Northwest Florida Business Climate

April/M

ay 2013

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Navy FederalExpansion

A Tale of Two (post-divorce) Christmase sOr why there is a better way to Divorce

The End of FierceIndividualism

As many business owners can attest, teamwork isessential for any enterprise to run smoothly. Members ofa department must work together for the best possibleoutcomes, and the department as a whole mustcommunicate effectively with other departments to takeprojects and assignments to completion. If your businessis based on more individualized performance, it might betime to shift toward a culture of collaboration. See why inour article on page 50, “The End of Fierce Individualism:Why Teams Matter More Than Ever.”

Another area where collaboration can be most useful isduring the legal quagmire of divorce proceedings. Locallawyer Autumn O. Beck with MacDonald FlemingMoorhead has written about the benefits of collaborativedivorce, which can have improved outcomes for divorcingfamilies and avoids the sometimes aggressive and painfultrips to the courtroom. Read more on page 54.

Lastly, the Greater Pensacola Chamber and the cityreceived good news recently as Navy Federal Credit Unionannounced plans for its Langley Bell 4-H property, whichincludes a $200 million investment and 1,500 new jobs forthe area by 2020. With high average salaries, these jobswill give a boon to local economy and indirectly createeven more jobs in other sectors—a big win for our area.Turn to page 48 for the full story from the Chamber.

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4 8 . e co n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n tNavy Federal Expansion

5 0. t e a m w o r kThe End of FierceIndividualism

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54. A Tale of Two (post-divorce) Christmase sOr why there is a better way to Divorce

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>economic development

Staff at the Greater PensacolaChamber couldn’t be more pleasedthat Navy Federal Credit Union hasmade a formal announcementregarding its plans for the formerLangley Bell 4-H Center property. OnApril 3, the nation’s biggest creditunion announced a $200 millioninvestment and 1,500 new jobsguaranteed for Greater Pensacola by2020. There’s also a discussion abouta long-range plan to have another5,700 jobs by the year 2020 andultimately a $1 billion campus. This iseasily the single biggest jobcreation announcement in30+ years for GreaterPensacola.

It is anticipated thatthese jobs will pay anaverage annual salary ofmore than $44,000, whichwill ultimately have a hugeimpact on the localeconomy, not to mentionthe additional 1,000 indirectjobs that will be created inour regional economy as aresult of this project.

A very conservative studyfrom the Haas Center

projected the impact that these jobswill have, which includes an estimated$6.2 million annual impact on theretail trade sector by next year. Thereport also projects an estimated$94.4 million impact on theconstruction sector by 2015 and, by2020, an estimated additional $220million dollars added to our totalannual Gross Domestic Product(GDP). You can read the full reportonline at PensacolaChamber.comunder “Chamber News.”

It is true that some employersexpand regardless of theefforts of local and stateeconomic developmentofficials, but with respect tothis announcement, there isno question that its ultimatesuccess came only becauseso many local and stateofficials were dedicated toseeing it through. The keyturning point for this projectcame when Chamber staff,especially Senior VicePresident of EconomicDevelopment Scott Luth,cleared the hurdlesassociated with Navy

By Jim Hizer

Strategic Plan

Governor Scott at the Navy Federal press conference

Navy FederalExpansion


Federal’s purchase of the 4-Hproperty with the help of theEscambia County Commission, the 4-H Council and other local leaders.The State of Florida also stepped upto the plate with regard to incentivesfor this project.

Prior to Navy Federal’sannouncement, Vision 2015 hadparticipated in creating nearly 1,400jobs with a mean salary of more than$52,700 — well above the localaverage. Now we are another stepcloser to our goal of helping tocreate 3,000 high-wage jobs by 2015.

For now, local company growth,aircraft maintenance and repair,offshore energy services and back-office centers like Navy Federal’s arethe best opportunities availablebecause they are the sectors withcompetitive local available workforce,buildings and sites. The sites that areneeded to attract and grow high-quality, high-paying jobs requireinfrastructure we do not have yet butthat we are working hard to develop.

To get there we are working hardto prepare our community forsuccess and have specific goals,which include:• Developing a 500- to 600-acreinventory of truly shovel-ready landnear Interstate 10 with all requisiteinfrastructure and moderndevelopment covenants. Today, nolocal sites meet these requirements.• Creating a nationally recognizedcomprehensive business/educationworkforce development partnership,including a world-class employmenteducation endowment to train andeducate local individuals for ourimmediate employment needs. • Working behind the scenes onmany fronts, from improving thepublic-sector development approvalprocesses and supporting Pensacola-area revitalization to helping financehigh-growth-potential entrepreneursand retaining and attracting keyarmed services commands.

There’s a lot of work to be done –seizing both long-term solutions andimmediate opportunities – but we arewell on our way.

For more information, visitwww.PensacolaChamber.com/Strategic-Plan.


> teamwork

The End of Fierce Individualism: Why TeamsMatter More Than Ever (and What You Need

to Know About Them)

Bruce Piasecki shares a blueprint of what a well-run team looks like and explains why, nowmore than ever, the power of teams should trump the appeal of the rugged individualist.

America loves a fierce individualist.And yes, there is something inspiringabout the lone enterpriser and largebusiness executive blazing a path intothe valuable future. And yet, while ourculture will always celebrate theindividual, Bruce Piasecki insists thatthe business world must acknowledgethe truth behind the (alleged) Aristotlequote: “The whole is greater than thesum of its parts.” In other words, the

near future will be all aboutinnovation for sustainable valuecreation, led by teams.

“In a world that becomes morecomplex by the day, ‘command andcontrol’ is out, and employeeengagement is in,” says Piasecki,author of the new book Doing Morewith Teams: The New Way to Winning.“The days when a larger-than-lifepersonality is allowed to steamroll

over the rest of the company areover. This destroys morale, whichdestroys results. Teams, notindividuals, drive performance.

“And make no mistake,” he adds.“The best organizations, the oneswith real staying power, are fueled bywell-run teams.

“Teams are more important thanever because the way we work anddo business has changed,” Piasecki


explains. “Within the fiercecompetition that is the globaleconomy, companies that get fastresults because they excel atcollaboration and innovation will riseto the top and rule the day. And theideas that allow an organization toachieve, grow, and prosper (asopposed to merely survive) will becreated only when teams leveragetheir combined skills and holdthemselves mutually accountable. Noindividual, no matter how brilliant, islikely to have the skill set to takeprojects from start to finish in thisfast-paced and complex environment.

“The good news is, companies canshatter this individualistic mindsetwherever it occurs and guideemployees to a better way to work—while tapping into and maximizingtheir raw talent,” Piasecki says. “Butfirst, they must understand thatmanaging teams, with their web ofhidden politics and complex interplayof human differences, is very differentfrom managing individuals.”

Here, Piasecki shares eight insightson teams:Great teams are led by captains.Like many popular terms, the word“leader” has become so overused andcommonplace that it has lost allmeaning. Anybody can call himself orherself a leader, it seems. Anybodycan follow the “dos” and “don’ts” inleadership manuals. But it takes aspecial type of leader—a captain—tocreate not just a loose affiliation ofindividuals but a true team that’scentered around shared values andfocused on a common goal.

“Captains are quick to recognizethe key capabilities of their teammembers, including strengths andweaknesses, and to build the planaround those capabilities,” Piaseckisays.Fierce individualism has no placein teams. Captains need to be surethat “the MVP syndrome” is notallowed to define their teams and beon the alert for individuals who mightbe losing sight of the team that gavethem an identity—the group withwhom they worked to produce thefame for which they are now known.It is in such situations that workplaceills such as favoritism, sexism, and

even criminal activity likeembezzlement tend to flourish.

“Seek to hire ‘coachable’individuals rather than individualist-minded high performers,” Piaseckiadvises. “Do everything possible topromote and reward teamwork ratherthan individualism. Whether yourefforts are centered on pay structure,group incentives, verbal recognition,or some other technique, seek alwaysto send the signal that it’s strongteams (not strong individuals) thatmake up a strong company.”Teams hold the bar high foreveryone (especially thesuperstars). In all teams there is aninherent desire to protect oursuperstars and keep them winning.(Never mind all the others whosequieter, though no less critical,contributions are downplayed.)

“We are all aware of conditionswhen everyone else was willing to goalong with a wrong,” Piasecki pointsout. “We recall instances in recenthistory where the politics of fearenabled the Nazis, and whereembezzlement seems the norm. Yet itis harder to see when victory shinesso brightly. Captains must be mindfulof this very human tendency, inthemselves and in others, to look theother way, to give our victors thebenefit of the doubt. We must bevigilant and ever alert to wrongdoing.We must be willing to ferret outcorruption in the highest echelons, tobench the MVP, even to fire thesuperstar for the good of the teamand the sake of integrity.”Teams have to be willing to losesometimes or they will eventuallyself-destruct. When teams keepwinning, they can become addicted tovictory—feel entitled to it even—andthis is what drives them to illicitextremes. The lesson is clear: Whenwe don’t learn to tolerate failure, wewill do anything to keep the publicadulation coming.

“Teams become great becausethey keep things in perspective andunderstand the broader context ofcompetition; namely, that there isalways a larger league and a set ofbetter players out there, no matterwhat you’ve achieved or what rungon a ladder you’ve just hit,” Piasecki

explains. “In other words, no one canalways win. In fact, if a team becomesaddicted to victory—entitled to iteven—it may take the LanceArmstrong route and go to illicitextremes to keep winning. An inabilityto tolerate failure makes a team easyprey for ‘the dark side.’”Great teams revel in the pleasureof persistence and the sheer thrillof striving. Knowing that we willstumble and fall from time to time,yet get up and try again with somesuccess, is at the heart of a greatteam.

Piasecki insists that it’s critical toteach teams to be well prepared forassignments and to keep going inspite of hardship. He shares, “Whenmy company enrolls an executive inleadership training, we emphasize thefollowing lessons of teamwork:- How to play through pain- How to resist the criminalopportunities inherent in becomingan MVP- How to keep your feet on theground despite being a member ofspecial teams with special force- How to outlive uncomfortableappointments, such as when yourboss has selected you for teams thatare a bad fit, and how to behavewhen you are chosen for teams youdo not want to play on

“Life can be a tough slog, andvictories are sporadic at best. Maybewe can’t win but we can keep going.This striving brings with it its ownunique rewards. It is up to us to learnto appreciate them.”Successful teams share values,integrity, and a commitment to oneanother. In preparing for a teamevent, or in becoming a member of ateam, a transformation occurs whereteam members end their individualassociations and create a teamidentity through sharing with othersthe experience of that process. Oncethe team is created, a strong bond isalready in place from thatpreparation, from the obstacleseveryone had to overcome to getthere.

When joining the military, everyonehas a crucible, basic training, whichreally isn’t basic at all and is usuallythe hardest experience to get


through, Piasecki points out. Thecrucible is something all membershave to overcome to be part of theteam. They shave all the soldiers’heads to take away their individualdesignations and rebuild them asteam members, reshape theiridentities into a shared identity.Teams must feel “at home” withuncertainty and complexity. In aworld getting faster, flatter, andmore competitive every day,uncertainty and complexity are therule rather than the exception. (AsPiasecki mentioned earlier, that’swhy collaboration and teams are soimportant!) Teams and their captainsneed to be comfortable functioningin such an environment.

“In complex situations whereoutcomes are unknown, thetemptation is always to play it safe,”Piasecki points out. “But in a worldof constantly changing tides,yesterday’s ‘safe’ is likely to betoday’s ‘not enough.’ That’s whyteams must work on instinct, oftenat a moment’s notice, and constantly

move forward. Effective teams learnby doing and stay focused onresults; they are not bound bymethod or processes. And that givesthem the flexibility and resiliencythey need to thrive in the midst offlux.”Effective teams take risks.Because business climates areconstantly changing, teams and thecaptains who lead them know thatyesterday’s guidelines can quicklybecome obsolete. That’s why theydon’t allow themselves to be overlybogged down by rule following andorder taking. Rather, they pushboundaries when it’s proper (inother words, when ethical and morallines aren’t being crossed), becausethe greatest innovations happenbeyond existing laws and rules.When led by great captains, teamsregularly work beyond normal andlimiting boundaries to increaseproductivity and success.

“Of course, while it’s important toencourage the kind of risk thatinvolves seizing opportunities, it’s

also equally (and increasingly) criticalto take steps to eliminate the risk ofnegative team behavior,” Piaseckiwarns. “I’m speaking here of the riskof allowing the ‘dark side’ toencroach on ethical behavior—asevidenced in the stories of BernieMadoff, Lance Armstrong, and thelatest string of scams reported in theNew York Times and the Financial Timesof London.”

“The word ‘team’ is more thanjust a business buzzword,” Piaseckiconcludes. “If done well, buildingand captaining a team will determinewhether you merely survive orinstead thrive in this strange neweconomy.”

Piasecki speaks from experience.He is a change agent andmanagement consultant whose firm,AHC Group, Inc.(www.ahcgroup.com), has nowworked for over 100 of the 1,000largest organizations in the world.

About the Author: Dr. Bruce Piasecki is theauthor of Doing More with Teams: The New Wayto Winning and president and founder of AHCGroup, Inc., a management consulting firmspecializing in energy, materials, andenvironmental corporate matters, whoseclients range from Suncor Energy, Hess, FMC,the Warren Buffett firm Shaw Industries,Toyota, and other global companies in hisCorporate Affiliates training workshops.Piasecki is the author of several seminalbooks on business strategy, valuation, andcorporate change, including the NatureSociety’s book of the year In Search ofEnvironmental Excellence: Moving Beyond the Blame,as well as recent New York Times, USA Today,and Wall Street Journal bestseller Doing Morewith Less. Since 1981, he has advisedcompanies about the critical areas ofcorporate governance, energy, environmentalstrategy, product innovation, andsustainability strategy with his teams of seniorassociates. See www.brucepiasecki.com andwww.ahcgroup.com for more details.

