Dear business and industry friends, welcome to our April and 34th anniversary edition of BIC Magazine — your Business & Industry Connection. As I prayed about and pondered what topics to discuss in this anniversary issue of BIC Magazine -- the last message I'll write from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, before moving to League City, Texas, later this month — two things came to mind. The first was our March "From the Publisher" column written by Thomas Brinsko about the American energy industry being great again and that we should feel great, too. The second thought was the recent tragic and senseless murders of 17 students and teachers due in part to several federal and state officials at the FBI, plus a Florida sheriff and several officers, who had sworn to protect and serve but failed to do their jobs properly.
We should always remember and learn as much or more in times of adversity, challenge and even opportunity from our mistakes and the actions of others as we do from our own actions and successes. I'll never forget one incident that happened when I was a construction apprentice over 50 years ago trying to learn how to become a carpenter and/or bricklayer. Being left-handed was good as a bricklayer, because since most folks are right handed, we could usually lay our brick going forward rather than one of us going backward. In this instance, I was concerned about my brick being correct, so I was backing up to reset a few bricks when the boss, who was the other bricklayer, came around the corner, saw me backing out and shouted, "What are you doing? Trying to take my job?" He went on to say, "Always keep moving forward! Your job is to get the bricks in, and my job is to get them by!" This drew laughter from everyone, including me, but it was a powerful learning experience for me. Sadly, some folks, including some entrepreneurs and those in management, are more focused on moving forward and getting by than doing our jobs and training others properly!
To accomplish our jobs safely, harmoniously and successfully -- whether at home, work or in the community -- I believe love, empathy, recognition and being a role model are at the top of the list for successful leadership in our families, workplaces and communities. I recommend an excellent book: "Love Leads" by Dr. Steve Greene, the publisher and executive vice president of Charisma Magazine. In it, Dr. Greene asks, "If God is love and I have not love, how then shall I lead?"
My dear friends, after being in the heavy construction and energy business since 1963 and almost 55 years of being everything from an apprentice, craftsman and operator to a supervisor, training manager, and successful energy and media entrepreneur, I believe there is nothing that will make us better leaders and people than our love for God and others, leading with love and empathy, and treating others like we want to be treated. This includes knowing how to do our jobs and training others to do theirs safely, harmoniously, professionally and properly!
Some words of wisdom my mom and dad shared with us since my brother, sister and I were kids applied to everything we did, from our schoolwork to our chores and even the way we acted in our community: "Be the task great or small, do it well or not at all!" Their leadership model was simple; they showed us how to do something and then watched us doing it and corrected us with love, understanding and compassion. Next, they turned it over to us to do and checked on us periodically to ensure we were doing it properly or to share something new they had learned about doing our jobs better, faster and more economically. This sounds like how we are taught to do our jobs properly in the armed forces and the workplace, doesn't it?
In most companies, large and small, we have an organizational chart with job descriptions, a list of responsibilities and tasks, and how to do those properly. While we may stress the role and importance of excellent communication, many of us do not stress and lead by example when it comes to leading with love, listening and empathy toward others. We have supervisors and staff evaluations where we discuss performance, job duties and expectations, and many of us share activity reports and lessons learned on a regular basis. Unfortunately, in some cases I have found, whether we are in a major energy company or a service company, the way we evaluate ourselves and our top management isn't as often, as thorough and as well documented as when we are evaluating our staff. This also applies to life-ordeath topics like learning and sharing critical communication techniques.
As part of our continuing effort to offer the best in leadership and critical communication training in the pages of BIC Magazine, at our events, and through our BIC Media Solutions books, films and speakers bureau, we will be launching and then expanding our BIC Alliance Leadership Series with a workshop on critical communication skills that will be hosted by BIC Alliance's Mark Peters. In it, Ted Moon of LaunchPad Writing + Research will share techniques to help industry professionals develop and enhance their written communication skills. The session will also feature Adam Scheiner, an equity sector strategist for UBS Wealth Management's Chief Investment Office. He will address the current state of the industry. The event will be held April 4 at South Shore Harbour in League City, Texas, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
You will find additional interesting information right in this issue of BIC, including leadership insight from Karen Harbert, president and CEO, Global Energy Institute; Amber Hinkle, plant manager, Covestro's Channelview Facility; Ray Granda, general manager, Industrial Alloy Fabrication; Terry Deeds, general manager, ION Science; and Israel "Izzy" Perez, business development, TDS Inc.
We also feature topics important to you, including business performance, safety and health best practices, regulatory matters, community involvement and more.
I hope to see you at our April 4 event and BIC Alliance's 11th Annual Crawfish Boil that follows; at the BIC Media Solutions world premiere of our latest film, "Urban Country," in Baton Rouge April 20; or at the Keels & Wheels fundraising event in League City May 4, where BIC Media Solutions and many of our marketing partners and readers will also be sponsors or attendees.
Thank you, and may God bless you, your family and your endeavors!
BIC MAIL
Please send emails to kaye@bicalliance.com.
Shannon,
Thank you guys so much for featuring PAL in the February edition of BIC Magazine (pg. 76). We certainly appreciate the exposure and are looking forward to working with you again in the future.
Candace L. Griffin, Deputy Director, Ports Association of Louisiana (PAL)