2012-02 Awards - Lincoln Builders

Spring 2012
Lincoln Builders of Ruston,
Inc. was honored to receive
the Adjutant General’s
Award For Excellence
presented by Major General
Bennett C. Landreneau in
recognition of the successful
completion and LEED
Certification of FMS #12
at Camp Villere in Slidell,
Louisiana.
Pictured from left to right are Brigadier General Owen MonConduit, Lincoln business
development director Ayres Bradford, Major General Bennett C. Landreneau, Chenevert
Architects partner Mark Baum and Colonel William R. Aldridge.
Hurricane Katrina Project Receives
LEED Certification
L
incoln Builders and Chenevert Architects were pleased to present to Louisiana
National Guard personnel the USGBC LEED certification plaque for Camp
Villere’s Field Maintenance Shop #12 in Slidell, Louisiana.
Lincoln Honored With Prestigious
Safety Award
During a recent Raffles Insurance Ltd. board meeting, Lincoln Builders, Inc. was
presented the prestigious John A. Arnold Award of Honor. Raffles recognizes, through an
award program, outstanding achievement in safety and loss control. Lincoln Builders’ risk
control efforts were successful in achieving the highest point score of the Raffles membership.
Lincoln was also honored for driving between 200,000 and 1 million miles with zero fleet
accidents and was presented a Fleet Safety Award plaque.
continued on page 4
Who was the
first American
to travel to
space twice?
Trivial Pursuits?
1) A farrier specializes in which aspect of
horse care?
a. teeth/mouth
b. hair/hide
c. hooves/shoes
d. knees/legs
2) Who was the first American to travel
to space twice?
a. Virgil “Gus” Grissom
b. John Glenn
c. Charles Conrad
d. Alan Shepard, Jr.
3) Which of these pizza toppings is by
far America’s most popular?
a. pepperoni
b. mushrooms
c. sausage
d. hamburger
4) In the U.K. and Australia, biro is a
brand-name-turned-generic-name for
which of the following devices?
a. photocopy machine
b. ballpoint pen
c. disposable razor
d. space heater
5) Which of these computer-related
corporations is not part of the Dow
Jones Industrial Average?
a. Hewlett-Packard
b. Microsoft
c. IBM
d. Apple
Answers: 1) c 2) a (Tragically, he died during a 1967 test of
the Apollo craft prior to a third journey.) 3) a 4) b (Named after
inventor Laszlo Biro.) 5) d
Be Smart When Driving With Your Smart
Phone
A recent CareerBuilder survey found that 54% of people check their smart phones
while driving.
In a University of Utah study of driving and
talking on the phone, only 2.5% of test subjects
were able to do both safely. For the other 97.5%,
the ability to hit the brakes quickly was slowed by
20%, and the tendency to drive too slowly to keep
up with traffic rose by 30%. CareerBuilder.com offers these tips:
• Turn off your phone when driving. Talking
on the phone or texting at the wheel is illegal in
many states, as well as dangerous to you, your
passengers, and other drivers. Pull over if you
need to talk.
• Set priorities. Part of the problem comes
from the current trend toward being accessible
outside the workplace. Discuss the situation with your employer (and your family)
so everyone understands you can’t always be connected.
• Have a backup. If you anticipate being needed outside the office, leave an out-ofoffice message on your voicemail, and provide contact information for colleagues
who can assist callers in your absence. That way, urgent calls can be taken care of
even if you don’t answer the phone.
The Email Flood
Approximately 2.8 million emails are sent every second. That’s a lot of email: The
average American sends or receives 112 messages every day. According to ccLoop.com,
the most annoying email problems are:
• Attachment overload. Email users complain about the problems involved in
attaching documents, downloading them, and finding them, especially in long
email chains.
• Message deluge. Even without spam, wading through a flood of email messages
waiting in your inbox every morning can be intimidating and time-wasting.
• Spam attack. Thirteen million spam email messages are sent every day. That’s a
lot of offers to buy weight-loss products or help out a displaced foreign millionaire
trying to move his or her money.
• Forwarding frenzy. The temptation to cover your back by forwarding irrelevant
messages to all your colleagues or friends can be overwhelming, and it can lead to
even more inbox stuffing.
Fill Your Team With Positive Attitudes
The success of any team depends on the positive attitudes of its members and its
leader. Demonstrate—and reinforce—these important personal guidelines:
• Ego control. Remember, you’re committed to the goals of the team, not your own
ambitions. Can you and the rest of your team put the group’s priorities first?
• Admitting mistakes. Be willing to honestly concede errors so the team can
successfully move on.
• Constructive disagreement. Hiding your expertise just to avoid conflict won’t help
the team achieve its goals. Everyone has to be willing to stand up for his or her ideas
and to listen respectfully to other points of view.
Spring 2012
Don’t Kill
Innovation
Six Questions To Unleash Innovative Powers
You may not be able to summon
creativity with a snap of your fingers, but
you can extinguish the spark with the
wrong habits. Here are a few actions to
avoid when you need to bring inspiration
forth:
• Multitasking. Eliminate distractions.