About the Book: Doing More with Teams: TheNew Way to Winning (Wiley, March 2013, ISBN:978-1-1184849-5-1, $25.00,www.brucepiasecki.com) is available atbookstores nationwide, from major onlinebooksellers, and direct from the publisher bycalling 800-225-5945. In Canada, call 800-567-4797. For more information, please visit thebook’s page on www.wiley.com.


A Tale of Two (post-divorce) ChristmasesOr why there is a better way to Divorce

By Autumn O. Beck, Esq.


December is a relatively slow time of year for marital and family lawattorneys. Mostly because this is the time of year when couples, even ifthey know they are about to divorce, try to maintain civility for one moreChristmas so that that the children will not suffer. But what if this civilitycould continue through the “last Christmas” and set the tone for therelationship between the divorced couple for the rest of their lives?Before you smirk at the suggestion, let me tell you the stories of twodivorced couples and their 2012 Christmas.


The first couple, I will call the Kranks. They have twodaughters, ages eight and four. This couple is goingthrough a bitter divorce (flashback to War of the Roses). Pertheir temporary child timesharing agreement entered into15 months ago, the two girls spent Christmas Evemorning with their father, Mr. Krank. A little before noon,Mr. Krank loaded up the girls, taking them away from thecousins they were playing with at the family ChristmasEve party and drove in Christmas Eve traffic to Target.Precisely at noon, Mrs. Krank pulled into the parking lot,and opened her van doors. Mr. Krank helped the girls outof his car, hugged them and they quickly loaded theminto their mother’s van. No words were spoken betweenMr. and Mrs. Krank, as they had confirmed all the plansfor the holiday weekend via email, copying their attorneysof course.

On Christmas morning, the girls awoke toSanta’s majesty, but were quickly whisked awayto attend Mrs. Krank’s family Christmasgathering. The girls were just in the middle ofdessert when mom told them to quickly givetheir hugs and kisses, say thank you to theirfamily members for the gifts and load up in thecar. Mrs. Krank noticed the sad look on theirfaces as they pulled away from theirgrandparent’s house and paused to let the girlsrun back in and say good bye again. Nowheaded to Target again, Mrs. Krank glanced atthe clock on the dash and noticed that she was5 minutes late already. By the time she got tothe Target parking lot, Mr. Krank had alreadytexted his family law attorney about his wife’stardiness and was waiting impatiently. Twentyminutes later, an apologetic Mrs. Krank arrivedand hurriedly said goodbye to the girls as Mr.Kank muttered under his breath to his wife, “Iwill see you in court!” Mrs. Krank scowled,“Bring it!” The girls buckled their seatbelts, andleaned on each other while silent tears puddledin their eyes and knots formed in theirstomachs.

The second couple, Mr. and Ms. Merry, wentthrough a divorce earlier this year. This wastheir first Christmas as divorced parents. Theyhave three children, twin eight year old boysand a seven year old daughter. During the firstweek of December, the couple talked on thephone about their ideas and obligations for theupcoming holiday. On Christmas Eve, Ms. Merryhad a gathering of family and friends at herhome. She expected lots of guests and the eventwas scheduled to last all day. That morning thechildren were so excited they called Mr. Merryto find out what time he was coming over.

By mid-day, the house was full of family andfriends including Mr. Merry. The kids playedwhile Ms. Merry played hostess. Mr. Merrytalked with Ms. Merry’s family members andeven Ms. Merry’s new boyfriend. Several of theguests commented to Ms. Merry how nice it was

that the children’s father was there and how amazed theywere at how everyone interacted with him. By lateafternoon, being respectful of his former wife’s time withthe children, Mr. Merry decided to leave. He gave longhugs and kisses to the kids. Ms. Merry gave a friendly hugto Mr. Merry as they said goodbye at the door. The kidswere eager to keep playing with their friends, and wereconfident enough to let dad leave without tears orinsecurity as they were sure that their parents had figuredout a schedule that would allow them to get the most outof their holiday.

The next morning, the kids awoke to Santa’s majesty.The kids called Mr. Merry to report on Santa’s loot.Looking around the home that looked like Christmas hadexploded on it, Ms. Merry told the kids to get dressed togo to their grandparent’s home. At grandma and


grandpa’s the kids enjoyed more friends and family andChristmas lunch. When it looked like lunch was going totake a little longer than expected, Ms. Merry texted Mr.Merry and asked him if it was OK if they could exchangethe children 30 or 45 minutes later. It was no problem forMr. Merry since he knew that pulling the kids from theChristmas table would cause them unnecessary stress andanxiety. At 3 pm that day, Ms. Merry took the kids to theirdad’s house, she lingered a short time inside to hear thekids tell dad about the gifts they received. Then shekissed and hugged the children good bye. By bedtime, thekids were exhausted from excitement of the day, not fromfamily stress.

Now, I know you may be rolling your eyes at these twocouples thinking that they represent the real extremes ofthe spectrum, but these are the events from two actuallocal couples. You may ask what the difference is in whythey were able to put their differences aside and reallywork together to determine what was best for theirchildren. It wasn’t the severity of the issues that wererelevant in their divorce; in fact, the couple with the moreextreme issues would be the Merrys. The difference lies,in great part, to the WAY they divorced. Although they hadsignificant issues to muddle through in the process ofdivorce, Mr. and Ms. Merry did not want to fight with eachother. They divorced in an amicable, collaborative way,focusing on the needs of the children and attempting torepair their relationship to the fullest extent possible sothat they could be good co-parents in the future. Theynever considered “going to court” to iron out theirdifferences, but agreed from the beginning that theywould reach a mutually agreed upon settlement. Theyhired attorneys who understood that they wanted thedivorce to be the END of the marital strife and not thebeginning.

Mr. and Mrs. Krank on the other hand, looked forattorneys who would be willing to “go for the jugular” andreally punish the other for the wrongs he/she committed.As a result, the couple cannot communicate about eventhe most menial topic without pulling in their lawyers, andconsequently, everything becomes a fight. The childrenare in constant inner turmoil, despite their outwardappearances. The Kranks have not found the maturitythey need to be able to pull themselves together for theirchildren; and every member of the Krank family issuffering because of it. Meanwhile, the Krank’s are gettingpoorer and their divorce lawyers are getting richer, leavingless for themselves or their children as the time clocks runwith two attorney’s time.

There is a better way to divorce. Collaborative divorceis a new method that allows the divorcing parties to sortthrough their issues and learn to work together to care fortheir children. When a couple enters into the Collaborativeprocess, they agree that Mom and Dad will decide howtheir children will be raised and how time with theirchildren will be shared, not a judge. The process is perfectfor the couple that wants to have a better relationshipwith each other as single people than they did whilemarried to each other so that they can focus on what’s

really important to them both, their precious children andyears of happy Christmas’ future.

Autumn O. Beck is a Marital and Family Law Attorney withMcDonald Fleming Moorhead in Pensacola, Florida. She is one ofonly two Certified Collaborative Divorce Attorneys in the FloridaPanhandle. For more information on Collaborative Divorce, contacther at 850.477.0660 or [email protected].

Collaborative Divorce FAQs

For parties who wish to get divorced but are lookingfor the divorce process to be the end of the maritalconflict and not the beginning of it, there is a newapproach to divorce that provides a more peacefulprocess than that of traditional litigation calledCollaborative Divorce. Here are some answers to themost frequently asked questions I receive on theprocess.

What is Collaborative Divorce?Collaborative Divorce provides the benefits of attorney

assistance while avoiding the negative atmosphere oflitigation. In the collaborative divorce process, the partieseach retain attorneys with training in non-adversarial,conflict resolution.

Collaboratively trained coaches (communicationspecialists, mediators and/or mental health professionals)are also part of the team. Financial specialists, mortgagebrokers and real estate agents participate in the process,as needed.

Instead of going to court to litigate the issues ofcustody, parenting time, spousal maintenance andproperty division, the parties and their supportingprofessionals meet in a series of conferences to makebetter decisions in the best interest of the family.Research shows that the most creative solutions forparents and children are generated in a non-adversarialatmosphere.

How is Collaborative Divorce Different?a. You and your spouse agree that you will not go to

court to settle your differences. If either party goes tocourt or threatens court action, the attorneys are boundby agreement with their client to withdraw from the case.

b. Your attorneys, while representing you andproviding you with legal advice and counsel, are not outto “win” the case for you. Their role is to help you andyour spouse to come to an agreement that is in the bestinterests of both of you and your children. They should betrying to achieve a “win-win” solution.

c. Collaborative divorce teams work on solutions forboth the short and long term that are robust, anddesigned specifically for your particular situation. As youand your attorney are not preparing for a judge to decide,you can be very creative in your solutions and do notnecessarily have to follow case law in deciding how youand your spouse wish to dissolve your marriage.

d. Collaborative professionalsgenerally acknowledge the divorceis not primarily a legal event, butis more an emotional and financialevent. Thus, collaborativeattorneys recognize that otherprofessionals are often bettersuited to assist parties with theemotional and financial aspects oftheir divorce, and thus will includethose professionals as part of theteam so that you get theappropriate help by theappropriately trained professional.

e. You and your spouse willagree that you will fully discloseall information, will conductyourselves respectfully and withdignity, and will negotiate in goodfaith. Most collaborative attorneyswill help you to speak for yourself,rather than speak for you. We recommend the use of adivorce coach to help you with communication andemotional issues that will facilitate your ability tocommunicate effectively in meetings with your spouse andhis/her attorney.

