GBJ Staff

Leadership Tips for Troubled Times

Here are my top three tips for leaders who find themselves challenged by the unprecedented events and markets of 2011.

1. Leverage leadership opportunities into enhanced career value – Assert yourself as a leader by accepting even greater responsibility without being asked. Go beyond the call of duty to support the performance of coworkers, teams, and bosses. Do that and you become the strongest link in the human resource chain and the most valuable player on the team.
That virtually assures that you will be recognized as a true leader by everyone around you. In fact, they will want to see you rise in leadership because they know that with you at the helm their own careers will be more successful and rewarding.

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GBJ Staff

Four Gwinnett Leaders Polish Their Dance Skills to Compete for Charity

A Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge, a state representative, the head of the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce and a Gwinnett County commissioner will all be working to perfect their dance moves over the next four weeks in hopes of taking top honors in the American Cancer Society’s 37th Annual Crusader’s Ball “Dance with the Stars of Atlanta” competition on October 8.

The 2011 celebrity dancers include Melodie Snell Conner, Gwinnett County Judge of the Superior Court; Brooks Coleman, Georgia State Representative; Jim Maran, president and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce; and Shirley Lasseter, Gwinnett County Commissioner. Their dancing skills will be judged by an equally impressive panel: Jovita Moore, WSB-TV Channel 2 Action News anchor; Eddie Ares, professional ballroom instructor and dance champion; and Kristina Blum, Gwinnett County Magistrate Court.

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GBJ Staff

What Makes America Great – A Look at America Through the Eyes of Manufacturing

The 24-hour per day news cycle constantly bombards us with negative reports on the American economy.  If our economic well being was dependant exclusively on these reports, everyone would just put their hands in the air and surrender.  However, I am encouraged that the prevailing mindset in America is focused on finding solutions and not just dwelling on problems.

Over the past fifteen years, I have been blessed to work in and around what I feel is the smartest and most committed group in our country – the manufacturing and engineering industry.

While working as a sales representative for an engineering software company, I saw a need to help connect manufacturing companies, engineers, and machine shops through networking. Many business-to-business networking organizations already existed, but none of them met the unique needs of the manufacturing community.  I founded NetworkingMFG in February 2008 to fill this void. Today NetworkingMFG has dozens of memberships and routinely boasts between 20-50 attendees per month.

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GBJ Staff

Gwinnett Gets PGA Ready

After spending a day at the Atlanta Athletic Club preparing for the upcoming PGA tournament, it was difficult not to be amazed by the ‘mini-city’ that has sprung up. Workers polish, trim and touch up the course and the facilities, PGA officials scoot around the course making last minute decisions, and a bevy of buses await the more than 35,000 attendees that will descend up on the Duluth/Johns Creek area in early August. This international championship is expected to generate an economic impact of over $50 million dollars statewide, and will help fill up our hotels, restaurants, home rentals, entertainment and more. What is even better, our visitors spend their dollars here, generating tax revenues aplenty, and then they head HOME. They don’t overload our school system, generate infrastructure costs or (usually), cause traffic jams.

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Gwinnett Magazine Staff

ECOMAIDS brings green approach to cleaning

Armed with mircofiber cloths rather than paper towels and reusable squirt bottles filled with Green Seal certified cleaning products instead of a mop and bucket, ECOMAIDS brings new meaning to a professional cleaning service.  Working with both residential and commercial buildings, the nationally franchised company also helps buildings maintain their LEED certification.

Leadership Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) was created by the U.S. Green Building Council to help building owners and operators identify areas where they can conserve energy.  The products, supplies and equipment ECOMAIDS use are all Green Seal approved and count towards the maximum points a building can receive to maintain LEED status. With it’s environmentally friendly concept paired with a business model to believe in, franchise owner Jackie Allen knew she wanted to be part of what ECOMAIDS has to offer.

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GBJ Staff

Workforce development in high gear: Gwinnett Tech graduates record number

True to its mission of workforce development, Gwinnett Technical College graduated a record number of students this year – more than 930 when commencement was celebrated last week at the Gwinnett Arena.

The 930 graduates represent more than 1,740 awards conferred, as many Gwinnett Tech students earn multiple graduate awards. Associate degrees earned increased 47.8 percent and diplomas earned were up 51.6 percent, both compared to last year.

“Commencement is always a special time for all of us at Gwinnett Tech – one that reflects our mission and commitment to both our students and our community. Our faculty and staff are proud to celebrate the accomplishments of our outstanding students, and equally proud to present almost 1,000 highly trained and skilled graduates to the business community,” says Gwinnett Tech President Sharon Bartels.

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GBJ Staff

Early adoption and adaptation bring success to Pinnacle Winner Atlanta Housing Source

Mark Lackey, founder of Atlanta Housing Source

How do you succeed in the post-collapse real estate and mortgage markets?

Few companies have answered this question correctly in the past several years. Even fewer have been able to build a thriving business.  But that’s not the case for 2011 Pinnacle Award Winner Atlanta Housing Source at Solid Source Realty, Inc.

Founded in 2005 by Anne and Mark Lackey, Atlanta Housing Source started as a residential real estate team serving the north Atlanta suburbs. Six years later, the company has expanded into rentals and investing, and manages approximately 200 homes in the Gwinnett County region.

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GBJ Staff

Take Action While Economy Recovers

As recovery creeps up on the U.S. economy like molasses going uphill in the winter time, small businesses are starting to feel the pressure ease, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to go back to “business as usual.”

That’s the opinion of consultant Jim Muehlhausen, CPA and author of The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How To Avoid Them. He wants to help owners keep their cool as the economy starts to warm up. He has narrowed down the reasons why small businesses tank during the lean times.

Small businesses face more challenges than the large corporations with huge cash reserves to help them through financial crises. They are more susceptible to market fluctuations, have fewer clients to support them and generally have more transient staff. On the flip side, they also make up 70 percent of the businesses in the U.S., so as goes small business, so goes the economy.

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GBJ Staff

Gwinnett picks up the “green” pace with Great American Cleanup

From eradicating graffiti to transforming a vacant lot, the people of Gwinnett County have kicked it into high gear for the 2011 Great American Cleanup – Gwinnett Challenge. For eight weeks between March 15 to May 15, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful has encouraged citizens of all ages and businesses to pitch in and help Gwinnett County go green.

“The Great American Cleanup reminds families that a better environment for us all starts in our own backyards,” said Connie Wiggins, executive director of Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful. “The program is about our quality of life – our local environment and economy. Green, clean and beautiful communities are not only nice to look at – they are economically vibrant places where people want to live, work, play and shop.”

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GBJ Staff

Celebrate Gwinnett’s entrepreneurs and small businesses

By Jim Maran

They are advertising agencies, technology providers, medical offices, plumbers, interior decorators, insurance agencies, and salons. They are both one man operations and one hundred-plus person workforce operations. And they come from every corner of Gwinnett. They have dreams of success and the determination and perseverance to make their dreams a reality. They are risk-takers, innovators and givers. They are our 2011 Pinnacle Small Business Award winners – the top entrepreneurs and small businesses of our community.

The Gwinnett Chamber and presenting sponsor the Atlanta Journal-Constitution are pleased to honor and recognize these extraordinary organizations, their accomplishments and contributions at the Pinnacle Small Business Awards on April 29.

 
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