argument that the investment will provide dividends to the company? “Come up with three to five tangible benefits that they can see are important to them,” Bechtold suggests. “Then put those in the context of the organization you work for and how that will make you a more valuable asset to the company and more effective at what you do.” For instance, tangible benefits could include improving employee engagement and energy, networking with leaders from other industries and disciplines and enhancing resilience, he notes. “It’s lonely at the top, so when you’re with similar leaders there is resiliency that comes from taking it to the next level,” Bechtold says. Employees at small businesses also could strive for the penthouse-version of leadership training, but they might have more success at getting their companies to pay for training on the first floor.
And they could learn a great deal from training that has a bargain price. For example, it only costs $45 every six months to belong to Toastmasters clubs, which were started in 1905 and are available everywhere, including Greenville. “Toastmasters is a proven, personal development organization,” says Scott Whelchel, area manager of the Greenville Area Small Business Development Center (SCSBDC). Toastmasters gives young professionals the chance to learn public speaking skills and to network. It also helps people learn how to manage time, delegate, coordinate and set priorities and follow through on them, Whelchel says. “Ask your employer if they will pay for you to join Toastmasters,” Whelchel suggests. “Then in six months, you’ll have the skills to communicate the benefits of it and can give talks internally.” Once an employee shows how a small investment in leadership training has benefited the company, then it’s possible to ask for a bigger investment, he says. Young professionals also can learn leadership skills through community service, taking leadership roles in volunteer projects and joining organizations like Pulse Young Professionals, a Greenville Chamber organization for Upstate professionals, ages 22 to 39, Whelchel says. “Eighty percent of leadership is serving somewhere, serving on a committee, on a board,” he says. “How you get recognized as leaders is being outside of your organization and doing things that you are not required to do.”
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LEARNING TO LEAD From boardrooms to battlefields, CEOs are seeking opportunities to grow DAVID DYKES | STAFF
ddykes@communityjournals.com
It’s lonely at the top, company presidents and chief executives will often admit.
But authentic leadership means constantly learning, adapting and being willing to change, several CEOs and presidents told the Upstate Business Journal. In other words, a leader’s education never ends. Many Upstate businesspeople have sharpened their skill sets and grown as leaders through continuing education programs that bring top executives together in unusual settings and take them out of their comfort zones. Rick Davis, managing shareholder of Elliott Davis Decosimo in Greenville and chair of the firm’s executive committee, and Matt Madden, managing shareholder of the firm’s tax department, say they learned valuable tools from the Battlefield Leadership program, which offers training based in history. Davis attended the program’s Normandy leadership session in July, while Madden spent three days learning the hard-won lessons of Gettysburg, including time on the hallowed grounds. Other local leaders have turned to the Young Presidents’ Organization, or YPO, which is a global network of young chief executives. In various meetings, members share experiences, not advice, to see how those relate to topics company leaders are confronting within their organizations.
LESSONS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD Davis keeps his leadership skills tuned by developing good relationships with other leaders in accounting and other industries. They discuss what’s import-
ant and float ideas among each other, without giving away competitive secrets. At Normandy, he mixed with other chief executives to do just that. “We’re all seeing the same changes and we’re all dealing with the same pace of change, so having people that are seeing that day in and day out, and having the ability to reach out and draw upon each other, has been a fundamental strength for all of us,” Davis said. He augments those discussions with readings and research about how to apply certain skills and new approaches to doing business. “Going back and just keeping a core, central component of what you know your strengths are, and knowing when to draw upon those and knowing when to draw upon others who are going to supplement your strengths by doing the things they do best, is really the ultimate key,” Davis said. In a company, a top executive’s ability to make tough decisions that affect employees is a competitive advantage “because very few people are good at it,” Davis said. His firm recently went through a realignment that involved leaving some markets. About 80 people in five markets lost their jobs. Some moved to other jobs within the firm and others were placed with other firms. “That exercise and the ultimate decision process that we went through there strengthened our team, strengthened our firm, gave us a lot of confidence that we could make those decisions at the scale we made them,” Davis said. Leadership involves understanding and embracing that “what got us here won’t get us there,” he said. For Madden, “The most recurring takeaway I had from the Gettysburg experience was how big of a challenge communication was at the time and how big of a role it had in the impact of the battle and ultimately the war,” he said. “It taught me that one of the most important responsibilities for a leader is to effectively communicate the goals, direction and measurements of success for the group they lead.” Asked what one thing changed him, Madden said, “A crucial lesson we
Rick Davis, managing shareholder of Elliott Davis Decosimo in Greenville, was part of a group attending the Battlefield Leadership program’s session on the beaches of Normandy in July. learned in Gettysburg was that the leaders that were indecisive and reactive often failed.” Before the trip, he would find himself sometimes delaying tough decisions. At one breakout session at Gettysburg, the quote, “The only thing wrong with nothing is happening is that nothing happens,” was shared. “After returning from our trip, I’ve often reminded myself of this quote and the lessons we learned from the battle tours when tough decisions need to be made,” Madden said.
SHARPENING SKILLS WITH YPO Jon Good, president and CEO of NAI Earle Furman in Greenville, said a good leader is someone “who is a trained listener.” “Simple as that,” he said. To stay sharp, he points to the Young Presidents’ Organization, or YPO. “Staying sharp is certainly spending time with other leaders in formats to where they’ll be open and honest and share how they’re doing things,” he said. John Uprichard, president and CEO of Find Great People International Inc., an executive recruitment and talent management firm in Greenville, said YPO can be a critical tool. “With CEOs, the most important thing is it is lonely at the top,” he said. “You focus a lot on developing the people within your organization, but you don’t slow down enough to really look in the mirror and say, ‘What am I doing to make myself better? What am I doing to continue my professional growth and development?’ That’s really important, because if you want your company to grow, part of it is you have to grow as well.” For YPO, a new applicant must be approved before his or her 45th birthday and hold the title of president or CEO. The candidate must have at least 50 full-time employees, or the equivalent, under his or her control. Or, total employee compensation, including that of the candidate, must exceed $2 million
and the prospect must have at least 15 employees. Those who run sales, services or manufacturing corporations must have at least $13 million in gross annual sales. YPO has 50 members in South Carolina, and 473 in the Southern 7 regional chapter. Many come from family businesses or are entrepreneurs. “As a CEO, you’re never off. There is no five-day workweek. You’re always on,” Uprichard, 47, said. “You’re unbelievably committed to your company and to growing the company and adding value for shareholders. But you also have a family.” YPO encourages family members, spouses and children to attend various meetings to help CEOs maintain balance, he said. “If you can maintain balance, then you’re going to be better at home, but you’re also going to be better from the company standpoint as well,” Uprichard said. In YPO discussions, members explore troubling business or personal issues and ask others for feedback. Confidentiality is insisted upon, he said. “It’s your issue. You own it,” Uprichard said. “If you ask us to help you with it, we’ll help you with it. But then we won’t talk about it again unless you bring it back up.” YPO “teaches you to look inwardly first,” he said. “The other thing it does, too, with authentic leadership is get you to really focus on not the past, but how do I make things better moving forward.” At the end of the day, what counts is the ability to use what you’ve learned, Davis said. “You can go read any book you want to and find most of the stuff I just mentioned out there,” he said. “If leaders today don’t have the ability to use those concepts with the ever-increasing pace of change, then it doesn’t matter if you grasp those and understand them or not, you’ve got to be able to move quickly.”
