Inside Business articles from September 2005

Inside Business archives from September 2005

10 reasons why mother nature created Cleveland weather: a contest to promote a major attitude adjustment.(ABSOLUTELY)
September 1, 2005... I feel sorry for people who work in buildings that don't have elevators. I learn more in elevators than anywhere else in town. I learn what's going on with the Indians, Browns, Cavs, mayor, governor, Cedar Point, House of Blues, Iraq, Donald...

No "insult".(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2005... Just wanted to say I agree wholeheartedly with the E-Industry article in the July issue ("Consultant or Insultant?"). We understand that businesses today rely heavily on technology and when given "the keys to the kingdom," consultants and...

High-tech ho-hum.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2005... I just finished reading the article on Lake Hospital System's plan to build a high-tech hospital ("On the Cutting Edge," August). Although I commend their efforts to build such a hospital, the technology used is hardly innovative nor is it that...

Sweet Lorain.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2005... Thank you for the article highlighting the great city of Lorain and its dynamic mayor, Craig Foltin ("The Comeback Kid," August). Lorain has received its share of blows over the years, but we are a tough town with strong citizens. With the...

Gone fishin'.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2005... When I opened my August issue of Inside Business, the editorial really grabbed me ("Absolutely"). The "business center" concept, as opposed to a convention center, sounds ideal to me. You are right when you point out that conventions go to...

Correction.(Letters)(Correction notice)
September 1, 2005... A feature in the Ohio Entrepreneur section of the July issue on RoseTECH Consulting ("My Toughest Decision") misidentified the business. RoseTECH Consulting Inc. is a corporation owned by Celeste Rose and provides regulatory and quality...

Wasted at work.(PRODUCTIVITY)
September 1, 2005... Chances are, someone who s reading this magazine right now is doing it on the company clock. You know, taking a little break from the grind, a moment or two to relax. No biggie, right? Well, according to a recent survey, those moments here and...

Water work.(INNOVATION)(National Arsenic Demonstration Program )(Brief article)
September 1, 2005... There is arsenic in your tap water. Sure, it's in tiny trace amounts, but it's there. Geauga County's Kinetico Municipal Systems is helping smaller towns get that trace amount down to almost nothing. Newbury-based Kinetico was awarded 17...

Big shoes to fill.(NEW FACES)
September 1, 2005... Business Volunteers Unlimited (BVU) has chosen a new president and CEO, Brian F. Broadbent, to replace its former leader, Alice Korngold, who left for New York City in February. Korngold founded and elevated the organization, which helps...

The wrong stuff.(MANAGEMENT)
September 1, 2005... Dan Gilbert says there's only one way to root out mistakes and inefficiency in business: Open your eyes and do something about it. The majority owner of the Cavaliers and founder of Quicken Loans says that business owners have to empower...

By the numbers.(Northeast Ohio News)
September 1, 2005... $194 million Economic development funding Northeast Ohio will receive thanks to a federal highway bill passed in July. SOURCE: GREATER CLEVELAND PARTNERSHIP

First impressions count.(STATE POLITICS)
September 1, 2005... In June, I had the opportunity to sit down with three of the Republican 2006 gubernatorial candidates for a few minutes individually. They were in Cleveland to present their economic plan for the state before the Finance Committee of the...

Food for thought.(DINING)(City Club of Cleveland)
September 1, 2005... Toward the end of a lunch at the City Club of Cleveland in late July, I asked a top PR executive sitting next to me about the teriyaki salmon he was eating. He paused, leaned over to me and said, "Usually the food is kind of... bad, but today...

The 2005 Northeast Ohio Business Hall of Fame & Anthem Impact Awards.(The Web)(Brief article)
September 1, 2005... Inside Business' marquee event combines compelling profiles with a gala honoring the year's inductees. Watch out for the profiles in our October issue, but you can register for the region's premier business event right now. Go to...

Mayors' Night with the Akron Aeros.(WORKING THE ROOM)
September 1, 2005... Mayors' Night with the Akron Aeros was held Tuesday, Aug. 2, at Canal Park in Akron. The event honored the mayors of Medina, Portage and Summit counties for their effort in community improvement. The event began with a reception honoring...

Corporate College East open house.(WORKING THE ROOM)
September 1, 2005... Cuyahoga Community College's Corporate College East opened on Thursday, July 14. Its aim is to provide lifelong learning opportunities to individuals, businesses and industries to better equip them to be successful in today's high-tech economy....

Charmingly Cosmopolitan.(let's do lunch: this month's local lunch scene pick)
September 1, 2005... CHARMINGLY COSMOPOLITAN THE WATERHOUSE RESTAURANT, CLEVELAND ADDRESS: 728 Prospect Ave. LUNCH HOURS: Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. CUISINE: Contemporary American CREDIT CARDS: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover...

