Willoughby Law Group Blog

• 08Jul

  Go The Extra Mile

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  Go The Extra Mile

  We each have the opportunity for greatness.  Regardless of our backgrounds, challenges, or limitations, we ultimately have the power to choose how we approach our life and work.  It is easy to have a laundry list of excuses of why we don’t give things our all.  “I have a bad boss.”  “I don’t get paid enough to do that.” “My co-workers aren’t doing their jobs.”  These are just a few of the many ways we can rationalize poor performance.

  Pursuing excellence is a choice that allows us to rise above mediocrity.  Based on my own experience, I have found that the greatest challenge to achieving excellence is that it is hard!  There are no shortcuts or quick fixes.  It plain and simply takes hard work and persistent effort.  Four Star General and former Secretary of State Colin Powell stated, “If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.” What strikes me about that quote is the reference to the attention to detail in the little matters.  We all like game day, but are we really willing to pay the price in practice? For an entrepreneur trying to battle the odds to achieve success in business, this is an important maxim.

  Clint Herring, founder of Kerioth Corporation has utilized this principle to build a very successful real estate development and management company.  After Herring’s family broke apart at an early age, he was raised by his aunt and uncle in Arizona, and at the age of sixteen, he lived on his own.  Herring learned the real estate and construction business by working hard as a teenager in construction and learning from the bottom up.  He married his high school sweetheart, Terri, and they moved to Starkville, Mississippi where Clint played football for Mississippi State.  However, he did not live the typical college life.  Building upon his construction knowledge he learned as a teenager, he began a construction company and had as many as 15 employees helping him while he was in college.

  A trait that Herring learned early on was an attention to detail and the ability to tackle difficult issues head on.  With no safety net, Herring managed the risk of starting and growing a business by outworking his competition.  Herring observed, “most of us work hard until things get real challenging, then we tend to quit.  I have found that if I will push on with that little bit of extra effort then that usually will be the difference between success and failure.”  Herring shared a great practical application of this principle.  Each day he tries to identify the tasks that he least wants to tackle or are the most difficult,  and then he tackles those first before he moves on to the things that are accomplished easily or he really wants to do.

  For Clint and his company, his efforts have paid off.  His company currently owns and manages over 700,000 sq. ft. of property including Meadowbrook Office Park in Jackson and The Township at Colony Park, a mixed-use New Urban Live/Work/Shop development in Ridgeland.  Two of his three sons now have joined him in his business while his third is finishing up an M.B.A. at Tulane.  He is also now a co-owner of The Club fitness centers and is developing at the Township an innovative Live Life Well Center which is a joint venture between The Club and St. Dominic’s.

  When I consider Herring’s philosophy of life and business, it reminds me of reading about the countless hours of grueling training Mississippi native and football all-star Jerry Rice put in each offseason to prepare him for greatness.   As my old coaches used to say – “No pain, no gain.”  Whether starting a business or working as an employee, we each have the ability to rise to greatness and develop the habit of success by striving for excellence in all we do. 

  ©2010 Martin E. Willoughby, Jr.         Willoughby Law Group         Business Lawyers for Business People

• 08Jul

  Hospitality ( Banktel )

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  Hospitality

   

  I believe that Mississippi has an underappreciated and underutilized secret weapon in the business world.  Simply put, we have a great culture of generosity and friendliness.  We care about other people.  Mississippi consistently is No. 1 on the Generosity Index created by the Catalogue for Philanthropy which analyzes the average adjusted income of residents and the value of itemized charitable donations based on income tax return filings.   While front porches and family reunions may slowly be ebbing away, we still have a sense of hospitality in our DNA. 

  Corporations spend millions of dollars trying to improve their customer service.  While training, systems, and methodologies are all important aspects of scalable customer service, it all begins with a friendly disposition and simply being nice and interested in the person you are taking care of.   Someone who had “sterile efficiency” in his or her job has probably helped us all. They were going through the motions and getting the job done but there was nothing “warm and fuzzy” about it to make us really feel as if they care.  In contrast, I think about circumstances where employees seem actually nice and happy.  Like the theme to the long-running TV show Cheers, these are the type places where “everybody knows your name.”

  BankTEL, based in Columbus, Mississippi, has certainly utilized this secret weapon.  Formed in 1991, the company develops software solutions to help its banking customers create operational efficiencies and enhance customer service.  Today, the company has over 800 financial institution customers in 48 states across the United States and in 9 countries. I recently visited with Boyce Adams, Jr., Vice President of Sales and Marketing, to learn how this Mississippi based company has grown to be a top three solutions provider to banks.  The first thing that I discovered was that BankTEL really understands its market niche.  They truly listen to their customers and have continually evolved their products to meet their needs.

  What we really struck me though was the fact that according to Adams, “Being a Mississippi based company has really been a strategic advantage for us. We stand out from the crowd and people are always interested to learn more about Mississippi.”  Adams also attributed their success to the close relationships they have with their customers and strategic partners.  He noted, “Our employees care and are interested in our customers.” The result of this personal touch is a high level of trust that develops with customers.  As anyone in business knows, that’s the way you maintain customers for the long term – it becomes a real relationship and not subject to the next best pricing offer.

  Adams, who has an international business degree from Vanderbilt, believes that the company will continue to expand its market share domestically and also aggressively grow its market overseas.   Interestingly, when the company started there were 18,500 banks nationwide, and now there are less than 7,500.  Despite the industry consolidation, the company still has plenty of room to grow. As the preferred business partner of the top core processing companies for banks in the country, BankTEL will continue to benefit from valuable referral opportunities.  

  As BankTEL’s story demonstrates, you don’t have to be in New York City to compete as a financial services company or in Silicon Valley to be a major player as a software company.  Properly focused in a good market niche, Mississippi based companies can be industry leaders and use our secret weapons of hospitality and friendliness to build great customer relationships around the globe.

  ©2010 Martin E. Willoughby, Jr.                   Willoughby Law Group                   Business Lawyers for Business People

• 08Jul

  Creative Entrepreneur ( Soulshine )

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  Creative Entrepreneur (Soulshine)

  There is a creative economy revolution that is gaining momentum in this country.  Authors like John Howkins in The Creative Economy and Richard Florida in The Rise of the Creative Class have analyzed and written about the origin and trajectory of this movement.  Cities are embracing this idea and using it as catalyst for growth and revitalization.  My sister lives in Lexington, Kentucky where they just held a major Creative Cities Summit in which thought leaders, economic developers, governmental officials, business people, and the artistic community joined forces to brainstorm how to accelerate this movement in their community.

  One of the key drivers in the creative economy revolution is the activity of creative entrepreneurs.  These are people who utilize their creative and collaborative skills to start and grow businesses.  Howkins describes these creative entrepreneurs as people who “use creativity to unlock the wealth that lies within themselves rather than external capital.” The entrepreneurs leverage intangible assets such as their brand, reputation, and intellectual property.  They are skilled at developing a desired image and creating a strong personal brand.

  Even though he is not a tech guy, Brother Chris Sartin is clearly a creative entrepreneur.  Sartin founded Soulshine Pizza Factory in 2001 at the age of 31.  Sartin was a restaurant industry veteran who decided to take the entrepreneurial leap and combine his passion of food, music, and art.  A skilled musician, the business was named after an Allman Brothers Band song entitled Soulshine.  He also was an artist from an early age.  While he does not create much traditional art these days, he noted “I get to create art every day.  Everything from my menus, to the décor of the restaurant, to our advertising is a an artistic expression.” 

  Sartin credits much of his success to the creative process.  In his words, “If I was going to be hanging out for long hours somewhere working, I wanted to create a place that I enjoyed to be.”  Through Sartin’s self-expression, Soulshine has a distinctive “vibe” that many others enjoy as well.  It is a place where you will see couples on dates, families sharing a pizza, or large groups celebrating events.  On any given night, you might see Sartin playing music and sharing his passions with his guests.    Sartin’s business has grown, and he currently has locations in Flowood and Madison with expansion stores opening soon in Hattiesburg and Oxford.  Knowing that he needed good business-minded partners,  Sartin partnered with Tim Porter and Patrick Malouf and this team plans to expand Soulshine to other locations to let others share in the experience. 

  As Sartin notes, “the food costs money, but the vibe is free.”  The “vibe” or customer experience that Sartin has created is a key part of his success and instructive for other entrepreneurs.  For a business to grow, it is important that employees are synced up with the vision and customer experience that a founder like Sartin has created.  Sartin accomplishes this through careful hiring and making sure his employees share a passion for food, fun, and customer satisfaction. 

  Sartin, like many other successful Mississippi entrepreneurs, is a great example of the positive impact that creative entrepreneurs can have on a local economy.  As we try to grow our cities and job base, I hope that we will see more creative entrepreneurs at work in our state and perhaps even a Creative Cities Summit or similar event to serve as a catalytic force for our future here in Mississippi.