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who really wanted to make the place special. And I couldn’t have done it by myself.
Q&A: JOE ERWIN
UBJ: Experts say, though, that it does
come back to you because you’ve got to set that vision and you’ve got to set the belief and then you’ve got to instill the confidence and enthusiasm. How did you do that?
Erwin: If there’s anything about me
As president of Erwin Penland, Joe Erwin led more than 400 employees in Greenville and New York. Photo by Will Crooks.
‘MAKE THE JOURNEY GREAT’ The entrepreneur shares lessons from nearly 30 years of leadership DAVID DYKES | STAFF
ddykes@communityjournals.com
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graduate of Clemson University, Joe Erwin, 60, began his career at Greenville’s Leslie Advertising, and joined DMB&B in New York before returning to Greenville in 1986 to purchase Penland Advertising. He and his wife, Gretchen – also a marketing professional – opened Erwin Penland with one account and two employees. The agency experienced extraordinary growth during his 29-year tenure as president, ultimately employing more than 400 team members in Greenville and New York, with core strengths across a range of integrated marketing disciplines including digital, mobile, social and content marketing; experiential; media and analytics; digital asset management; event marketing; and public relations. The agency’s national client roster grew to include Verizon Wireless, Denny’s, L.L.Bean, Michelin’s Uniroyal Tire brand, Chick-fil-A and Disney XD. During his tenure, the agency received numerous awards for creative and strategic excellence, and was recognized as one of the “Best Places to Work” by Advertising Age, PR News and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and for having one of the
best internship programs in the country. Erwin created and for seven years hosted the national creativity conference Food for Thought. He was elected chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party in 2003 and completed his second twoyear term in May 2007.
UBJ: What’s the secret to your business success, and what’s been your role in that success?
Erwin:
I think a couple of things. Having a very clear belief rooted in a goal and confidence that we could get there with what we wanted to do. And then being smart enough to know the things that I wasn’t particularly great at and, to compensate for that, recruiting people who were great at those other things to flank me and to buy into the goal and the philosophy and to help us all get there together. I believe it is a team sport. As I used to say when I was running the Democratic Party, this is a “we thing” not a “me thing.” Since we’re talking about leadership, when people see that somebody who is in what is known to be the leadership position talks more about “we” than “me,” you get a lot more buy-in. For Erwin Penland I know that was important because we had such a bunch of great men and women
that people would say that they know to be true, if they’ve been around me, is that I don’t believe in those silly word titles people have, especially at creative companies, like “Chief Fire Starter.” But if I had one of those titles instead of president of the company, it would be “Cheerleader.” For me, and for what we’ve tried to do at EP and all the organizations where I ended up being thrust into a position of leadership, cheerleading was really important because people could see, “He’s got real passion and energy to make us great. And he wants all of us to be great, not just for him but for all of us.” You really want to make it a joyous undertaking and work program for everybody. That is a part of leadership. It’s not just sitting in the back room and crunching the numbers and saying, “We’re going to build these products out and you’re going to do this because I said so and it’s good for our shareholders” and all that. No. It’s, “What are you doing to help make the journey great for everybody else?” For me, that was always the highest calling and what I was naturally good at.
UBJ: In running a business or an or-
ganization, from a Clemson cheerleading squad to Erwin Penland, you’re going to have personality conflicts. You’re going to have some philosophical differences. How do you manage those?
Erwin: I made it clear in almost every
position, where I was counted on to somewhat adjudicate that, that every perspective mattered, every voice mattered and in the end I would make the decision … You can’t always be the guy that everybody loves. That was a lesson early on. I had a friend, an older guy in business, tell me, “One of your problems, Joe, is you want everybody to love you.” And I thought, “Oh, busted.” That’s a nice thing, but sometimes you have to make that tough call. When you’ve got these differences of
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opinion, or whatever the differences might be that require a decision, you must make the decision and tell people that once made, “We’re moving on. So either get on the train or get gone because the decision is made. I understand it’s not what you would have chosen. And if I am wrong going forward, I’ll be the first one to say so and we’ll adjust. But for right now, this is the call we’ve made.”
UBJ: How did you become a better leader from those experiences?
Erwin: I rarely ever second-guessed
myself, and I think that’s part of just having the confidence to know, “OK, I’ve listened to it. I’ve watched it. I know these people. I know what our foundational roots are. I know what our goals are, so I’m going to make a decision.” I think you always have to be willing to adjust and change and be flexible. I would look at things and say, “OK, we tried that and it didn’t work so great, so how do we adjust?” That’s what I would think about at night. We talk about the loneliness of being a person at the top of any organization. You never turn it off. You just don’t. You work almost every hour you’re awake because those are the things that I would think about at night – like the organizational structure we invented one year at Erwin Penland where we went with divisions and we gave people P&Ls [profit-andloss statements]. Complete disaster. It was the wscrew-up of all time. Not only was it a bad organizational model, but the people we had to put atop those were not equipped. This was a train wreck you should have seen coming. But I didn’t see it coming. After a while, we just had to say, “This has blown up and we’ve got to fix it.”
“When people see that somebody who is in what is known to be the leadership position talks more about ‘we’ than ‘me,’ you get a lot more buy-in.” Joe Erwin
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smart, talented individuals that know this business and our industry inside and out. We also focus heavily on making sure we’re recruiting top talent – employees that are dedicated to the company, willing to learn and eager to develop into the next generation of leaders for ScanSource. Our entire team here in Greenville and beyond really drives the ship and enables ScanSource to continue on the track of success that we’ve been on.
Q&A: MIKE BAUR
UBJ: What's the main piece of advice you would give someone interested in starting his or her own business?
Baur: ScanSource CEO Mike Baur was a member of the team that founded the company in 1992. Photo: Provided
‘ALWAYS BE LISTENING’ The Scansource CEO reflects on finding great people, keeping an open door and not overthinking DAVID DYKES | STAFF
ddykes@communityjournals.com
M
ike Baur has been chief executive officer of ScanSource Inc., with worldwide headquarters in Greenville, since January 2000. ScanSource experienced rapid growth from the beginning, completed its IPO in 1994, and is a Fortune 1000 company with annual sales of more than $3 billion. The company expanded internationally beginning in 2002 and now has 45 locations across North America, South America and Europe. Baur has served as president of the company from its inception in 1992 until 2007. He has been a member of the board of directors since December 1995.
UBJ: What's been the key to ScanSource's success and how would you describe your role in that success?
Baur: There are a couple of key aspects
of our business that I believe have made ScanSource successful. Most importantly, we listen to our customers. This attribute of our business hasn’t changed since day one in 1992. We listen to our customers’ wants, their needs and their interests in new technologies that we can provide. ScanSource set out to become the leading
provider of technology products and solutions, and the company reached that goal by listening to our customers and focusing on specialty segments. For almost 25 years, we have consistently delivered to our partners around the globe. We have grown our book of customers to more than 36,000, and from six original employees in Greenville to over 2,300 around the globe. The feedback we receive from our customers also directly relates to our success and continued growth. We have seen a lot of organic growth throughout the years, but we have also expanded by acquiring companies that have brought new technologies, geographies and service offerings to our customers. Making our customers our top priority is the basis on which ScanSource transformed a startup specialty technology distributor in Greenville into a global provider of technology products and solutions. Another key piece to any company’s success is having the right team in place, and making sure company leadership is surrounded by talented, hardworking individuals who want to contribute to this success. In fact, the majority of individuals on the ScanSource executive team have been with the company for more than 10 years. These are incredibly
As I mentioned, find good people. It may take a little more time and additional resources, but it’s worth finding the right individuals to fill roles. It’s even more important in the early stages of a company. You also have to be willing to take risks. Any entrepreneur knows the risk of investing in something without knowing the exact outcome. Projections are projections – they’re not set in stone. Along the way, mistakes will be made. We still make mistakes today as our business grows. But a mistake that is made with good intentions is better than not trying at all.
UBJ: And what should they do before taking the leap? Baur: Don’t overthink it. When we
started ScanSource, we saw a need in the market, and we knew we could fill it. It’s really about taking that leap, and figuring out a way to make it work and make it happen. You’ve got to be willing to take a chance if you think you can do something that isn’t currently being done. More importantly, if you believe in something, don’t be afraid to take the risk.
UBJ: If you had ScanSource to do over again, what one thing would you do differently?
Baur: Not a thing. If we spend too
much time looking at everything we should have done differently, it’s a lot harder to move forward and grow. Again, just like any growing company, we have made our fair share of mistakes. But one thing I’ve always told my leadership team – and they tell their respective teams as well – we need to focus on looking forward. Let’s do what is best for our partners. Some of the best growth comes from learning from your mistakes. If you learn, move forward and do what’s best for your
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“It’s important to always be listening and learning from your team, your company, your industry and your mistakes.” Mike Baur
customers, the rest will fall into place.
UBJ: How is doing business today different than when you started the company?
Baur: Business today is much faster and more complex than it was back in 1992. Not only are we a significantly larger global company, but it’s also an exciting time for the industry as a whole. Our partners are now able to offer complete solutions – products and services – something they’ve asked for in recent years. Whenever our customers indicate a need for something new or different, it’s our job to provide that to them, and that’s what drives ScanSource to enter new markets and ultimately allows us to continue to grow.
UBJ: What makes a good leader and how have you sharpened your leadership skills over the years?
Baur: Again, I think the best leaders
surround themselves with smart people who work even better as a collective. To run a successful business – and to grow that business – you need leaders who effectively manage and grow their respective teams within the organization. It’s important to always be listening and learning from your team, your company, your industry and your mistakes. Something else I’ve always practiced and find important is having an open door policy. Be accessible to your team and your employees. Be open to new ideas, collaborations and different ways of doing things. A good friend of mine often says, “A leader’s responsibility is to create capacity.” This company has continued to grow and prosper by learning how to scale a small business into a successful, multinational Fortune 1000 company. Scale happens when the organization’s leadership is able to build a high-performance management team.
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SEEKING THE LEADERS4TOMORROW A new development project wants to nurture millennial leaders By MANFRED GOLLENT CEO, QLI International
The Upstate Business Journal and QLI International have joined forces for a special leadership development project for leaders from the millennial generation. QLI International LLC is an Upstate business consultancy focusing on two business needs: leadership development and strategy development.
THE NEXT BIG GENERATION The millennial generation is widely defined as the generation of people born between 1980 and 2004, with a few sources using 1974 as the starting year. This generation is about 100 million strong and has become a significant part of the population and consequently, the workforce. Based on the fact of the size of that generation – more than 25 percent of the population in the U.S. – their impact and influence will change society as we know it. Lots of research has been done about the traits of the millennials, and multiple opinions across the spectrum have been expressed, predominantly by those from earlier generations. My generation tends to be rather negative and judgmental about millennials, but I believe this is not a productive way to engender progress. After all, we literally created the millennials and they are a product of our doing (or lack thereof) combined with the environment we shaped. We must support them with our experience to enhance the progress they are generating and will continue to generate. Millennials are our future , and they will create a society different from what it is right now. In the end, effective leaders are the key ingredient for the culture of a company, increased profitability, sustainable performance and organizational growth.
SHARING THE EXPERIENCE As a way to give back, QLI International is awarding one year of executive coaching (a retail value of approximately $24,000) toward the development of a leader of the millennial generation as a way to give back. Modern leadership has taken on many new and complex dimensions as advancing technology, changing values and increasing global competition have created new and exciting possibilities for every company. The challenge facing leaders today is developing an organization that can achieve tomorrow’s goals while continuing to meet the daily challenges of today’s constantly changing business environment. To balance these organizational and economic demands, a leader needs a systematic, results-oriented approach to organizing, leading and motivating people.
Effective leadership requires the skills to lead people to a higher level of productivity and successful outcomes. Every company and organization is forced to accomplish more with less in this global environment. Effective leaders are a key ingredient for increased profitability and growth for businesses and organizations.
HOW CAN YOU GET INTO THIS PROGRAM? The preconditions to enter the pool are simple:
1 2 3
You must fall into the category of millennials born between 1980 and 2004 You must be an entrepreneur with a business or hold a leadership position in a larger organization ou must complete an application, inY cluding an essay of 350 to 600 words, describing why you should be selected for the leadership development project.
If selected as a winner, you must commit to write an article every quarter during the course of the year, describing the progress of the leadership development project to be published in UBJ. The Upstate Business Journal will host a selection committee of five members, which will evaluate the applications and ultimately decide on the winner. The selection committee members are: • Ryan Johnston, publisher, Upstate Business Journal • Toby Stansell, president, Acumen IT • Hannah Barfield, executive recruiter, Godshall Professional Recruiting & Staffing • Julian Nixon, department head and professor, Greenville Technical College • Manfred Gollent, CEO and executive business coach, QLI International
THE PROCESS This leadership development process is designed to help managers and entrepreneurs develop the skills needed to do more with less and be able to aggressively accomplish organizational and personal goals as well as underlying business objectives. As a result of this executive coaching process, leaders understand how and why they can be essential to achieving organizational goals. This high-intensity collaboration between the leader and the coach makes effective leadership not only possible, but eminently profitable. During the course of the year, we will explore critical leadership concepts, customized to the needs of the leader. These concepts include leadership from within, the manager as a leader, vision, dealing with change, organizational alignment, goal achievement process, effective planning, understanding the human
Manfred Gollent, CEO and executive business coach, QLI International potential, collaborating, building high-performance teams, motivation, understanding behavior, building successful attitudes and habits, leadership communication, timing and decision-making, making the most of your time, subordinate development, creating a problem-solving environment and project management concepts, to name a few . The results of the collaboration with the coach are measurable in many ways. In addition to “soft factors” like cohesive, energized teams, employee satisfaction and organizational culture, there are typically “hard measures” as expressed in reduced turnover, improved organizational profits, increased market share, maximized return on your intellectual capital, increased shareholder earnings, maximized retention of your best talent, strengthened focus on attracting, servicing and keeping customers and greater employee contributions to results. For more information on the Leaders4Tomorrow leadership development project, visit leaders4tomorrow.org. Deadline for applications: Dec. 9, 2016 Winners will be announced in the first week of January 2017.
Manfred Gollent, MBA, CBC, is a certified business coach and founder of QLI International. He is also a senior associate and executive coach for the Center for Corporate and Professional Development at Furman University. Learn more at qli-international.com.
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REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
DAVID DYKES | STAFF
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ddykes@communityjournals.com |
@daviddykes
Charlestowne Hotels to manage operations for new Abernathy at Clemson Charlestowne
Hotels,
a
hospitality management company, has been named by Tom Winkopp Realtor/ Developer LLC to oversee hotel operations for The Abernathy at Clemson. Slated to open in late April 2017, The Abernathy will have 41 rooms, including single-bedroom accommodations with kitchenettes and living space. A boardroom will be available for meetings and events. The property, 157 Old Greenville Highway, will be one block from Frank Howard Field, Clemson University’s football stadium. “Our team has a passion for the hospitality landscape in college towns, and we aim to add an element of university appeal to our work with The Abernathy, developing the hotel to serve as its own information hub while maintaining a sense of loyalty to Clemson’s roots,” said Michael Tall, president
“We wanted to create a hotel that was a common meeting point for friends and family to fully embrace Clemson’s pride and tradition.” Tom Winkopp
and chief operating officer of Charlestowne Hotels. “The Abernathy is a groundbreaking development for Clemson’s growth, and we look forward to welcoming loyal visitors while drawing in a new audience of travelers who are interested in learning more about the Clemson charm.” Continuing the legacy of hotel namesake Larry Abernathy, the city’s late, longtime mayor and adjunct university professor, The Abernathy will use local programs to connect guests with the Clemson community through activities
The staff of the Abernathy will carry orange handkerchiefs, and two-dollar bills will be given as change. Credit: Charlestowne Hotels ranging from performances by local musicians to sponsored book clubs and author readings. Maintaining Clemson traditions, staff uniforms will include orange handkerchiefs, two-dollar bills will be given as change and during home football games the hotel will hold group gatherings and walkovers to the stadium. For visitors new to the area, an interactive display will have illustrated city and campus maps, virtual tours, live university news and sports schedules/ standings. “We wanted to create a hotel that was a common meeting point for friends and family to fully embrace Clemson’s pride and tradition while also generating a sense of familiarity for those who only visit once a year,” said Winkopp. “We brought on Charlestowne Hotels because they have demonstrated success with college town hotels through a strategic, individualized approach that drives revenue and enhances guest satisfaction.” The Abernathy will offer Clemson alumni discounts, class ring identification and a faculty membership with special privileges including occasional meet-and-greets with visiting dignitaries.
Old Greenville Highway
Littlejohn Coliseum
Frank Howard Field
22 | THE TAKEAWAY |
UBJ
NOTES FROM THE BEST TALKS YOU MISSED
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11.18.2016
Vision, Passion and Planning Utility CEO Susan Story shares her path to creating a leadership legacy By MARION MANN
in her career, Story’s colleagues shifted from saying, “We have a girl here and she’s an engineer,” to saying, “We have an engineer and she happens to be a woman.”
Marketing & Communications Director, Greenville Chamber
3. Communicate effectively. According to Story, “You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you can’t communicate effectively, what good does it do?” For a long time, Story was dead set on not being a suck-up. She was always a great team-builder with those she managed and received excellent reviews for her performance and hard work, but she wasn’t being promoted. She soon realized that you have to build relationships with those above you as well. You don’t have to be a suckup, but it helps to make a genuine effort to know your superiors and where they’re coming from in order to help them lead and appreciate you.
What: The Greenville Chamber’s Fifth Annual ATHENA Leadership Symposium When: Nov. 7, 2016, at TD Convention Center, Greenville Keynote speaker: Susan N. Story, president/CEO of American Water Who was there: 500 members of Greenville’s business community, mostly women Presenting sponsor: BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
Susan Story is president and CEO of American Water, the largest and most geographically diverse publicly traded water and wastewater utility company in the U.S. Originally from rural Alabama, she went to public schools and was the first in her family to graduate from college. Story began her career as a nuclear power plant engineer and had increasing responsibilities in operations, human resources, customer service, corporate real estate and supply chain management. She has a history of active involvement in community, industry, education and economic development efforts.
Three Amazing Women Story began her presentation with admiration for three women who’ve inspired her by having a vision for what they wanted to do, feeling the passion to lead them to do it and creating a plan to get there.
Wilma Rudolph Born prematurely at 4.5 pounds in 1940 in Saint Bethlehem, Tenn., 20th of 22 siblings, Rudolph contracted infantile paralysis at age 4. She recovered, but wore a brace on her left leg and foot until she was 9. By the time she was 12, she had survived bouts of polio and scarlet fever. Thanks to her dedicated family and her resilient and persistent spirit, Wilma Rudolph not only ended up running, she ended up outrunning almost everyone. At 16, she won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1956 Melbourne games, and among many other accolades, she was the first U.S. woman athlete to win three Olympic gold medals, which she did at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.
Diane Nash Diane Nash is an American civil rights activist, leader and strategist of the student wing of the Civil Rights Movement. Her campaigns were among the most successful of the era, including the first successful civil rights campaign to integrate lunch counters; the Freedom Riders, who desegregated interstate travel; co-founding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; co-initiating the Alabama Voting Rights Project; and working on the Selma
Susan N. Story, president/CEO of American Water, speaking at ATHENA Leadership Symposium voting rights movement. Even when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself told her that her activities were too dangerous and might get her killed, she responded, “Then everyone will see what’s happening here.”
Bonnie St. John St. John has risen to the highest levels of achievement in a variety of endeavors throughout her life. Despite having her right leg amputated at age 5, she became the first African-American ever to win Olympic or Paralympic medals in ski racing, taking home a silver and two bronze medals in downhill events at the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria. In recognition of this historic achievement, Bonnie was quoted on millions of Starbucks coffee cups and honored at the White House.
Five Action Items Once You Know What You Want to Do 1. Get the best education and experience for what you want to do. Education is key to getting where you want to be. Story also recommends lateral moves in order to have exposure to all areas of a business. Experiences make you the best at what you do and can provide knowledge of what the people you hope to lead are dealing with. 2. Be a team player and work hard. Let people know they’ll be safe in a foxhole with you. If you have substance, people will see it early on, acknowledge it and celebrate it. If you don’t have substance, in today’s team-centric environments, you’ll be smoked out quickly. At one favorite point
4. Be bold. Stretch yourself. Don't let your self-doubt paralyze you. Of course there will always be someone that’s prettier, smarter, (fill in the blank), but no one is the same package as you and that’s what you bring to the table. If you see something that needs to be done, take the initiative to do it and see what happens. “You’ll never reach the stars if you’re comfortable just being on the grouznd,” Story says. 5. Be about others. When hiring managers, Story always determines whether or not they are confident enough to develop the people around them and find joy in their successes. When she left a company after 30 years and knowing some 10,000 of their 26,000 employees, Story was touched by a book of messages from the people she had worked with. “Nobody said, ‘You made budget every year,’” she remembers. Instead, they thanked her for always knowing their names, for lending an ear during a tough time, for taking a moment to care. “It’s not the big stuff you do that matters, it’s the little things,” she says. “You can change the world every day by impacting those around you. That's how you leave a legacy.”
Last note: Your business’s workforce and leadership should mirror the demographics of your customer base. If, like most of the world, women make up 50 percent of the population that matters to your bottom line, it’s a business decision, period. The Chamber’s second annual ATHENA Organizational Leadership Award was presented to law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart for their dedication to creating a culture that encourages women to achieve their full leadership potential. The Chamber is now accepting applications for the ATHENA Leadership Award to be presented at the 128th annual meeting on Jan. 31, 2017. Nomination information is at greenvillechamber.org.
11.18.2016
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THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF BUSINESS
upstatebusinessjournal.com
| DIGITAL MAVEN | 23
The Obsolescence of Trust Can all our tech tools prevent workplace theft? No. By LAURA HAIGHT president, portfoliosc.com
Trust. Once a bedrock principle, workplace technology is pushing trust up the obsolescence list. It’s not that we don’t value trustworthiness, it's just that now we can database it. We don’t have to ask employees where they’ve been anymore; GPS tracking in vehicles or even mobile devices will tell us. How much time do employees spend shopping online (or exhibiting far worse browsing habits)? There’s no guesswork there: Your firewalls can track that and even block certain sites to keep employees focused on tasks, not sales. But can technology really protect our businesses from authenticated employees or – as many studies show – even terminated employees who behave in a risky way, make bad decisions or even consciously choose to steal sensitive or proprietary company information? The short answer is, no.
Good fences make good neighbors In some ways, technology can facilitate practices and behaviors that put company data at risk. This is especially true for businesses that don’t effectively and proactively manage data security. A 2014 survey of 1,000 employees in business in the U.S., U.K. and Europe found that 20 percent had uploaded company data – client in-
formation, contracts or other sensitive data – to cloud services like Dropbox or Google with the specific intent of sharing it outside the company. The survey also found an alarming 66 percent of employees still had access to company data online after they left their jobs. Another survey reported that 72 percent of temporary employees were given administrator access to applications and services. The explosion of cloud-based services has made internal company theft a much greater risk, easier to accomplish, harder to detect and often impossible to prevent, according to a 2014 alert issued by the FBI. “The exploitation of business networks and servers by disgruntled and/ or former employees has resulted in several significant FBI investigations in which individuals used their access to destroy data, steal proprietary software, obtain customer information, purchase unauthorized goods and services using customer accounts and gain a competitive edge at a new company,” the alert warned.
Trust but verify So knowing this, why can’t we get control of it? For one, many businesses view security as a barrier to effective operations. It’s that perception that results in too much authority in the hands of too many people. Consider this very common scenario: A manager in department A is going to be on vacation. Another employee is
tasked to fill in. To do the manager’s job, the substitute needs increased systems access. The manager returns from vacation. And everything goes back to normal, except that the additional access given to the substitute is not removed. Now multiply that occurrence by 10 or more, depending on the size of your business, and you get a good idea of how out of control your high-level administrative access may be. But you don’t need elevated permissions to steal or expose company data that you have a job-related reason to access. Just a USB key or flash drive will do. Because of the security risk they pose, many financial institutions bar the use of these devices by locking them down on company laptops or desktop computers. But most firms don’t do this, making it possible for employees to download company information from business plans and contracts to document templates or CRM databases. In many cases this exposure may be innocent, even altruistic. Employees want to get work done over the weekend and take material home. But these shadow databases or copies of company information then become exposed to potential hackers who breach the employee’s home network, or the employee themselves. Even without a device to transfer them to, employees can still run off with company information. A common tool, the FBI notes, is connecting their personal cloud accounts to company data so they can access them outside of the office. Data can also be emailed to a personal account.
Hope is not a strategy When 66 percent of employees say they still have access to accounts from a former employer, we know we have a problem with off-boarding. Whether they are “good,” “disgruntled” or “fired,” all employees should be subjected to the same checklist review on their way out the door. In addition to turning in their keys and ID cards, access to everything from email and internal systems to cloud services needs to be deleted immediately. In cases where the employee’s accounts need to be preserved so a manager can access any work in progress, passwords on those accounts must to be immediately changed so even if the accounts remain active, the user cannot access them. There is no 100 percent guarantee that you can prevent a motivated employee from stealing information or defrauding your business. It’s very likely that it has already happened. But establishing policies that limit system authority to the lowest level possible, controlling the mobility of information and doggedly committing to regular reviews of employee privileges can prevent these insider risks from becoming active threats and breaches. And let your employees know that you take data security seriously. They’re less likely to attempt a malicious act if they know you might be watching. November 13-19 was International Fraud Awareness Week.
THE FRAUD TRIANGLE Three conditions need to exist together for a trusted employee to defraud or steal from their employer.
Pressure:
Most often this is financial pressure – a divorce, a family illness, a job loss. It could also be social pressure that drives someone to want to elevate their position.
Rationalization: Even with pressure, good people need to rationalize doing bad things. Hours of uncompensated overtime, years without a decent raise, ‘you wouldn’t have these clients’ if it weren’t for their efforts, are among some of the ways an employee might justify their decisions. A business cannot control or anticipate these two conditions, but the third is in the business’s hands.
Opportunity:
Do they have access to the information they want and can they get away with it? In financial operations, the internal controls, if diligently followed, will certainly detect the fraud and will often prevent it. On the technology side, well-managed security increases the risk of getting caught. That’s a powerful deterrent.
24 | INNOVATE |
UBJ
MOVERS, SHAKERS AND DISRUP TORS SHAPING OUR FUTURE
|
11.18.2016
Let’s Go to Mars! Citizen inventors of Earth, your help is needed to get to the Red Planet negative effects of deep space on our future explorers.” NASA, in partnership with the nonprofit Methuselah Foundation’s New Organ Alliance, is seeking ways to advance the field of regenerative medicine through this competition.
By BLAINE CHILDRESS Science Fellow, Sealed Air Corp. Vice President, InnoVision
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURE OF HABITATS (3-D PRINTING)
Having grown up in northeastern Alabama, I am a huge fan of NASA. I still remember the living room windows shaking when the rocket engines were tested at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, and where I was when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon. Many disruptive technologies that we take for granted today resulted from the challenges of preparing for that July 1969 event — computer advances, advanced laser ranging and freeze-dried foods, just to mention a few (OK, Tang too). The journey to Mars will undoubtedly yield myriad important improvements to our terrestrial life as well. While a manned mission to Mars is still about two decades away, plans are well underway. Unlike in the space race of the ‘60s and ‘70s, NASA recognizes it cannot solve the many vexing technical problems related to a mission to Mars without enlisting public help: they simply do not have the time, budget or bandwidth. So the agency has earmarked about $12 million in prize money as part of its “Centennial Challenges” — sort of a space-age X-Prize aimed at enticing U.S. inventors. I would like to highlight a few of these challenges.