Pretty darn fine: PDFS can help your business share documents while keeping you balanced on the high wire.(E-INDUSTRY)
September 1, 2005... When most people hear the word "acrobat," they think of a circus performer. Though you may sometimes feel like the man on the flying trapeze, a businessperson would be better off with Acrobat than a tumbler. Not to mention a clown. Acrobat...

Biz links: Northeast Ohio's business resource guide.(Directory)
September 1, 2005... Biz Links Northeast Ohio's business resource guide ACCOUNTING & FINANCIAL PLANNING Zinner & Co. LLP (216) 831-0733 www.zinnerco.com ARCHITECTURE KA, Inc. Architecture (216) 781-9144...

The COGs are coming: forming a super-regional council of governments is key to keeping regionalism alive.(MY SAY)
September 1, 2005... The tax reform package the Ohio General Assembly passed in June may have the unintended consequence of driving us to adopt a regional form of government. Why? As the realization sets in that less money will be funneled to them from the state's...

Board basics: being appointed to any type of board shouldn't be viewed as a reward, but as a serious fiduciary responsibility.(ETHICS)
September 1, 2005... The Enron debacle was a signal moment for American business. It forced a re-examination of corporate practices and resulted in Congress passing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which made directors take responsibility for their enterprises. The law...

Cooking up team spirit: Tri-C's culinary teambuilding program fosters camaraderie among employees.(Ohio Entrepreneur)
September 1, 2005... It's common knowledge among her co-workers that Judy Brancifort hates to cook. But after spending a day in Cuyahoga Community College's hospitality department kitchen making two kinds of fruit soup and a big pot of roasted corn chowder,...

Should they stay or go? One mom-and-pop hardware store fights the good fight to stay in business.(OHIO ENTREPRENEUR)(Interview)
September 1, 2005... As a small-business owner, Jeff Joughin faces difficult decisions I every day. He is the fourth generation owner of Joughin Hardware, a downtown Painesville mainstay since 1877. Increased competition from "big box" hardware stores has...

Road map.(OHIO ENTREPRENEUR)
September 1, 2005... Ohio Entrepreneur is a partnership of companies, universities and economic development organizations dedicated to providing access to the information and services entrepreneurs need to start, locate and expand their businesses in Ohio. We...

Showing the way.(2005 ATHENA AWARDS)(Cover story)
September 1, 2005... The ATHENA Awards, first presented by the ATHENA Foundation in 1982, recognize the efforts and successes of business-people around the world. The awards highlight people who assist women in reaching their full leadership potential; demonstrate...

Man of steel: Mitch Schneider worked in secret to bring Wal-Mart to Cleveland, much to the delight of bargain hunters and to the outrage of organized labor and critics of the maligned big box retailer. But a little controversy has never scared Schneider.(DEVELOPMENT)
September 1, 2005... Mitch Schneider is vague on the details, perhaps to protect my safety. Or his own. He's talking about his first big real estate project in what he would only refer to as the "greater Youngstown area" in 1989. Schneider was negotiating five...

Campbell's conu drum: to have a shot at re-election, Jane Campbell must convince Clevelanders her lack of leadership is a perception and not a reality.(POLITICS)
September 1, 2005... Jane Campbell doesn't mind dirty laundry. "The wonderful thing about laundry is you can see it and you do it and its all folded up and you get this fabulous sense of accomplishment.... Nothing else I do is quite so organized and easy," she...

The contender: the only thing Frank Jackson wants is to be mayor of Cleveland. But is this career city legislator ready for the executive's chair?(POLITICS)
September 1, 2005... Cleveland City Council President Frank Jackson is in the atrium of St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church in West Park, a predominately middle-class Irish Catholic neighborhood on the city's far West Side, home to many police officers. Close...

In remembrance: Pat Parker devoted more than 20 years to innovation in Northeast Ohio.(PAT PARKER, 1929-2005)
September 1, 2005... Pat Parker was ahead of his time. He applied ideas before others even thought of them. He sowed the idea for CAMP Inc. in 1968, after he took control of Parker Hannifin Corp. He sought the advice of quality expert W. Edwards Deming to form the...

Tough love: a fearless attitude helps Andy Birol shake his clients out of stagnation and into growth.(MOTIVATION)(Birol Growth Consulting Inc.)
September 1, 2005... Andy Birol, a nationally recognized Northeast Ohio business growth consultant, is considered fearlessly straightforward when it comes to telling clients what they may not want to hear. That's why they hire him, of course. "He certainly...