  ©2010 Martin E. Willoughby, Jr.         Willoughby Law Group          Business Lawyers for Business People

• 08Jul

  Creating an Engaged Workforce

  Leadership, People Development No Comments

  Creating An Engaged Workforce

  One of the key habits of entrepreneurially minded physicians is developing an engaged workforce. The Gallup Organization has done extensive research on the engagement level of employees in organizations and the overall impact on company results.  According to Gallup’s research, engaged employees are more productive, profitable, customer-focused, safer, and less likely to leave.  In the average organization, 30% of the employees are engaged, 50% are disengaged, and 20% are actively disengaged.  In comparison, in world-class organizations, 63% of employees are engaged, 29% are disengaged, and 8% are actively disengaged.  

  Engaged employees are those who have a positive attitude, take personal responsibility for their actions, are passionate and committed to the company’s goals, contribute discretionary effort, and are solution oriented.  These are the “A” players on the team. Disengaged employees are those who “punch the clock.”  They do just enough to keep their jobs and are resistant to change.  They don’t give the organization their discretionary effort and tend to react passively to problems.  Finally, disengaged employees are those who are poison pills in the organization.  They stir up trouble and recruit others to their cause s.  They blame other people for their problems and make excuses.  They erode a company’s bottom line and bring down the morale of an organization.

  Physician leaders, like other organizational leaders, spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with actively disengaged employees.  They are the squeaky wheels on the staff.   We often are forced to ignore our engaged employees as we clean up the messes of the disengaged and actively disengaged members of our staff.  Effective leaders know how to raise the bar and increase the level of engagement of their teams.  They know how to actively listen and learn what the root causes of the problems are.  They don’t ignore issues, but instead, deal with them head on.  Leaders can raise the level of engagement by sharing a compelling vision, coaching their team members, communicating clearly, raising expectations, and insisting on accountability.

  In a medical setting, a poorly engaged team can lead to disastrous results.   Patient care and safety is obviously first and foremost.  Disengaged and actively disengaged employees are apt to “let balls drop” that can lead to safety issues for patients.   This could include forgetting to follow up on medications or testing, or even mishandling paperwork or other instructions.  Beyond safety issues, disengaged and actively disengaged employees project their poor attitudes to patients.  The patients (customers) have plenty of options for healthcare services.  Rude treatment by staff can run off patients in a hurry.  For better or worse, these staff team members are the front line representatives.  The quality of the patient experience will largely be dictated by the treatment from the medical staff.  The net effect is that the level of engagement of a practice’s employees has a direct impact on the bottom line. 

  Interestingly, Gallup’s research found that engaged organizations have 2.6 times the earnings per share growth rate compared to other lower engagement organizations in the same industry.   The engagement level of employees has a direct impact on key performance areas including absenteeism, turnover, safety, customer satisfaction, and profitability.  

  Creating an engaged workforce is easier said than done.  First, sometimes we have to “get people off the bus.”  This means we have to recognize and deal with actively disengaged people.  While some employees may be salvageable, sometimes the best thing to do is to let someone go.   A disengaged employee is obviously not happy.  We don’t do them favors by keeping them in a miserable job.  For salvageable disengaged employees and the generally disengaged, we need to learn how to be better coaches.   We do this by observing our employees better, questioning them to learn more about their motivations, truly listening to their responses, and giving candid feedback.  Finally, we have to rally them to action.  This means that we  establish clear expectations and standards, and I prefer to put these in writing.  It is critically important to have regular accountability meetings to track progress towards goals and expectations.

  It is important to remember that employees do things for their own reasons, and not their leaders.  In the end, all motivation is self-motivation.  While we can yell, scream, and threaten someone into doing their job better, they are not going to become an engaged worker utilizing that management style. Engaged employees respond best to visionary and coaching leadership styles.  The dilemma for physicians is that they are extensively trained on their clinical skills, but not on the entrepreneurial skills of being a great leader.   Learning to be a great leader can be accomplished by first embracing it as a real priority.  Books and podcasts can be used to grow these leadership skills.  Ultimately, it is a process that the physician must undertake in conjunction with his or her team. 

  Regardless of your practice setting, you will likely be working with people that either work directly for you or with you.  There is no reason to allow your practice to be an “average” organization with almost 70% of your employees disengaged.  Just imagine the patient satisfaction and enhanced profitability that you could experience if you were able to reverse that and have at least 70% of your employees be engaged.  Creating an engaged workforce is a habit that you can start today in reshaping your practice and planning for tomorrow!