CUBE QUEST Competitors for NASA’s Cube Quest Challenge have an opportunity to share $5 million in prize money as well as the notoriety of being involved in space exploration. Challenge objectives include designing, building and delivering small flight-qualified satellites capable of advanced operations near and beyond the moon. The challenge and prize purse are divided into three major areas: • GROUND TOURNAMENTS: $500,000 in four qualifying ground tournaments
provide essential nutrients. Teams must also propose details about how the tissue would act in a microgravity environment with experiments conducted on the International Space Station. Organ analogs will serve as substrates for testing the effects of radiation and other deep-space mission effects on human tissue health. Here on Earth, vascular tissue can serve as test material for pharmaceutical and disease understanding. (Are you listening, SCBio and Kiyatec?) According to Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for NASA, “This challenge has the potential to revolutionize health care on Earth, and could become part of an important set of tools used to minimize the
Perhaps tissue building is not your talent. NASA is providing $1.1 million in incentives to spur researchers toward developing disruptive building for Martian dwellings. The agency has a history of unfolding complex shapes to form components of an assembly; they’ve also been successful adding new “rooms” to the International Space Station. However, the new challenge is to site-build a habitat, instead of transport one, out of available raw materials. Citizen inventors are strongly encouraged to define schemes that could enable Martian shelters, including, but not restricted to, 3-D printing. Preferred solutions would be weighted toward light weight, recyclable components and indigenous materials. New shelter technologies should not only benefit space explorers, but may also identify new, low-cost housing for use by terrestrial architects and engineers. The competition is at Phase 2. Competitors will prove their worth by fabricating a full-scale habitat at an August 2017 demonstration. There have been 24 Centennial Challenges events since 2005. NASA has awarded more than $6 million to 16 challenge-winning teams. There are still more competitions, including Space Robotics. Check them out at nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/centennial_ challenges. For more information about NASA’s CentennialChallenges, visit nasa.gov/cubequest nasa.gov/3DPHab nasa.gov/feature/vascular-tissue-challenge nasa.gov/spacebot
• LUNAR DERBY: $3 million for demonstrating the ability to place a CubeSat in a stable lunar orbit • DEEP SPACE DERBY: $1.5 million for demonstrating communication and CubeSat durability at 10 times the distance from the Earth to the moon (about 2.5 million miles). The Cube Quest Challenge seeks to develop small spacecraft capabilities that will serve extreme-distance missions as well as lay the groundwork for commercial space industries.
VASCULAR TISSUE CHALLENGE A $500,000 prize will be shared among three teams who successfully produce 1-centimeter-thick functioning human vascular tissue. The tissue proto-organs must be capable of interacting with blood so as to
A shelter like this could be part of a manned exploration mission to Mars, fueled by the innovation of earthbound inventors.
11.18.2016
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upstatebusinessjournal.com
VOICES FROM THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, HEARD HERE
| OPINION| 25
ACA continues to batter Americans, small businesses By GUY FURAY Owner, The Insurance Source & JOHN DEWORKEN Owner/Partner, Sunnie & DeWorken
The optimistically named Affordable Care Act is an experiment that has failed. And although the intent to cover more Americans – particularly those most at-risk – is honorable, the wake of that failure has caused countless hardships to vast segments of our society, including the backbone of our country, small businesses. The law that inspired so many with its promise of inexpensive health care for the masses is now trapped in a downward spiral. Not only does this death spiral threaten the well-being of so many of the very people the ACA was meant to protect, but it is also creating financial hardships for small businesses, the very momand-pops that provide the overwhelming number of jobs that fuel the American economic engine. The reasons for the ACA’s death spiral are too numerous to list here; however, one fundamental flaw is that insurance works only when the risks are spread across large pools of numbers, in effect ensuring that all claims – large and small – are covered at the lowest cost for premiums. But because the ACA eliminated
the pre-existing-condition exclusion and established guaranteed-issue health insurance, those who are healthy wind up paying a disproportionate amount to cover the claims of the very ill. Worse, the ACA fine and penalty structure enacted in the ACA to prevent this scenario from happening is so grossly misaligned that it only contributes to the problem. The current fine structure actually provides healthy people and small businesses with a financial incentive to forgo insurance altogether, causing the “large pool of numbers,” necessary for insurance to work to quickly evaporate. As for small businesses, according to the United States Small Business Administration, there are roughly 5 million businesses with 50 employees or less; these are the very businesses that fuel job creation and are the backbone of this nation’s economy. But the ever-rising costs of providing health care coverage have effectively tied a noose around the throats of these business owners, who the nation depends on to create jobs and drive capital investment. Local business owner and co-author John DeWorken has an acute – but not uncommon – understanding of the problem. DeWorken and his business partner have seen insurance rates for their three small businesses
The law that inspired so many with its promise of inexpensive health care for the masses is now trapped in a downward spiral. skyrocket. To cover just two lives and in only five years, their rates increased from $404 per month to more than $1,000 monthly, with few added benefits and an egregiously high deductible in return. DeWorken and his partner are far from alone as they struggle to take care of their businesses. Multiply those rate increases by the millions of small businesses and individuals impacted by ACA: It does not paint the picture of a healthy future for any small business. It helps to remember that the ACA is often referred to as “health care reform.” The ACA, however, never really addressed the very reason the reform was needed – the cost of health care. Instead, the ACA sought only to treat a symptom. To fix the root issue, our elected officials will have to address health-care costs, which include an array of complex issues related to the root causes, not the symptoms. Only then can we have health care that works.
GODSHALL Professional Recruiting Staffing Consulting
26 | ON THE MOVE |
UBJ
PLAY-BY-PLAY OF UPSTATE CAREERS
HIRED
HIRED
HIRED
PROMOTED
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11.18.2016
HIRED
LAURIE ROVIN
LYNN-D GUNTER
SANDRA BROCKMAN
JESSICA SMITH
KIMBER ROBERTS
Named the executive director of A Child’s Haven. Before joining A Child’s Haven, Rovin led Pendleton Place as the president for nearly five years. Prior to that, she worked at the United Way of Greenville for 10 years as the Success By 6 director. Academically, she holds two master’s degrees in deafness rehabilitation and social work.
Named a senior account executive for Hughes Agency. Gunter joins Hughes Agency from the outdoor sporting goods industry, where she served as product development marketing coordinator for two North American fishing brands. She brings more than four years of experience in the areas of public relations, social media management, advertising management and merchandising strategy execution.
Named office manager at Hughes Agency. Prior to joining Hughes Agency, Brockman worked as an assistant to the publisher at The Greenville News for 40 years.
Promoted by Dillard-Jones Builders LLC from the position of director of business development to vice president of sales. A graduate of North Greenville University, Smith has extensive knowledge of the custom home industry and has been an integral part of the Dillard-Jones Builders team for more than eight years.
Named a residential sales agent in Coldwell Banker Caine’s Greenville office. Roberts most recently worked as a real estate agent with another Upstate firm focusing on new construction and relocation. She holds both a business administration degree from Florida State University and a hospitality management degree from Florida Atlantic University.
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Infinity Marketing has been recognized by the 2016 International Competition for Marketing and Communication Professionals with 11 awards for creativity in a wide range of categories. MarCom is an international, creative competition for marketing and communication professionals. Of its 12 total submissions, Infinity won top honors with three entries receiving the Platinum award: Infinity Marketing Sizzle Video, self-promotion; Fatz Cafe “Halloween Hunger Pains,” social media video; and Comcast X1 Specialty Mailer, brochure. Four entries were honored at the Gold level: Infinity Marketing Blog, blog overall; Infinity Marketing Website, website for marketing, PR, advertising agency; Fatz Cafe “Dynamic Duos,” social media content; Fatz Cafe “Only in the South,” social media campaign. In addition to these top awards, Infinity took home four Honorable Mentions: Fatz Cafe “You Deserve a Steak,” social media campaign; Fatz Cafe “Food Speaks-Ribs,” social media video; Generations, logo; Comcast “Binge Watch at the Beach,” billboard.
AUTOMOTIVE iDrive Greenville promoted Kimberly French to general manager, the highest dealership position. As general manager, French will oversee all divisions of the dealership including sales, service, reconditioning and their newest line of luxury rentals. CONTRIBUTE: New hires, promotions & award winners may be featured in On the Move. Send information and photos to onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com.