What are the key advantages to CollaborativeDivorce?

Both attorney and the parties share the goal ofcooperative problem solving, instead of pulling inopposition to each other.

There is no pain-free way to end a marriage, but byreducing destructive conflict, a climate of cooperation andrespect can be created.

The judge’s ability to resolve your family’s issues islimited due to lack of time and information. Thecollaborative problem solving process leaves the decisionmaking up to the divorcing parties with the input andsupport of the collaborative professionals.

The collaborative process embodies civilized, respectfulcommunication. This protects children from the harmassociated with a conflicted, litigated divorce.

The collaborative process provides a foundation for apositive ongoing co-parenting relationship.

For Whom is the Collaborative Divorce ProcessAdvantageous?

You and your partner may wish to proceedcollaboratively if you:• Desire the assurance provided by having legalrepresentation throughout the process.• Want to retain control over your own lives and the livesof your children.• Want to divorce at your own pace rather than on theCourt’s timetable, which is often very slow.• Wish to reach agreement through open discussions andco-operative problem solving. • Desire to build two functioning households that foster a

successful co-parenting relationship for the benefit of yourchildren.• Do not want the threat of going to court to influenceyour decisions.• Desire your issues to remain private.

How does the collaborative process help you reachthese goals?• By creating a safe, cooperative environment whichprovides the opportunity for open communication andcreative problem solving. • By establishing a team, rather than adversaries, whowork toward a mutually agreeable settlement, while at thesame time providing direction and boundaries for theprocess. • By bringing you the expert consultants needed toaddress such issues as parenting time, communicationskills, real estate and financial issues. • By scheduling meetings on your timetable rather thanthe court’s. • Since the process remains private; only the requiredlegal documents are filed with the court.

Why is the Collaborative Process Successful?The collaborative divorce model views divorces as the

restructuring of the family, not a battle to be won or lost.Instead of litigation, it empowers and supports parties

to reach their own solutions.An agreement formed together by the divorcing parties

is more likely to be followed years in the future.

About the author: Autumn O. Beck is a Marital and Family Law Attorney withMcDonald Fleming Moorhead in Pensacola, Florida. She is one of only two CertifiedCollaborative Divorce Attorneys in the Florida Panhandle. For more information onCollaborative Divorce, contact her at 850.477.0660 or [email protected]© Autumn O. Beck, 2013, All Rights ReservedNo part of this article may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted,without the prior written consent of the author, unless otherwiseindicated for stand-alone materials.




business news bits you should know

Navy Federal Credit Union to add1,500 jobsOn April 3, Gov. Rick Scottannounced that Navy Federal CreditUnion will create 1,500 jobs inNorthwest Florida, as part of a $200million expansion. It will be thefourth expansion for the creditunion since opening in 2003 inPensacola. The credit union alreadyemploys almost 3,000 people.Additional property that was boughtwill allow the credit union to put uptwo new buildings to house the newworkers. With an average wage ofmore than $44,000, the influx of newjobs will mean more people in thetwo‐county region will have anopportunity to obtain jobs that pay115 percent more than the averagePensacola-area salary. According toa study by the Haas Center, theNavy Federal jobs will also generatean additional 1,000 jobs in the localcommunity by 2020 due to theindirect effects of the employmentincrease.

PSC to host 2013 FloridaSkillsUSA state competition &Worlds of Possibilities careerexpoShowcasing technical talents andleadership abilities, the best and thebrightest of Florida SkillsUSAcompetitors will face off at the 2013Florida SkillsUSA State Competitionheld in conjunction with the 2013Worlds of Possibilities Career Expo.The event is April 29 and 30 at thePensacola Bay Center. The Worldsof Possibilities Career Expo willshowcase businesses and vendors intechnical and vocational careerfields by engaging more than 3,000seventh and eighth grade studentsand 2,500 high school and collegestudents from throughout the stateof Florida, with exciting hands-onand interactive experiences in 14worlds and industry sectors, rangingfrom the World of Aviation to theWorld of Energy. Back by populardemand, SkillsUSA will co-host an

Electrathon Race competition atFive Flags Speedway on Saturday,April 27. Sanctioned by ElectrathonAmerica and sponsored by the GulfPower Engineering Society, highschool competitors from Florida willrace electric vehicles through anendurance course to determine howfar they can travel on electricbatteries.

Escambia County jobless ratedropsEscambia County’s unemploymentrate dipped to its lowest levels since2008 recently, according to theFlorida Department of EconomicOpportunity. The county’sunemployment rate is 7.4 percent,and Santa Rosa’s is 6.7.

New development coming toRosemary BeachIn early April, Walton Countycommissioners approved plans forThe Inn on the Gulf, a trio of luxuryfour-story buildings. Thedevelopment on Rosemary Beachwill feature one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 460square feet to 2,118 square feet.Phase one of construction shouldbe complete by the summer of 2014.