  ©2010 Martin E. Willoughby, Jr.          Willoughby Law Group        Business Lawyers for Business People

• 08Jul

  The Power of Trust

  Business Development, Customer Service, Leadership No Comments

  The Power of Trust

  I admit that I’m a nervous online shopper.  

  Several years ago, a credit card number of mine was “stolen” online, and I had to sort through quite a mess to clean it up. Since then, I’ve been careful about doing business on the web.   If you’ve ever shopped online, you’ve probably noticed the checkmark logo from VeriSign that appears on web commerce sites utilizing their SSL encryptions services. 

  A recent case study demonstrated just how powerful this little logo can be. With more than 500,000 online and local stores responsible for more than 400 million products sold, TheFind is the world’s largest online shopping center. This virtual shopping mall has more than 17 million unique monthly shoppers. TheFind’s analysis showed that companies displaying the VeriSign seal received 18.5% more click-throughs than similar companies that did not display the VeriSign seal. Interestingly, Symantec, a software company known for its security products, and VeriSign recently announced a deal for Symantec to purchase VeriSign’s identity and authentication business, which includes SSL Certificate and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) services, for $1.28 billion in cash. One of the key drivers in this transaction is the brand recognition of the VeriSign seal being acquired by Symantec.

  What does that VeriSign seal really seal stand for? Trust! The web commerce sites using the VeriSign seal benefit from consumers like me, who trust that if I provide my credit card information, then I don’t have to worry about someone going on a spending spree of plasma TVs in a third-world country on my dime. This is just one example of the power of trust in business.

  Upon reflection, you see how truly important trust is, both in the business world and life in general. If I don’t trust my wife, then I will make our lives miserable by always wondering what she’s doing.  If I don’t trust my employees, then I will micro-manage their efforts and keep them in a state of dependence and little self-confidence. If my business partners and I don’t trust each other, then we’ll waste valuable time and resources looking over our shoulders.  If my clients don’t trust me, then they won’t be willing to pay me for my services. 

  In leadership, trust is critical.  How inspired are you to follow someone you can’t trust? Conversely, when we trust someone, we’ll go to great lengths to sacrifice personally to support the cause of the leader.  Too often, we betray our trust through self-serving behavior.  Trust, like friendship, is something you have to be willing to give if you want to receive.  As George MacDonald noted, “To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”

  While trust has always been important in business, I believe that it’s increasingly becoming paramount to success in business.  Jim Burke, former CEO of Johnson & Johnson noted, “You can’t have success without trust.”   Similarly, Robert Eckert, CEO of Mattel, stated, “As you go to work, your top responsibility should be to build trust.” There are confluences of factors that have increased the need for trust today in business.  First, we have a more dispersed workforce. Instead of rule-driven factories, we work in an increasingly virtual world.  Many employees work from home today and manage flex time schedules.  As managers, it’s more difficult to micro-manage employees that are 1,000 miles away.  More than ever, companies today have to center their corporate culture on shared values and trust.

  We also live in a transparent world.  Companies used to be able to keep secrets.  Today, anyone with a camera phone or a computer can be a whistleblower.  Any customer with a problem can litter blogosphere with negative things about a company.  As Dov Seidman pointed out in his book, How, today it’s more important how companies operate than what they do.  His point is that the greatest strength of a company today is its trustworthiness.  In the wake of the financial collapse, financial institutions are having to go to great lengths to restore the trust with customers.

  If, as leadership guru Warren G. Bennis asserted, “trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work,” then perhaps we should start to consider how to increase our trust individually and organizationally. While trust can be a nebulous concept, it essentially means that I have confidence in you, and I’m willing to put myself at risk to “do business” with you.

  Even though one can employ manipulative tactics to gain another’s trust, I believe we’re much better served by truly becoming trustworthy people. This means we need to act with integrity.  We can’t be saying one thing and acting out another.  We need to be reliable.  When we make promises, big or small, people need to be able to count on us.  We have to be capable. This means that we have to actually be able to deliver on what we say we can do.  Capable people are lifetime learners who are always striving to get better.  We also have to be “others focused.”   When we are simply out for No. 1, it shows through.  We genuinely have to increase our ability to know and understand the people we work with and desire to serve. 

  As we hopefully continue to come out of this financial malaise, we all have a level of fear and uncertainty.  As businesspeople, now is the time to truly help others work through their uncertainties and be known as a trusted resource. Becoming trustworthy is a noble journey with substantial long-term dividends. It’s certainly not an easy path, and we’ll all stumble along the way.  However, the bilateral transaction of trust is essential to success in life and business, so hopefully we’ll encourage one another on this journey and learn to trust each other more.

