Buzz On Biz

WRDW 1630AM 12-2PM OR STREAMING LIVE ATWWW.WRDWAM.COM

The boyz are delaying their holiday plans to deliver you the finest in local biz-tainment! They’ll have the requisite golf story mixed in with other neat stories and great guests such as:

12:20pm - - Jeremy Mace from www.newfiresocialmedia.com joins us for a look at social media in the workplace etc.

12:45pm - - Regent Security Vault and their Management Consultant Eddie Writer is talking about safety in the workplace.

1:20pm - - Business Coach Larry Rudwick of www.businesstune-ups.com joins the boyz to talk about his latest article in the September edition of “Buzz on Biz”. He’s focusing on your dislikes and weaknesses on the job.

1:45pm - - Business leaders often have more responsibilities than to just their company or employees, sometimes it involves taking care of elderly loved ones. Our experts from RESCARE can help explain what’s involved in providing assistance. For more information, log on to www.rescarehomecare.com

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1. Don’t Use “I Don’t Trust You” Phrases. Be very careful about using the following phrases: “I never want to be surprised”, “Before you start anything, check with me first,” “When I am on the road, I will call in every morning for an update” All of these phrases send strong messages to subordinates that you want to keep them on a close leash and, even worse, that you do not trust them.

2. Welcome Criticism. All leaders should fully understand that criticism and loyalty are mutually supporting. When subordinates quit complaining that can be very bad news. It means that they are either afraid to complain or have given up on making things better within the organization. Both are deadly.

3. Don’t Set Unreasonable Deadlines. There is an expression in the Pentagon, “If you want it bad you will get it bad”. Try to give your folks enough time to put together a solution that you and they can be proud of.

4. Expect Exceptional Performance. Although perfectionism in a leader can be deadly in any organization, leaders must not let the pendulum swing too far in the other direction. If leaders don’t ask for exceptional performance from their associates they are not likely to get it.

5.  Don’t Allow Yourself to Become a Wind Chime. If your primary skill is blowing with the wind by being politically agile, you will not be respected by those you lead.  Have a backbone and exercise your strength of character by taking strong positions on important issues.

6. Fight the Temptation to Get Even. If someone does something to you that is mean spirited, think of it as his or her problem—not your problem.

7. Focus on Goals not Process. It is important to be clear about the job to be done but to be very  flexible about the way you do the job.

8. Be a Blame Acceptor. If something goes wrong within the organization which you lead, you must be willing to accept the blame even though you personally may be only a tiny part of the failure. Too many bosses try to blame others, especially their subordinates. By doing so they often lose the respect of their people and their bosses.

9.  Establish Self-Reinforcing Relationships. Praise and support those who can move smoothly from competition to cooperation. Encourage those who find solutions that reconcile the opposites. This is an area where the French have it right. They have a national motto: liberty, equality and fraternity.

10. Be A Leader Developer. A big part of leadership is mentorship. Helping people to develop their leadership skills can be immensely rewarding.

Also, leaders should help subordinates think like them and like their bosses.  When these subordinates get promoted they will then be ready to take on the big job.

Perry Smith  is an active member of the Augusta Museum of History and area civic clubs and encourages your involvement. He can be reached via email at genpsmith@aol.com.  “Rules and Tools For Leaders” is available on www.amazon.com

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In these challenging times, life insurance remains an affordable source of stability when it comes to financial security.

The prospect of shrinking retirement savings and rising unemployment rates has made financial peace of mind hard to come by these days.  Americans are looking for ways to cut back on expenses and shore up their savings, and many are considering life insurance as a way to bridge the gap created by other financial losses. According to a report called The Value of Life in Tough Economic Times issued by Prudential Financial in September, 2009:

• 94 percent of those surveyed have maintained or increased the amount of their life insurance over the last 18 months.

• At the same time, 90 percent acknowledged a loss of assets, and 55 percent indicated a traumatic financial event–such loss of job, income, retirement contributions or health-care insurance over the past 18 months.

• Despite the fact that 70 percent have cut back on routine expenditures, 84 percent indicated they view the cost of life insurance as relatively minimal when compared to other regularly budgeted items.

Prudential’s study also revealed that for 93 percent of Americans life insurance protection for their family is a “must.” In addition, 95 percent recognize that their policies could be significantly more expensive to obtain at an older age, and 55 percent are concerned it could be harder to get coverage due to health conditions.

While traditional sources of retirement income like stocks and retirement accounts have become less dependable, now is a good time to take a closer look at life insurance coverage and the protection it offers in this volatile financial climate. In fact, increasing life insurance protection for loved ones to help offset the value of assets that have been lost makes good financial sense.

How much coverage is right for you?

When purchasing life insurance coverage, statistics show that even among those insured by an individual policy, the majority have less than three times their annual income in coverage. Very few have the minimum recommended six to seven times their annual income coverage. As a result, only 27 percent of consumers in the Prudential study said they were “very confident” that their current life insurance coverage is sufficient to maintain the same standard of living for their loved ones in the event of their premature death. The fact is, tough economic times call for consumers to re-examine the amount and type of life insurance coverage they have to make sure it is adequate for their current and future financial needs.