Hotel planned at foot of ShalimarBridgeA Louisiana-based development firmplans to build a four-story, 120-roomhotel on Eglin Parkway overlookingGarnier Bayou. InterMountainManagement, a hospitalitydevelopment and managementcompany, plans to build a MarriottTownePlace Suites across the streetfrom Eglin Federal Credit Union atthe south end of the ShalimarBridge.

UWF College of Businessmaintains AACSB BusinessAccreditationThe College of Business at theUniversity of West Florida officiallymaintained its business

accreditation by the Association toAdvance Collegiate Schools ofBusiness (AACSB International).Accreditation confirms that thecurriculum, faculty, students andmanagement of the UWF businessprograms meet the highest standardof quality, rigor and relevance.AACSB Accreditation is the hallmarkof excellence in business educationand has been earned by less than 5percent of the world’s businessprograms. Today, there are 650business schools in 50 countriesand territories that maintain AACSBAccreditation.

UWF BEI moves to RFP phase ofUniversity Park & NorthwestVillage Development ProjectUniversity of West Florida BusinessEnterprises, Inc. (BEI) announcedApril 12 the names of threedevelopment firms selected tosubmit Requests for Proposals(RFPs) for the University Park &Northwest Village DevelopmentProject. The selected firms are:American Campus Communities(Austin, Texas): In partnership withBullock-Tice Associates (Pensacola,Fla.) and Greenhut ConstructionCompany (Pensacola, Fla.) as well asNiles Bolton (Atlanta, Ga.).Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions(Newtown Square, Pa.): Inpartnership with Caldwell &Associates (Pensacola, Fla.) andProvident (Baton Rouge, La.).KUD International (New York City,Ny.): In partnership with Jehle-Halstead (Pensacola, Fla.), as well asEMO (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Haskell(Jacksonville, Fla.), among others.

Gulf Power wants to attract bigbusiness with certified sitesGulf Power Company is introducingits new economic developmentprogram that will help communitiescreate jobs by having large sitesready for business growth andexpansions — a recognized need inNorthwest Florida for successful

>aroundtheregion


The Panhandle Job Advisory Board has named Christina Johnson, branchmanager of Landrum Staffing Services in Fort Walton Beach, as education chair.Johnson will lead the organization in the planning of educational events forpotential candidates participating in the bi-annual job fairs. The professional-related education sessions include resume workshops, interview coaching and jobsearch assistance.

Compass Solar Energy names new marketing director Amy Vogt has been namedmarketing director at Compass Solar Energy. She will be responsible for strategicmarket development, branding and market awareness initiatives. Vogt comes toCompass Solar Energy with more than 15 years of management, marketing andcommunications experience in industries as varied as technology, education andentertainment.

Keith Hoskins is named new Commanding Officer at NAS. Capt. Keith Hoskinsbegan his career at NAS in 1989 and has recently been named the base's firstAfican-American commanding officer. Capt. Hoskins is a native of Parkville, Mo.and graduated from Missouri Western State University with a Bachelor of Sciencein Electrical Engineering Technology in 1988. He was commissioned aftercompletion of Aviation Officer Candidate School in September of 1989 and wasdesignated a Naval Aviator in February of 1992 in Kingsville, Texas. Hoskins flewwith the Blue Angels flight demonstration team from 1999 to 2001. He holds morethan 3,400 flight hours and 570 aircraft carrier landings.

peopleonthemove<

economic development.Through the program — thefirst-of-its-kind in Florida —potential industrial sites will besubmitted to a site consultantfirm retained by Gulf Power.The firm, McCallum SweeneyConsulting, will evaluate thesites, make recommendationsfor preparing the site for a newbusiness and then certify thesite once the improvementshave been made. Gulf Power ispaying for all of the programdesign costs and will pay one-half of the consultant costs forpublicly owned parcelssubmitted by cities or counties.The consultant fees amount toabout $20,000 per site. Privatedevelopers can participate aswell, but will have to pay thefull amount of the consultantfees. Gulf Power will not payfor any of the siteimprovements for public orprivately owned sites.

Walton County eyes newexecutive directorThe search for a new executivedirector for the Walton CountyEconomic Alliance appears tobe coming to an end. TheEDA’s board of directors votedunanimously Friday to beginnegotiations with StevenJaeger, the executive directorof TransPORT, the portauthority in Peoria, Ill. Ifnegotiations go well, the boardwould like Jaeger to start worknext month.


12 Signs YourBusiness is Ready

For a ServerIf you are like most small businesses, you acquire desktop

computers, phone systems, and software in a random, “buy-it-when-you-need-it” fashion as your business operations demandit.

