ESG is here to stay, so get with the program
Posted On May 23, 2023
Do you know what ESG is? If you do, chances are you’re already looking for ways to optimize it for your company. If you don’t, you might want to get caught up. ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. It’s a measure of an organization’s emphasis on sustainability and other ethical issues. And according to Kai Gray, CEO of Motive ESG, it’s here to stay. Gray, who joined me recently on “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” says that companies – particularly publicly-traded ones – are going to have to account for ESG whether they like it or not. The government… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston
CEO of Outokumpu discusses workplace, energy, technology challenges
Posted On May 13, 2023
As the CEO of one of the world’s largest producers of stainless steel, Heikki Malinen has a unique view of trends in the worlds of business and industry. Some of those trends he finds concerning, and at least one big technological transition he believes will be seismic. Malinen, our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” is the CEO of Outokumpu, which is based in Helsinki, Finland, but has facilities throughout Europe and North America, including one right up the road from me in Calvert, Alabama. The largest stainless steel producer in the Western Hemisphere, Outokumpu… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work, Workplace
Don’t be afraid to get personal on social media
Posted On May 10, 2023
How do you use social media? Do you share pictures of the kids, something funny the dog did, a great meal you had? Now how do you use social media for business? Most of us feel a little uncomfortable sharing personal stuff on professional social media pages that we use for business. Domenick D’Andrea says that’s a mistake. D’Andrea, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” has been a New York-based financial advisor for over two decades. But he’s seen new leads emerge since he began making a concerted effort to share more of… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston
Using social media as a marketing & engagement tool: ‘It’s where people are’
Posted On May 2, 2023
Doctors and surgeons, by the nature of their profession, need to stay on the cutting edge of technology. For an orthopedic surgeon like Dr. Matt Barber of Mobile, that means taking advantage of robotics, 3D modeling, and even artificial intelligence and augmented reality. As Barber told us in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” this technology is making procedures like the knee and hip replacements in which he specializes more efficient, less invasive and resulting in better outcomes. Doctors and surgeons, like people in many other professions, are also finding that keeping up with a different type… Read More
Categories: Advertising, Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston
Introducing a new generation to cigars and cigar-making
Posted On April 21, 2023
Introducing the next generation to the family business can be a challenge, even if your family has been in the business for generations. For Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, patriarch of E.P. Carrillo Cigars, it was all about finding the best roles for his two children, Lissette Perez-Carrillo and Ernesto Perez-Carrillo III, who have degrees and experience in law and economics and both of whom grew up around the cigar business. As co-founders of E.P. Carrillo Cigars with their father, their expertise in these areas has helped grow the brand. “It’s a process,” said Perez-Carrillo, our guest in the latest episode of “What’s… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, Generations, Podcast, Recession Economy, Succession Planning, What's Working with Cam Marston
Customer service can set your business apart, or sink it
Posted On April 13, 2023
Business owners spend a lot of money getting customers to come in the door, creating marketing campaigns and buying advertising. Why is it, then, that so many of them send those same customers right back out the door with poor customer service? “Bottom line, it’s respect,” Pam Denham, one of Alabama’s leading customer service trainers, said of its importance. “It’s really not that hard to do these things and be set apart from other businesses because so few people are aware of it.” Denham, who joined us in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” has run her… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, Training Industry, What's Working with Cam Marston
Another important thing to remember about retirement: Don’t wait too late
Posted On April 9, 2023
We’ve discussed the importance of succession planning many times in this space with a lot of people who are well versed in the art. One of them added an important caveat recently: Don’t wait too late. Scot Hunsaker sold his swimming pool company at 49 and now counsels other business owners thinking about their futures through the Ardent Group. He’s also delved into his passions, traveling with his wife up the Eastern seaboard and into Canada on their 66-foot boat, and then taking a trip to Australia and New Zealand. It was on these travels that Hunsaker came to a… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, Succession Planning, What's Working with Cam Marston
With fraud rampant, risk management is essential in banking and payment processing
Posted On April 2, 2023
Few of us write checks regularly anymore. They’re primarily used for things like insurance payouts and the like. But while the use of checks continues to fall each year, instances of fraud involving checks continues to rise. “Even as the number of checks reduces 10 percent year over year,” said Rusty Pickering, President and Chief Operating Officer of Ingo Money, “the amount of check fraud attempts that we see is going up something like 30 percent annually.” Pickering’s firm is a payment processing company based in Alpharetta, Georgia, but a large part of his job is risk management – managing… Read More
Categories: Blog, Financial Services, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston
If you want to succeed in sales, relationships aren’t just a buzzword
Posted On March 28, 2023
What’s the secret to sales? You’ve probably heard enough people say “relationships” by now that it sounds cliché. But a relationship isn’t just providing service to your customers, and it doesn’t stop with the sale. Angelo DePaola, The Coastal Connection, says it goes beyond that. “I know everybody talks about relationships, but relationships run both ways and they last over a long period as time,” he said. “When people ask me what I do, I’m in the relationship business and we leverage that into real estate sales.” DePaola, a realtor based in Orange Beach, was our guest in the latest… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, Real Estate, What's Working with Cam Marston
Why creating a strong workplace culture should be your top priority
Posted On March 5, 2023
We’ve talked a lot in my podcasts about workplace culture. It’s always been an important piece of a successful business, but as we’ve emerged from the pandemic, it may now be the most important factor to long-term success. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” certainly thinks so. Richard Jolly is an associate clinical professor of management and organization at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Jolly, who is also a Director of the consulting firm Stokes & Jolly Ltd., says creating a positive workplace culture is more than a desire or a goal for… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work, Workplace