Hometown proud: Lane Funeral Homes' focus on its communities has helped it remain strong for 150 years.(IB'S BIRTHDAY CLUB)
September 1, 2005... Lane Funeral Homes has come a long way since 1855, when it was a part-time furniture business in Mineral Ridge in Trumbull County. Undertaking was a secondary business common to many furniture makers, says Joseph D. Lane, president and CEO of...

An obvious choice: Mayor Daley has made Chicago a model for American cities.(Deal Maker Forum)
September 1, 2005... If you're going to befriend the mayor of another city, Richard M. Daley is a good one to choose. Chicago's chief, scion of the Windy City's long-time autocrat of the same name, has established his own national reputation based on his...

Cleveland's next frontier: numerous projects on the docket will help resculpt the city.(Deal Maker Forum)
September 1, 2005... In real estate development, what goes around comes around. Though more than 200 years old, Cleveland now promotes itself as the "next frontier" of development. While suburban and exurban construction especially continue to flourish, the...

Helping hand: public money can boost private development.(Deal Maker Forum)(public-private partnerships, Ulmer & Berne LLP)
September 1, 2005... Twenty years ago, few Clevelanders bandied about the term "public-private partnerships." That was before the building boom of the late '80s and '90s, driven by the city's highly touted renaissance that left a handful of landmark...

A different kind of award: how the NorthCoast 99 began and what made it the list to be on for Northeast Ohio organizations.(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... Let's face it. We seem to be enamored by big numbers. We want to know what organization posted the strongest sales growth, which sold the most product, which made the most revenue or which made the biggest profit. But what gets lost in the...

Awards are a changin': new awards highlight unique practices of NC99 organizations.(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... This year the NorthCoast 99 will recognize organizations that have the most unique or innovative practices in six special categories: compensation and benefits, communication, community service, recruitment and selection, training and...

Doing it right: how do the NC99 winning organizations keep winning?(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... Empathy. Trust. Career advancement. Training, impowerment. Rewards. Recognition. Flexibility. For organizations that have won the NorthCoast 99 award four, five, six and even seven times in a row, these words represent how they do...

Taking the challenge: job happiness isn't all about money.(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... So what motivates top-performing employees? Is it a great salary with all those nice benefits and perks? One might naturally assume that money always talks. But a new survey of top performers at Northeast Ohio organizations compiled by the...

Bringing it all back home: improved morale, higher productivity, stronger teams are just a few of the benefits of an effective community service program.(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... FedEx Custom Critical has its community service program down to a science. Brain activity research shows that employees who volunteer for community activities more often tap in to the optimistic side of the brain while more pessimistic...

Paid in full: whether extra cash, time off or retirement savings, attractive benefits lure good Workers and create top workplaces.(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... Never let it be said that Regina Sacha-Ujczo isn't dedicated to her job. The day after a riding accident in which she was tossed from a galloping horse, Sacha-Ujczo (pronounced "sha-ka u-so") was on the phone talking about why Green-based FedEx...

Communication is key: understanding, addressing issues keeps organizations a step ahead.(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... Though Summa Health System is the largest employer in Summit County, its 6,000 employees are like one big family, says Kyle Klawitter, vice president of human resources. As a result of the collegial atmosphere, the system, which consists...

Creative recruitment: employers think of new ways to attract top talent.(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... Last March, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (FRB) needed to fill 25 positions in a four-week period for an expanding operational department. At the FRB, it's necessary to go through an extensive background and reference check before being...

Tip-tip training: winning organizations put fun into staff development.(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... Almost every worker has experienced the dreaded, ever-ending "training meeting. A listless PowerPoint presentation, an instructor speaking in monotone and a stuffy atmosphere all add up to a chorus of stifled yawns, drooping eyelids and...

Staying safe: organizations making sure 'wellness' extends to all areas.(NorthCoast 99)(NorthCoast 99 Health and Safety Award)
September 1, 2005... Workplace health and safety issues are among the most important any business or organization can face. And with an immediate cause-and-effect relationship between those issues and worker productivity, the finalists for the NorthCoast 99 Health...

2005 NorthCoast 99 winners.(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... 2005 NorthCoast 99 Winners Years Organization Won Web site Apple American Group 7 appleamerican.com Arras Group 7...

First year NorthCoast 99 winners.(NorthCoast 99)
September 1, 2005... Avtron Manufacturing, Inc. avtron.com Brockman, Coats, Gedelian & Co. bcgcompany.com Century Federal Credit Union cenfedcu.org Child Guidance & Family Solutions childgc.org Eliza Jennings Senior Care Network...

Original artisan.(ONE 2 WATCH)
September 1, 2005... Jeanine Zimmer, 27 founder and publisher, ar'te-fakt magazine, editor@artefaktmagazine.com DEFINE ART. Anything unique that you create that was your original idea. FAVORITE PERSONAL ARTIFACT? A collection of the artwork of my cover...