But at some point, this patchwork of stopgap technologyyou’ve acquired is going to end up costing you more indowntime, system errors, breakdowns, and other problems thanit would to rip out and replace everything.

If you’ve suddenly become aware that you’re at that stage ofgrowth in your business, then you want to stop purchasing moresoftware and hardware in a willy-nilly fashion and get seriousabout planning for your future growth and business operationsso you don’t end up with a big pile of expensive hardware andsoftware spaghetti that doesn’t meet your business needs.

One secret to saving money on IT costs is to strive for asmuch uniformity and connectivity as possible across yourbusiness network - and the first place to start achieving that isthrough the use of a server.

If you have two or more computers that are looselyconnected to share information, printers, scanners, Internetaccess, or fax machines, then you could inject a great deal ofsimplicity, productivity, and security with a small business server.

A server simply acts as a single specialized computer thatensures all of the computers connected to it (called “clients”)have access to the resources, information and systems theyneed, faster and with fewer problems. It also acts as acentralized manager to make sure data is secure and organized.

At one time, servers only made sense for large organizationsbecause of their high cost and complexity. But today, there arevery affordable and easy-to-implement server systems designedspecifically for a growing small business. If you’re not absolutelycertain that installing a server could help your business enoughto justify the cost, here are 12 surefire signs that your businesscould definitely benefit from an upgrade.1. You have two or more computers that need to share officeequipment (printers, fax machines, scanners) and resources(Internet access).2. You have irreplaceable files and data residing on more thanone computer that need to be secured from loss, corruption orunauthorized access.3.You need (or would like to have) secure access to yourcomputer files while traveling or working from home.4. You need to back up critical files on more than one computer,and you would like to be able to restore accidentally deletedfiles or previous versions of your files.5. You need CRM (customer relationship management) softwareand accounting programs to manage and communicate withyour growing list of clients and vendors.6. You need to manage different versions of one file.7. You need a central communication system that makes it easyto schedule group meetings and share information with

employees, vendors and customers. 8. You need to allow employees to share databases and othersoftware tools.9. You would like to send group faxes and e-mail broadcasts tocustomers.10. You want to save money by hosting your own companywebsite and e-mail.11. You want to control employees’ access to sensitive financialrecords and personnel information.12. You want a central access point for information instead ofhaving to hunt down various files and data on variouscomputers on your network.

All master craftsmen demand excellent tools to completetheir work. They know that the best tools allow them to focus oncreating their next masterpiece rather than being sidetracked,frustrated or limited by the tools they are using. The computers,software and office equipment you use are the tools you useevery day to create your greatest masterpiece: your business.

If the technology in your office is not simplifying yourbusiness and making it easier for you to get more done withfewer employees, it’s costing you a lot more than the price of aserver. While there is no shortage of white papers on the topicof ROI (return on investment) for upgrading technology, you andI know that this is truly a hard cost to quantify; however, therecertainly IS a cost, and depending on your business operationsand how you use the computers and technology in your office,the cost may be significant.

In his book Automatic Millionaire, author David Bach talksabout the “latte” factor. Simply put, most people end upfinancially broke not because of the big purchases they make,but because of the small, seemingly innocent day-to-dayspending of small amounts of money over a long period of time.For example, no one thinks twice of spending $4 for a cup ofcoffee at Starbucks every morning.

However, add that up over the course of a year and they’veinvested $1,460 into a daily cup of coffee. Why am I telling youthis? Because massive loss of productivity in any business playsout exactly the same way.

Think about this: a faster processor and a faster hard drivewith greater capacity allow you to open and use applicationsfaster, saving a few minutes every hour. Information iscentralized, which saves a few more minutes every hour infinding files. There are fewer crashes and hang-ups.

Each of these little things adds up to significant employeehours saved over the course of a year. Then there’s the cost-savings of outsourced IT support. A properly configured andmaintained client-server network is far easier to support andtroubleshoot than a patchwork of computers that are looselyconnected. All of this translates into higher revenue from yourtechnology investment and should land on your bottom line.

> it tips

By Mike White


Brent Pinkston, Tim Martin

...at the Wind Creek Casino and Hotel “Wonders of the Gulf”

>businessscene

Jay Dorris, Arthur Mothershed

Ted Holz, Todd Torgersen,Bob Warren

Yvonne Nellums, Ted Kirschner Jim Guttman, Wallace Sample

Rodrigo Macias, Joe Quinn

...at the “Breakfast with the Fed,” Crowne Plaza Hotel

Jack Brown with Veterans MemorialPark Steering Committee

Jeff Grosso & John Ochs Matt Schmitt, Gerald Wingate

...at the Veterans Memorial Park

Mayor Ashton Hayward withVeterans Memorial ParkSteering Committee

Veterans Memorial ParkSteering Committee

Documents

Northwest Florida Business Climate