Charles (my real name), Chuck, and Chas – All Present and Accounted For
Posted On January 17, 2024
This week’s Keepin’ It Real as broadcast Fridays on Alabama Public Radio. —– An icicle hangs from the roof of my house. I’m looking at it but still can’t quite believe it. Icicles are very rare here. Usually reserved for the freezer door that was left open overnight. A winter storm blew through and Mobile, Alabama is doing what it usually does when it gets below average cold – we’re freaking out. School is cancelled, quote, “out of an abundance of caution” for the kids. There’s no rebuttal to that phrase. It can’t be argued. Right now, my kids are… Read More
Categories: Uncategorized
A cautionary tale of running afoul of ethical behavior
Posted On January 16, 2024
You may think you have a pretty firm grasp on personal and professional ethics, and that you’d never step across the line into behavior that would be considered unethical. Consider, however, that sometimes the pressures of the marketplace, of a demanding boss, or of one’s own ambition might sometimes cause us to take shortcuts we wouldn’t ordinarily take, even if we know they’re wrong. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” provides a case study in this very possibility – and a warning of the consequences of failing to recognize and react to ethical red… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston
Changing your mindset to effectively manage millennials
Posted On January 13, 2024
Many of the great leaders of the past — Henry Ford, Jack Welch of General Electric, Tom Watson of IBM, to name a few – essentially told their employees: Follow me and do as I say if you want to survive and thrive. Leading today’s generation of employees may not be so straight-forward. In fact, the great leaders of the past may have had a difficult time leading the workforces of today. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” was Dr. Kevin McGarry, who did his doctoral research on becoming more effective leaders for the… Read More
Categories: Uncategorized
The evolution of the workplace is ongoing
Posted On January 9, 2024
What does the workplace of the future look like? It may be too soon to know. But one thing seems certain: The workplace of the past is gone. Our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” was Rebecca Swanner, a Workplace Sector Leader at the massive architectural and engineering design firm HED. While some old-school managers still clamor for their employees to be at their desks like the old days, she says the old days are gone – and they’re not coming back. “To be successful, we really need to let go of the baggage and… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
The childcare crisis and how it’s affecting the workforce
Posted On January 4, 2024
Many business leaders around the country say they can’t find enough workforce in today’s economy. While some point to the aftereffects of the pandemic or the idiosyncrasies of the younger generations, one of the main problems doesn’t have anything to do with a willingness to work. It’s childcare – or the lack of it. Our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” was Autumn Zellner, CEO of STARS Early Learning Academy in Fairhope, Alabama. And she says there is a crisis in childcare. “I take phone call after phone call from desperate parents who have either… Read More
Categories: Blog, Parenting, What's Working with Cam Marston
Sometimes, success means hitting the market at just the right time
Posted On December 22, 2023
Sometimes a business model just has to be started at the right time to find success. What wouldn’t have worked at one time may be the Next Big Thing in another. So it was for Josh and Jarred Higginbotham, our guests in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston.” The Higginbothams took about 100 kernels of heirloom corn from a freezer in a barn on the farm that’s been in their family for generations and have built a thriving business, Bayou Cora Farms. There once wasn’t much of a market for heirloom corn – a pre-1940 variety that… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston
Stepping back from your passion in order to grow your business
Posted On December 21, 2023
If you’re going to turn your small business into a multi-million dollar company, chances are you’re going to have to step outside your comfort zone and try some new things. You’re also going to have to trust others to do the things you enjoyed doing to get that business off the ground. Marty Grunder, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” says learning how to delegate and how to develop new skills and new roles for yourself is important to the growth of any business. Grunder started Grunder Landscaping in the Dayton, Ohio, area while… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
When a side gig becomes the main gig
Posted On December 14, 2023
Sometimes a side gig can become your true calling. So it was for our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston.” After Danny Lipford started a remodeling business in Mobile in 1978, he was looking for a way to set himself apart from competitors. He made himself accessible to local media, did local speaking engagements, and 10 years later, he got the opportunity to do a home improvement TV show on a local station. Thirty-five years after those beginnings, the “Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford” television show, which Lipford hosts along with his daughter Chelsea, is… Read More
Categories: Blog, Entrepreneurship, What's Working with Cam Marston
What’s in an accent? And can it be changed?
Posted On December 5, 2023
What does an accent mean? How do we get them? And can we change them? Accents and dialects are the specialty of University of Alabama Assistant Professor Paul E. Reed, Ph.D., our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston.” He says that our accents are developed at an early age, but can change over time. “You tend to sound like the people who raised you,” he said. “As you grow and become more independent, there are certain things that because of the input you receive, they fade away.” And yes, we can choose to change certain… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston
Plastic surgery isn’t just for the vain
Posted On November 29, 2023
Plastic surgery is just what vain, old people use to try to look young. Right? Wrong, according to a recent guest on “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” or at least that’s only a small part of it. Mobile-based plastic surgeon Dr. Chris Park says that while there are certainly many patients looking cosmetic plastic surgery, he also performs many reconstructive procedures, including removing skin cancer, repairing facial injuries and reconstructing skin damaged by dog bites or other injuries. “What I love about plastic surgery is it’s really a specialty of learning anatomy and physiology, but then principles,” he said. “My… Read More
Categories: Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston