BIC Alliance Founder & CEO Earl Heard
Welcome to the February 2020 issue of Business & Industry Connection (BIC) Magazine. I want to begin by wishing you and your family a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year and new decade! It has been said, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." I hope each of you is enjoying your life and career, and I also hope BIC Magazine and BIC Media Solutions' books and movies are helping you find even greater faith, hope, peace, happiness and success.
Throughout my life, I've enjoyed and learned from the many challenges I've faced. When I was a young man, I entered the industrial workforce as a carpenter. I spent 15 years working in operations for Ethyl Corp. and in 1980, I launched my career as an energy and media entrepreneur.
You can read these articles and others in our digital magazine archives at BICMagazine.com.
I want to thank each of you for your role in our success at BIC Alliance, and I hope we can also help you in some small way by enhancing your personal or professional life even more. Since we launched our first publication -- Training Coordinator, the forerunner to BIC Magazine, in 1981 -- and the first BIC Magazine in April 1984, we've made it a priority to begin each publication with an eye-catching front cover followed by great articles throughout. I especially enjoy composing these "From the Publisher" articles, which I alternate writing with BIC Alliance President and COO Thomas Brinsko, who joined us in 1999.
Not only do I enjoy helping publish and reading every issue of BIC Magazine, but I also love to include articles from our marketing partners and readers that can help others find greater faith, hope, peace, happiness and success both on and off the job. One of the many important things I've learned is how to focus on today and not dwell on the past or worry about the future. Also, I do want to stress that one of the best ways to enjoy today and every day going forward is to learn from your experiences and the experiences of others, whether good or bad.
Since we're beginning a New Year and new decade, I've decided to review past "From the Publisher" articles that have run in our February issues from 2010-2019. You can read these articles and others in our digital magazine archives at BICMagazine.com.
Here are the headlines and topics:
- The importance of getting connected and staying connected
- The importance of making meaningful memories
- How to make 2017 our best year ever
- Boom or bust: The choice is ours
- The relationship between reflections and resolutions
- Leadership and the power of positive influence
- A roadmap to greater happiness and success
- It's what we do together that counts
- Great things happen when we learn how to learn
- Ten tips to win
For the sake of brevity, I won't go into detail about every article mentioned above, but I do want to highlight one article in particular: "How to make 2017 our best year ever." In this article, I mentioned that we were welcoming a new president and many newly elected officials to our government. Among other key points, I stated that regardless of how we may have voted, we should all unite to create a stronger and more harmonious country. I also stressed that those of us who have been blessed should share more of our blessings with others who are facing challenges.
Sadly, despite a great economy and increasing workforce, it looks like our wonderful country is more divided than ever. Since I have been to "rock bottom and back," I personally know how challenging it is to change a negative attitude to one of faith, love, kindness and gratitude. But changing our attitudes is important, and this can and must be done. While we may wonder how we can help change the world, I know from personal experience it begins with changing yourself and becoming a role model. Learning from your own experiences and those who have gone before you will make you a better person. As Abraham Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents, said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Not only do these words of wisdom apply to our beloved country; they also apply to our families and businesses.
Now that I've shared a few tips about how we can achieve greater success in our personal and professional lives, let's look at some of the great articles and interviews in this issue that may help us in that endeavor. These include industry insights from Sharon Hulgan, site director of Dow Oyster Creek; Susan Dio, chairman and president of BP America; Randy McClurg, director of operations for Gulf of Mexico, Regional Offshore for Stork, A Fluor Company; Mary Zappone, CEO of BRACE Industrial Group; and Edward Beardshaw, vice president of sales and marketing for Exloc Instruments Inc. We also learn more about how Texas' oil and gas industry is revolutionizing the world, new investments coming to the Gulf Coast, ExxonMobil's VR technology and how OSHA is using drones to improve worker safety.
In closing, I want to thank each of you again for your kindness and support over the years. A few months ago, BIC Media Solutions released an updated version of our first book, "It's What We Do Together That Counts -- The BIC Alliance Story." It's been getting a great response and, in fact, the book became an "Amazon Top 100 Best Seller."
On behalf of everyone at BIC Alliance, we'd like to wish you and your family a successful, prosperous and healthy 2020.
To learn how you can download a copy of "It's What We Do Together That Counts," visit BICMediaSolutions.com. Happy New Year and Valentine's Day to all!