  ©2010 Martin E. Willoughby, Jr.           Willoughby Law Group        Business Lawyers for Business People

• 08Jul

  Physicians as Entrepreneurs

  Healthcare Business No Comments

  Physicians as Entrepreneurs

  As we look for ways to grow Mississippi’s economic base and create more jobs, we have a great opportunity before us right now.   The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) currently is recommending that the size of each medical class be increased from 120 students per class to 165 and to expand graduate medical education positions from 102 to 175 per year.  The overall goal would be to place over 929 new UMMC-trained physicians into Mississippi communities by 2025.  Adding these physicians would create over 15,000 jobs with a payroll of $570 million.  The overall economic impact would be $1.5 billion.  This is an incredible opportunity to not only positively impact Mississippi’s economy, but also proactively address Mississippi’s overall health issues, particularly in rural communities.

  Dr. James Ervin, a Crystal Springs, Mississippi (pop. 5,950) native, is a UMMC graduate that has returned back to his hometown and made a big impact in the local community.  Ervin began his medical practice in 1989 in Vicksburg and worked in Amory before moving back to Crystal Springs in 1997 to open a family practice clinic and be a part of Methodist Healthcare Systems.  In 2004, he acquired his practice from HMA and now operates as Family Medical Clinic of Crystal Springs. His wife Joan is the practice manager and they employ eight fulltime employees with seasonal part time employees.  He is also active in the community serving in various leadership positions and financial supporting many local organizations.

  Like any other entrepreneur, Dr. Ervin operates in a competitive environment and has to deal with a range of issues including building a great team of employees, investing in the right technology, and dealing with a changing regulatory and financial landscape for his business.  Dr. Ervin brings a very innovative approach to his practice that is noteworthy not only for other physicians, but also other entrepreneurs.  He has great focus and knows that his core service offering is providing quality healthcare and being accessible for patients in need.  He noted “it does not do any good if you provide great medical care if you are not available when people need it.”

  Dr. Ervin does a great job of understanding his business from the patient (customer) perspective.  He knows that none of us like to sit around and wait in for hours in sterile waiting rooms.  His goal is to have patients in and out within an hour.  His clinic routinely conducts time studies to measure their progress in meeting this goal.  They also have been tracking the demand for acute care so they can adjust their hours and staffing accordingly. In order to get feedback and optimize the patient experience cycle, they also do patient surveys. Really listening to the voice of customer is a significant advantage for any business.  All of his innovative thought and hard work has paid off.  Dr. Ervin has a thriving solo practice with a loyal client base. This has yielded financial returns that have significantly exceeded his compensation if he had remained as a physician employee.

  While every physician may not be as innovative and entrepreneurial as Dr. Ervin, it is exciting to think about the impact that those 929 additional physicians that UMMC is proposing to train over the next 15 years will have on Mississippi communities.  I believe this is actually a tremendous time of opportunity for physicians and Mississippi between the aging population and the changes from healthcare reform, the demand for medical services will be huge in the next decade.  Innovative and entrepreneurially minded physicians will have tremendous opportunities to “do well by doing good.”  While expanding our facilities and training at UMMC will require investment, this seems to be one of the smartest investments we can make for a win-win economic boom as well as helping raise health standards for our citizens around the state.

  ©2010 Martin E. Willoughby, Jr.         Willoughby Law Group         Business Lawyers for Business People

• 08Jul

  Teamwork in Healthcare

  Healthcare Business No Comments

  Teamwork in Healthcare

  On July 4, 1988, the U.S.S. Vincennes, a U.S. warship, mistook an Iranian civilian jetliner for a F14 fighter plane and fired upon it killing all 290 people on board. The military reviewed the tragic incident and determined that the problem in part was a lack of coordination among command and control teams and a breakdowns across teams. In the wake of this tragedy, the Navy began a multiyear, multimillion dollar research program to formally study teamwork and team training. While the military had always been interested in teamwork, the emphasis had been on the team leader and not the coordination of the efforts of the team.  The Navy’s research, followed by the other armed forces, has led to extensive research and development of the art and science of teamwork over the last twenty years.

  Teamwork has been a buzzword around the business culture for some time.  Leading businesses know that well performing teams are the key to profits in a business.  However, teamwork takes on a whole new level of importance in life or death situations such as military combat, airline travel, and healthcare. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, which was a revealing review of the U.S. medical care system and the inadequacy of safety practices used in the treatment of patients. The IOM report estimated that medical errors result in 44,000 to 98,000 deaths annually—more than automobile accidents (43,458), breast cancer (42,297), or AIDS (16,516). Since then, there have been a number of initiatives and task forces to address this problem, including the development and research of team based training to improve patient safety.