11.18.2016
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upstatebusinessjournal.com
INSIDE THE UPSTATE’S NETWORKING AND SOCIAL SCENE
| SOCIAL SNAPSHOT | 27
BBB RECOGNIZES UPSTATE BUSINESSES OF INTEGRITY The Better Business Bureau of the Upstate (BBB) named eight Upstate companies as the winners of its Business of Integrity Award on Nov. 10 at the Hilton Greenville. Winners were selected in three categories based on number of employees. Community Service • Ezell Law Firm LLC — 1-10 Employees • Rustic Escentuals LLC — 11-49 Employees • Fairway Ford Inc. — 50-199 Employees Customer Service • Attorney Offices of Thomas M. Gagne P.A. — 1-10 Employees • International Plastics Inc., ProGrin Dental —11-49 Employees • Waldrop Inc. — 50-199 Employees Marketplace Ethics • The Turner Agency Inc. — 11-49 Employees • Guy Roofing Inc. — 50-199 Employees Note: A story in the Nov. 11 UBJ mistakenly omitted the award for the Attorney Offices of Thomas M. Gagne, and listed ProGrin Dental in the 1-10 Employees category.
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28 | THE FINE PRINT |
BUSINESS BRIEFS YOU CAN’ T MISS
UBJ
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11.18.2016
Fluor recognized for leadership in craft workforce development
Join VentureSouth, a leading early-stage venture firm, in downtown Greenville on November 30 for a comprehensive workshop titled
“Executing Exits” This comprehensive workshop, created by the Angel Resource Institute provides the knowledge and resources to maximize the probability of completing a successful exit, ensuring the price is fair, the terms are reasonable and the outcome is optimum for the team and the business. The price is $125 and you can sign up online at venturesouthsummit.eventbrite.com.
BILL PAYNE Bill Payne is a nationally renowned angel investor and advisor to entrepreneurs. He assisted in founding four angel groups: the Frontier Angel Fund, Vegas Valley Angels, Tech Coast Angels, and Aztec Venture Network, and has successfully founded or invested in over 60 start-up companies.
www.venturesouth.vc
Fluor Corporation announced that the Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) has honored Fluor’s U.S. Gulf Coast Craft Training Center with its 2016 Workforce Development Award. Fluor received the award at the CURT Awards of Excellence Celebration in New Orleans. Located in Pasadena, Texas, the recently opened U.S. Gulf Coast Craft Training Center offers tuition-free, pre-employment training in the welding, electrical, instrumentation, millwright and pipefitting disciplines. With an intensive, NCCER-certified curriculum that combines classroom with hands-on training, the center trains more than 300 students annually. Upon graduation, students are equipped with industry-recognized certifications and can embark on careers in the construction industry.
Tindall Corporation Virginia division completes 300th parking structure
Tindall Corporation, a leader in precast concrete based in Spartanburg, recently erected the 300th parking structure to be produced by its Petersburg, Va., facility. Built for Howard Community College in Columbia, Md., the 735-car garage is the third parking structure that Tindall’s Virginia Division has completed for the college and is an expansion of the initial deck built in 2006. Since 1988, Tindall has delivered high-quality precast concrete building systems to the Mid-Atlantic region.
Milliken & Company receives two awards for innovation excellence Milliken & Company has been recognized for its technological innovation with the receipt of two honors – an R&D 100 Award and InnoVision Award for Technology Integration. Both accolades highlight select Milliken & Company products for their protective and environmental qualities impacting a multitude of industries. R&D Magazine presented Westex by Milliken with an R&D 100 Award for its breakthrough technology displayed in Westex ShieldCXP, a protective fabric that defends the wearer from both flame and inadvertent chemical splash hazards. Additionally, Milliguard UVX200 HF, an innovative UV absorber used in polyurethanes, received the 2016 InnoVision Award for excellence in Technology Integration. The product offers widespread application for polyurethane systems used in the automotive industry and apparel foam, serving as a first line of defense to protect polyurethane substrates from harmful UV radiation.
>>
11.18.2016
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upstatebusinessjournal.com
THE FRESHEST FACES ON THE BUSINESS LANDSCAPE
| NEW TO THE STREET | 29
Open for business 1
Presented by
1. Alexium International marked the opening of its new manufacturing facility at 350 W. Phillips Road, Greer, with a ribboncutting ceremony attended by Trey Gowdy, U.S. Representative for South Carolina, 4th District. Photo provided
2
Conversations with Upstate Professionals
Embassy Suites 250 Riverplace, Greenville, SC
Wednesday, Nov. 30 2. Allen Tate Realtors Greenville-Downtown office recently opened at 323 Buncombe St.
from 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Photo provided
CONTRIBUTE: Know of a business opening soon? Email information to aturner@communityjournals.com.
>>
Dog Trainers Workshop expands program offerings
Dog Trainers Workshop has expanded its offerings with a dog agility training program to complement its obedience classes and obedience competition training. Dog agility classes will be taught by handler Jill Leake, owner and trainer of Baillie, a Greyhound and Master Agility Champion (MACH), the highest competition achievement for an agility dog.
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30 | #TRENDING |
UBJ
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
OVERHEARD @ THE WATERCOOLER
> Greenville SC Upstate Homes “We need this at Fairview and Harrison Bridge roads like we need a hole in our heads... geez.”
RE: LOUISVILLE ADDS 6 GREENVILLEMADE ELECTRIC BUSES TO ITS FLEET > @proterra_inc “Thanks to @ridetarc and @FoothillTransit for being leaders in adopting #ZEV buses to improve air quality, bottom lines #notailpipe” > LvilleDistilled “We love @ridetarc and its efforts to be as sustainable as possible, and buying Americanmade electric buses is pretty cool too.” > @GoGADC “Exciting news: Greenville plans to welcome the first #Proterra electric buses to the city! #Greenlink bit.ly/2fD1Vvx @UpstateBiz”
RE: CLEMSON RECEIVES $357M SOFTWARE GIFT FROM SIEMENS > Lacey Crosson-Cornelius “Way to go Siemens!!”
RE: STUDY: SPARTANBURG’S TOURISM MARKETING PAYING OFF > @ebonyaustin4 “@SpartanburgCVB @SpartanChamber
>> CONNECT WITH US We’re great at networking. LINKEDIN.COM/COMPANY/ UPSTATE-BUSINESS-JOURNAL FACEBOOK.COM/ THEUPSTATEBUSINESSJOURNAL
NOVEMBER 11, 2016
Village Life The
The Hartness family’s to create ambitious effort a suburban hamlet
SPARTANBURG THE PATH TO REDEVELOPMENT REBORN WOODSIDE MILL PARKER: THOMAS FLEMING PATHFINDER
11.18.2016
BIZ BUZZ
Distilled commentary from UBJ readers
RE: NEW DEVELOPMENT COMING TO SIMPSONVILLE
|
| VOL. 5 ISSUE 46
DIGITAL FLIPBOOK ARCHIVE >> The layout of print meets the convenience of the Web. Flip through the digital editions of any of our print issues, and see them all in one place. >> upstatebusinessjournal. com/past-issues
>> WEIGH IN @ THE UBJ EXCHANGE Got something to offer? Get it off your chest. We’re looking for expert guest bloggers from all industries to contribute to the UBJ Exchange. Send posts or blog ideas to dcar@communityjournals.com. Congrats on the hard work! Great accomplishments ahead for the city of Spartanburg” > @SeeSpartanburg “Thanks @UpstateBiz for including us. We love having visitors experience the installations. SeeingSpartanburg.com.”