Don’t try to be creative in the midst of
interruptions and other activities.
• Fear. Admit failure as a possibility, but
don’t let it paralyze you.
• Fatigue. Being creative takes energy.
Get enough sleep and rest, so your
mind can perform at its peak.
• Pressure. New ideas are hard to
generate when you’re worried about
deadlines, competition or the rent.
You may not be able to erase all the
pressures you face, but don’t let them
overwhelm you.
• Disorder. Concentration can be
difficult when you’re surrounded
by chaos. Maintain a tidy working
environment, so you can find what you
need and aren’t distracted by the desire
to clean up.
• Routine. Break out of your everyday
habits. Look for fresh challenges
and perspectives to shake up your
thinking.
• Poor health. Take care of your
body—exercise, eat right and practice
healthy habits so you have the energy
you need to be productive.
SPEED BUMP
Dave Coverly
People often talk about innovation as if it must arrive as a bolt out of the blue. You
can summon problem-solving and creativity by asking the right questions.
The next time you’ve got a tricky problem to solve, try these queries to start thinking
differently:
1. What would happen if…?
2. Do I have to do it this way?
3. What’s the silliest way I could do this?
4. What’s the worst way?
5. What if solving this problem were a matter of life and death?
6. If I did a one-page analysis of this idea, what three things would make it better?
What three things would make it worse?
Follow These Rules To Success
Unless you inherit a fortune or win the lottery, you’re going to have to work for your
success. There aren’t any guaranteed strategies, but you’ll do okay if you follow these
tried-and-true tactics for having a successful career—and life:
• Set specific and ambitious goals. Effective goals point directly toward results:
“Lose 10 pounds this year” is more
Set specific goals: “Lose
motivational than “Exercise more.” And
10 pounds this year” is
although you need to be realistic about what’s
more motivational than
possible, don’t set goals that are too modest.
“Exercise more.”
A real challenge will inspire your best efforts
more than an easy win.
• Focus on improvement, not perfection.
You can always do more, achieve more,
get more. Don’t let the fact that you’re not
at the pinnacle of achieve­ment drain your
enthusiasm. Measure your progress so you
know how far you’ve come, and give yourself
credit for moving closer to your goal.
• Take a proactive approach. You can’t just
wait for things to happen—successful people
make things happen. Create your own opportunities by focusing on what you can
control and not worrying about what’s beyond your reach. If you can’t reach the
CEO of the company you want to work for, for example, start with someone you
can contact and work your way up.
• Don’t be afraid of failure. Most mistakes aren’t the end of everything. Put your
ideas out there and give them a chance to succeed. If one crashes and burns, study it
so you can learn what happened. Maybe you just experienced bad luck—the wrong
place at the wrong time—and your idea still has a good chance of achieving results.
Or maybe you can adjust your approach to improve your chances on the next
attempt.
Embrace Your Inner Choco-holic
Chocolate doesn’t just make you feel better when you’re depressed (or happier
when you’re not). There’s some evidence it may actually be good for your health.
According to a meta-analysis of medical data reported in the British Medical Journal,
eating chocolate may decrease your risk of heart disease by 37% and your risk of
stroke by 29%.
But step away from that candy bar. The researchers caution that chocolate products
also usually come with lots of sugar and other calorie-packed ingredients, which can
diminish or eliminate any potential health benefits. Moderation, as usual, is key.
Prestigious Safety Award… from page 1
Lincoln Builders’ safety and loss prevention program is administered by
safety director Johnny Gibson, with support in claim management and reporting
by insurance administrator Debbie Heard. This team, along with corporate
management, trains Lincoln employees to think and practice safety on the jobsite
and carry that practice home with them so their families may also learn the
importance of safety. Congratulations on a job well done!
Pictured at left: Danny Graham (right) and Johnny Gibson with the “traveling trophy,”
which will be on display at Lincoln’s corporate office this year.
Lincoln Builders Announces New Appointments
C
lint Graham, president of Lincoln Builders of Ruston, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointments of Jerry Brasher and
Rich Nadler to the position of vice president. “Jerry and Rich have
played major roles in the growth and success of our company over the
past 17 years. Their commitment to our goals and their pursuit of excellence in
construction have helped shape the reputation that we are all so proud of here at
Lincoln Builders,” Graham stated.
Brasher is a 1989 graduate of University of Louisiana-Monroe with a Bachelor
of Science degree in Building Construction and has been employed by Lincoln
Builders since 1995. He currently serves on Lincoln’s project management team.
Nadler is a 1993 graduate of State University of New York with a Bachelor
of Science degree in Building Construction and has also been with Lincoln
since 1995. His experience with the company includes field engineer, assistant
superintendent, superintendent and project manager on various projects. Nadler
currently serves as Lincoln’s Senior Estimator.
Jerry Brasher
Rich Nadler
DESIGN/BUILD
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