  While the focus on teamwork in healthcare has brought improvement, there is still work to be done. The study, “Medical Errors Involving Trainees: A Study of Closed Malpractice Claims from 5 Insurers,” appeared in the October 22, 2007, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. The lead author, Hardeep Singh, M.D., M.P.H., noted, “Our study confirms the relationship of poor teamwork to preventable errors and quality of care.”  The Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. stated about this study, “This study reminds us that we have a lot to do to ensure that hospitals are providing appropriate supervision to trainees and implementing team-training programs, both in the inpatient and outpatient setting.”

  In addition to the obvious importance of teamwork for patient safety, there is also a critical need for effective teamwork to create the efficiencies needed to deal with increased patient volumes and decreasing reimbursements. Physicians today need to make sure they have expert teams, not just teams of experts.  Expert teams aren’t created overnight.  It’s a process and takes purposefulness and commitment.  Teams typically begin in the formation stage where people are learning, leaders are directing, and people are getting to know one another. Unfortunately, this is usually followed by the storming stage where clicks can development, a great deal of supervision is required, and disagreements can ensue.  While many teams get permanently bogged down in the storming stage, better performing teams will enter a norming stage.  In this stage, the team starts to actually work together as a team, goals and directions become clear, and the overall performance improves. Truly high performing teams will enter a performing stage where team members all exhibit leadership, self-motivation is high, and the team members all have strong skills and knowledge.  The reality is that most teams will move up and down this spectrum as they progress and decline in their teamwork.

  For some, discussions about teamwork and team building conjures up images of warm and fuzzy games and retreats.  Working on teamwork can be seen as a waste of time and money and not “real work.”  The reality is quite different.  From 1955-2008 there were over 300 empirical articles on teamwork studying over 10,000 teams. For example, a study by Eduardo Salas, Diana R. Nichols and James E. Driskell Small Group Research 2007; 38; 471 entitled “Testing Three Team Training Strategies in Intact Teams: A Meta-Analysis” found unequivocally that team training improved performance.

  There are a number of training methods that can be used to deliver results including: cross-training, event-based approach to training, scenario-based training, self-correction training, stress exposure training, team adaptation training, and team leader training.   The reality is that physician team settings vary dramatically from emergency room, to general surgery, to primary care physicians.  The key is adapting your training to your specific environment. For those considering team training, it can be a waste of time and money unless the design and delivery of the training is based on scientific principles, the physicians take ownership, teamwork is rewarded and encouraged, and there is feedback loop to debrief and measure success.  True team development should focus on building the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of your team members and should be an ongoing process.

  The handwriting is on the wall.  There is no doubt that quality of care will continue to be scrutinized with greater intensity, particularly with the shift to electronic medical records.  The link between pay and quality of care is only going to get stronger.  Physicians will have to continue to do more with less.  There will be increase pressure to see more patients and be highly efficient.  While more studies need to be done, we have enough data from the commercial airline industry and the military to show us that we need to strive for better teamwork in healthcare to improve safety.  Since many physicians are also entrepreneurs, they must keep an eye on the bottom line and the work of business has shown us undoubtedly that it’s hard to be profitable with a poorly performing team. In the near future developing your healthcare team won’t be a luxury, but a necessity.

  ©2010 Martin E. Willoughby, Jr.         Willoughby Law Group          Business Lawyers for Business People

• 08Jul

  Mississippi Delta ( Indianola Pecan )