The Top 5 stories from the past week ranked by shareability score
>> 466 1. Eyes to the Eastside: The Hartness family sets out to create the South’s ‘next great neighborhood’
>> 91 2. A look inside Partners in Active Living’s plan to connect Spartanburg’s trails and bring opportunities downtown
>> 57 3. New development coming to Simpsonville
>> 36 4. Study: Spartanburg’s tourism marketing paying off
>> 27 5. The Pathfinder: Thomas Parker’s influence spread from Monaghan Mill to the Greenville library system
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UPSTATEBUSINESSJOURNAL.COM
11.18.2016
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DATE
EVENTS YOU SHOULD HAVE ON YOUR CALENDAR
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Comprehensive Small Business Start-Up Workshop
Greenville County Library Hughes Branch 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
Cost: $69, $25 for each additional participant from same company For more information: piedmontscore. org/workshops/register/273
Greenville Airport Commission meeting
Downtown Airport Terminal 100 Tower Drive 11 a.m.–noon
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Endeavor presents Collaborators & Cocktails: Denny’s Chief Marketing Officer John Dillone
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IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE OF UBJ? WANT A COPY FOR YOUR LOBBY?
UBJ milestone jackson Marketing Group’s 25 Years 1988 Jackson Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport
1988
Holly Hardin
ADVERTISING DESIGN
1997 Jackson Dawson launches motorsports Division 1993
1990 Jackson Dawson
acquires therapon marketing Group and moves to Piedmont office Center on Villa.
LAYOUT OPERATIONS
NOVEMBER 25 THE BEER BUSINESS Success is on tap for this hopping industry.
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
UBJ milestone
>>
with a majority of them utilizing the general aviation airport as a “corporate gateway to the city.” In 1997, Jackson and his son, Darrell, launched Jackson Motorsports Group. The new division was designed to sell race tires and go to racetracks to sell and mount the tires. Darrell Jackson now serves as president of the motorsports group and Larry Jackson has two other children and a son-in-law who work there. Jackson said all his children started at the bottom and “earned their way up.” Jackson kept the Jackson-Dawson branches in Detroit and others in Los Angeles and New York until he sold his portion of that partnership in 2009 as part of his estate planning. The company now operates a small office in Charlotte, but its main headquarters are in Greenville in a large office space off Woodruff Road, complete with a vision gallery that displays local artwork and an auditorium Jackson makes available for non-profit use. The Motorsports Group is housed in an additional 26,000 square feet building just down the street, and the agency is currently looking for another 20,000 square feet. Jackson said JMG has expanded into other verticals such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing and pro-bono work, but still has a strong focus on the auto industry and transportation. It’s
Chairman larry Jackson, Jackson marketing Group. Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff
Jackson Marketing Group celebrates 25 years By sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com
Solve. Serve. Grow. Those three words summarize Jackson Marketing Group’s guiding principles, and according to owner Larry Jackson, form the motivation that has kept the firm thriving for the past 25 years.
Jackson graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in video and film production and started his 41-year career in the communications industry with the U.S. Army’s Public Information Office. He served during
Vietnam, where he said he was “luckily” stationed in the middle of Texas at Fort Hood. He left the service and went to work in public affairs and motorsports at Ford Motor Company in Detroit. After a stint at Bell and Howell, where he was responsible for managing Ford’s dealer marketing and training, the entrepreneurial bug hit and he co-founded Jackson-Dawson Marketing Communications, a company specializing in dealer training and product launches for the auto industry in 1980. In 1987, Jackson wanted to move back south and thought Greenville would be a good fit. An avid pilot, he
learned of an opportunity to purchase Cornerstone Aviation, a fixed base operation (FBO) that served as a service station for the Greenville Downtown Airport, providing fuel, maintenance and storage. In fact, when he started the Greenville office of what is now Jackson Marketing Group (JMG) in 1988, the offices were housed on the second floor in an airport hangar. “Clients would get distracted by the airplanes in the hangars and we’d have to corral them to get back upstairs to the meeting,” Jackson said. Jackson sold the FBO in 1993, but says it was a great way to get to know Greenville’s fathers and leaders
>>
2003 motorsports Division acquires an additional 26,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space
1998 1998 Jackson Dawson moves to task industrial Court
also one of the few marketing companies in South Carolina to handle all aspects of a project in-house, with four suites handling video production, copywriting, media and research and web design. Clients include heavyweights such as BMW, Bob Jones University, the Peace Center, Michelin and Sage Automotive. Recent projects have included an interactive mobile application for Milliken’s arboretum and 600-acre Spartanburg campus and a marketing campaign for the 2013 Big League World Series. “In my opinion, our greatest single achievement is the longevity of our client relationships,” said Darrell Jackson. “Our first client from back in 1988 is still a client today. I can count on one hand the number of clients who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.” Larry Jackson says his Christian faith and belief in service to others, coupled with business values rooted in solving clients’ problems, have kept
2009 Jackson Dawson changes name to Jackson marketing Group when larry sells his partnership in Detroit and lA 2003
2009-2012 Jackson marketing Group named a top BtoB agency by BtoB magazine 4 years running
him going and growing his business over the years. He is passionate about giving back and outreach to non-prof non-profits. The company was recently awarded the Community Foundation Spirit Award. The company reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community last week by celebrating its 25th anniversary with a birthday party and a 25-hour Serve-A-Thon partnership with Hands on Greenville and Habitat for Humanity. JMG’s 103 full-time employees worked in shifts around the clock on October 22 and 23 to help construct a house for a deserving family. As Jackson inches towards retirement, he says he hasn’t quite figured out his succession plan yet, but sees the companies staying under the same umbrella. He wants to continue to strategically grow the business. “From the beginning, my father has taught me that this business is all about our people – both our clients and our associates,” said his son, Darrell. “We have created a focus and a culture that strives to solve problems, serve people and grow careers.” Darrell Jackson said he wants to “continue helping lead a culture where we solve, serve and grow. If we are successful, we will continue to grow towards our ultimate goal of becoming the leading integrated marketing communications brand in the Southeast.”
2011 Jackson marketing Group/Jackson motorsports Group employee base reaches 100 people
2008 2012 Jackson marketing Group recognized by Community Foundation with Creative spirit Award
pro-bono/non-proFit / Clients lients American Red Cross of Western Carolinas Metropolitan Arts Council Artisphere Big League World Series The Wilds Advance SC South Carolina Charities, Inc. Aloft Hidden Treasure Christian School
CoMMUnitY nit inVolVeMent nitY in olV inV olV Ve eMent & boarD positions lArry JACkson (ChAirmAn): Bob Jones University Board chairman, The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center board member, Gospel Fellowship Association board member, Past Greenville Area Development Corporation board member, Past Chamber of Commerce Headquarters Recruiting Committee member, Past Greenville Tech Foundation board member
DECEMBER 2 THE BUSINESS OF DOGS The care, training and feeding of our best friends.
David Jones (Vice President Client services, Chief marketing officer): Hands on Greenville board chairman mike Zeller (Vice President, Brand marketing): Artisphere Board, Metropolitan Arts Council Board, American Red Cross Board, Greenville Tech Foundation Board, South Carolina Chamber Board eric Jackson (Jackson motorsports Group sales specialist): Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board
November 1, 2013 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal 21
20 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal November 1, 2013
AS SEEN IN
NOVEMBER 1, 2013
Kristy Adair | Michael Allen
CLIENT SERVICES Anita Harley | Jane Rogers
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Kristi Fortner
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