A financial professional can offer information and advice to help you determine the amount of life insurance coverage that fits your individual needs.  For more information, download a copy of The Value of Life in Tough Economic Times.

Tommy Norris This is a sponsored Financial Services article. Tommy owns the Norris Group and has 23 years of Insurance and Financial Service experience and can help with any of those needs, including Employee Benefits. In 2002, the Norris Group was recognized as “Small Business Of The Year, “ by the Metro Augusta\Columbia County Chamber of Commerce. Reach Tommy at 706.869.8888 or tommynorris@comcast.net

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Construction is going at a fast and furious pace on the Bobby Jones Expressway between two heavyweight retailers. Sam’s Club seems to have the edge in that they will get open sooner with their brand of gasoline. Lowe’s has signed on with Murphy, USA to provide the fuel and the convenience store items for hungry customers.

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COURTESY: BARTRAM TRAIL GOLF CLUB

Bartram Trail Golf Club will be re-opening their putting greens on Friday September 10, 2010 for play to the public. The new greens are “MiniVerde”, a fine bladed, high shoot density Ultra Dwarf Bermuda grass, which is the ultimate warm season turf grass for putting greens.

Come see why “Bartram Trail Golf Course” was voted the Best Golf Course by the Augusta Chronicle in 2010.

Play at Bartram Trail – “Where Golf Is Seriously Fun”>

Sign up today at Bartram Trail Golf Club Pro Shop 706-210-4681or on line at www.bartramtrailgolfclub.org for your tee times

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Courtesy: Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau

Augusta, GA – Visitors attending meetings, reunions, events and/or sporting events in the Augusta area will generate at least $8,028,279.00 in Direct Visitor Spending over the month of September.

The Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) is pleased to announce the following meetings, reunions, and events arriving in Augusta.  As the official Destination Marketing Organization for Augusta, the ACVB has helped to bring these groups to Augusta and/or is providing services for these groups while they are in the area.

The groups listed below represent a portion of the meetings/reunions/events meeting in Augusta this month.  Please contact the Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau to receive more information about these groups.

For the Month of September

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Click here to hear the podcast about the growth in Grovetown

George James, the Mayor of Grovetown, and Sonny McDowell, one of the City Council Members stop by the radio BUZZ to let Bill and John in on all of the recent activity in their town.

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Click here to hear the podcast with Matt Schlachter

Matt stops by the radio BUZZ to tell Bill and John about what was involved with the plan to erect signs around Columbia County, promoting the County and all that it has to offer.

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WRDW 1630AM 12-2PM OR STREAMING LIVE ATWWW.WRDWAM.COM

The boyz are back and talking about the “Boy King” (AC writer Sylvia Cooper’s term for “Mayor Deke”. He made a prestigious statewide business list. John and Bill also have some other prominent guests on the show today:

1220 MATT SCHLACHTER (Construction and Maintenance Service Director for ColCo) will be  chatting about the “Sample Columbia County Signs” Installed. These are gateway signs to help tourism and slow traffic congestion.

12:45pm – Kevin Wade of Intellisystems stops by each Thursday to discuss your office and your office needs. Intellisystems is a Microsoft provider, and does Networking, Monitoring, and Voice and Data services for clients. For more information, log on to www.intellisystems.com

1:20pm - -  MAYOR GEORGE JAMES & COUNCILMAN SONNY MCDOWELL will be joining us from Grovetown.  They will be chatting about the new businesses and growth in G-Town:

Urgent MD 101 Fornum Drive (old post office building)

Little Caesar’s Pizza 810 Horizon South Parkway (Food Lion Shopping Center)

Frank Wilson’s Equipment Center 114 E. Robinson Avenue (across from the Court House Annex)

Coming Soon:   New, Larger, & Improved CVS Pharmacy @ 869 Horizon South Parkway (across from McDonalds)—while the store is not officially open for business, they are moving right along and should be open in a few weeks or so.

1:45pm - -  Hospitality experts from The Partridge Inn join us to discuss the exciting events planned for the hotel’s 100th Anniversary in 2010. They will also discuss some hospitality “do’s” and “don’t’s” to help you plan your upcoming event. Find out more by logging on to www.partridgeinn.com

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Edited By Susan Percy published September 2010

Vision, Determination and Optimism: Georgia Leaders Look Ahead

It’s as easy to get stuck in the present as it is to stay focused on the past. A sluggish economy and testy political climate make it difficult to see too far ahead. So as we pause to celebrate Georgia Trend’s 25th anniversary, we’ve sought some help from 25 of our state’s leaders, representing business, public service and education. Some of them have been around longer than Georgia Trend, some are relatively new on the scene. We asked each one to look ahead, through his or her particular lens, and tell us what they see in store for the state. Their responses are a blend of realism and optimism, determination and concern, vision and hope.

Interviews were conducted and stories prepared by Jerry Grillo, Ben Young, Tom Crawford, Ed Lightsey and Candice Dyer.

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