  Uncategorized No Comments

  Mississippi Delta (Indianola Pecan)
  Hector Crèvecoeur in one of his essays entitled Letters From an American Farmer (1782) noted that “Men are like plants; the goodness and flavor of the fruit proceeds from the peculiar soil and exposition in which they grow.” In this state, we have a distinct area that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers that we call the Mississippi Delta. This area, known for its rich soil and cultural heritage, has a unique quality that draws people from all over the world to visit. While its challenges are many, it also is an area of great opportunity. It is at the heart of Mississippi’s agricultural economy which remains the number one industry in the state constituting 29% of the workforce and is a $6.3 billion industry. Mississippi is the home to over 42,000 farms on 11 million acres. While much has changed in this state and in the agricultural business, there is still a vital role for agriculture and related businesses.
  In 1940, M.G. Kains in his handbook for small farm management, Five Acres and Independence, aptly observed that “In farming, as in every other enterprises, success depends primarily upon the man [or woman] who undertakes it. Not everybody who starts will succeed.” Kains went on to describe the criteria for success including a natural liking for your business, attention to detail, and enthusiasm for your work. In all business enterprises, but in particular farming, there are many things that are simply out of your control. Disease, pestilence, weather, and fluctuating prices are but a few of the factors that can make or break a farmer’s business.
  Wheeler Timbs was originally a farmer in Moorhead, Mississippi (pop. 2,573), and in 1979, he decided to use his farming knowledge to start Indianola Pecan House, Inc. which initially sold “in shell” pecans. His son Tim Timbs grew up in the family business and after graduating from Mississippi State in 1984, he joined the company full time. The company now manufactures a full line of confectionary products and gifts and sells them through its four retail stores, an online store, and its mail order catalogs. The company has sold its delicacies to customers in all fifty states and internationally. IPH also has license agreements for specialty products with Jack Daniel’s and Mossy Oak. In peak season, the company employees over 125 people around the state. Tim Timbs noted that “Our success over the years has been due to our great employees, support of the local community, and sheer perseverance.” Timbs described a lesson for all entrepreneurs, “No matter how much contingency planning you do, you can never anticipate everything. You have to be willing to face reality when it comes and make the best of it.”
  In speaking with Tim, it struck me that the grit and determination that his family has exhibited in growing this business through challenging times probably has roots in the tradition of farming in his family and the Delta. Interestingly, Timbs also shared that while prices for pecans used to fluctuate year to year, they have been on a steady increase since China has started to become a major purchaser of pecan crops. This year Chinese businesses will probably buy up over 25% of the best pecan crops in the United States. Through the economic downturn, Timbs has managed his costs, and as he describes, “we are still here!” I have no doubt that the resourcefulness and the perseverance of the Timbs family will serve them well as they continue to grow their enterprise.
  While they don’t always make front page business news, there are many thriving businesses in the Delta just like Indianola Pecan House. I hope that the “peculiar soil” of the Mississippi Delta will continue to produce innovative entrepreneurs like the Timbs family who help break the negative economic cycles and move this region and the state to achieving its full potential.

  ©2010 Martin E. Willoughby, Jr. Willoughby Law Group Business Lawyers for Business People

• 26Apr

  Generation Y Entrepreneur

  Entrepreneurship No Comments

  GENERATION Y ENTREPRENEUR

   

  If there is one thing that we can all agree on, it is that Mississippi needs more jobs.  One way to accomplish this goal is to fan the flames of entrepreneurship of our Generation Y business people.  According to a Kaufman Foundation report, over two-thirds of our country’s net new jobs are created by new companies (1-5 years old).  Obviously, we need bold visionary entrepreneurs to take the risks to start these new companies and create these new jobs.  Recent data suggest that Generation Y, also known as Millennials, are starting companies at a rapid pace.   This generation born between 1977-1994 has over seventy million people and rivals the Baby Boomers in size. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor reported that 18 to 24 year-olds in the United States are starting businesses at a faster rate than 35 to 44 year-olds.  This is further explained by a survey done by OPEN from American Express which found that fifty-nine percent of Gen Y company owners described themselves as serial entrepreneurs, compared to just 33 percent of baby boomers.

  There are a myriad of reasons for the entrepreneurial mindset of this generation.  They have grown up watching their parents being downsized and witnessed our media culture create “rock star” celebrity status of entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs (Apple), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), and Sergey Brin (Google).  They also are very comfortable with technology, the internet, and social media which are tools of their success.   Higher education is also teaching more about entrepreneurship and sponsoring more business plan competitions. The National Business Incubation Association reports that there are over 1,400 business incubators today compared to only 12 in the 1950’s.  This generation is also bringing its own style to the workplace characterized by collaboration, an emphasis on work life balance, and blurring lines of work and play.

  David Moore, age 29, is a Generation Y entrepreneur making an impact here in Mississippi. He founded Navagis, LLC in 2008. Navagis is a Google Earth Enterprise Partner that provides technology and services to the GIS marketplace. Moore is a 2005 Computer Science graduate of Mississippi State University and was a NSF Information Assurance Scholar.  He began his career at the Corp of Engineers in Vicksburg where he worked at the Information Technology Laboratory.  He enjoyed quick success with the Corps, and in 2008, he faced the difficult decision of whether to pursue his advancing career at the Corps, attain his Master’s in Computer Science on full scholarship in Scotland, or start his own company leveraging his deep understanding of Google Earth and its capabilities.

  After much prayer, counsel, and deliberation, Moore fulfilled a life long dream and formed Navagis.  After launching, Moore reached out to friend and fellow MSU grad, Ben Hubbard, to join the team. Hubbard, also a NSF Information Assurance Scholar, had been working as a software engineer at Eglin Air Force Base.  While still in the startup stages, the company is gaining a lot of momentum and has worked for clients such as Burns & McDonell, an international engineering firm,  Virtual Texas, and BHP Billiton, a global resources company.  In fact, the company even touts Google as a client.  Moore notes the strong entrepreneurial culture he sees while spending time in Mountain View and hopes to spread that back home here in Mississippi.  According to Moore, “I have really enjoyed the journey so far.  It is both exhilarating and scary to leave a good job and launch a new venture.  It has been great to meet so many interesting people, and I have received a lot of encouragement along the way.”

  I am excited to see developing businesses like Navagis which have the opportunity to create many high paying jobs in our state and raise our reputation in the technology community.   Hopefully,  more Millennials like Moore and Hubbard will consider this path, and I hope that we will continue to encourage them and celebrate their success.  They truly are our state’s future.  

  ©2010 Martin E. Willoughby, Jr.                                Willoughby Law Group                 Business Lawyers for Business People

• 26Apr

  Family Owned Businesses

  Entrepreneurship No Comments

  FAMILY OWNED BUSINESSES

   

  Family owned businesses make a significant contribution to the United States economy.  Depending on your definition of a family owned business, researchers have found that there are approximately 10 million family owned businesses employing over 77 million people and contributing to over 50% of the United States’ GDP. Many of these are small businesses, but they also include Fortune 500 companies.  It is worth taking note of the impact that these businesses have both nationally and in our local communities.  In addition to the normal challenges that entrepreneurs face, family business owners have some additional challenges, but also significant opportunities.

  When family members work together, emotions can interfere with business decisions, and conflicts can arise as family owners have differing goals and expectations for the business. Family businesses may also experience high turnover of non-family members who don’t see growth opportunities.  For some family business owners, the stress of the blurring lines of work and home can take an emotional toll.  In spite of the challenges, there are also tremendous opportunities.  Families can unite to achieve clear and compelling goals.  New generations can build upon the foundations of success of previous generations.  Celebrating success has new meaning when shared with loved ones, and there is the opportunity to have real trust within an organization.

  The Swalley and Harrigill families are a great example of a family owned business that is getting it right.  They own the Party City franchise for the Metro Jackson area. Sisters Alice Harrigill and Alyson Swalley grew up in an entrepreneurial family.  Their father and mother owned and operated Western Sizzlin franchises.  According to Alice, “from the time we could walk we were up at the restaurants with our  parents interacting with customers.”  Their father, Hunter Roussel, briefly retired from the restaurant business and opened the Party City franchise in 1994 on County Line Road in Jackson. Both daughters, then college age, worked in the store during holidays and summers. In 1997, in their early twenties, the sisters were thrust into the business full time when their father passed away. 

  Since then, Alice and Alyson along with their husbands Robin Harrigill and Scott Swalley, have continued to grow the business. In 2004,  they expanded to a second location in Flowood and now employ over 40 people.  Their success in part has been because of excellent customer service.  Alyson noted that “we learned how to take care of our customers by watching our Mom and Dad run their business ‘hands on’ and bend over backwards to take care of their customers.” The family has done a great job of letting each family member utilize their strengths for the greater good of the company. Each person knows his or her roles and responsibilities and is conscientious to get the job done.  In spite of the economic downturn, the company has continued to do well. Alyson Swalley observed that “people still want to celebrate things in life and we help them do that.”  While there are “big box” and online alternatives for party supplies, the family has continued to do well by listening and catering to their customers.  In addition, many people enjoy supporting locally owned businesses like theirs.

  Like any business, family owned businesses need to have clear goals, a solid management team, and flawless execution to succeed.  In addition,  communication is key.  I encourage family members to utilize formalities in their business including regular meetings, utilizing job descriptions, and evaluating performance. Just because you are in a family business, it does not mean that accountability does not matter.  The overarching idea is to treat your business like a business and your family like a family.  Mississippi has benefitted significantly from family owned businesses and will need more entrepreneurs like the Harrigills and the Swalleys in the future to employ people and maintain a healthy local economy.

  ©2010 Martin E. Willoughby, Jr.                                Willoughby Law Group                 Business Lawyers for Business People

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