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August 2005 Issue
Cuyahoga County Commissioners: One Decision Down, One to Go
Dimora, Hagan and Jones made the right choice in choosing 9th and Euclid as the new location for Cuyahoga County Headquarters. Like the guy used to say in the Dodge TV ads: This changes everything. The decision to put 2,000 people at the intersection of what was once the heart of downtown Cleveland is just like giving Cleveland a new heart. This is the stimulus needed to turn Euclid Avenue into one of the most exciting streets in the world. The mayor of Cleveland recently told New Yorker Magazine that t... |
Across the Great Divide
It was every driver’s nightmare. I was stuck at the BMV for two hours as they worked on a "computer problem." I went to get my license renewed – six weeks before my birthday so I would have plenty of time to spare. Yeah, right. When the technical glitches occurred, I couldn’t leave because they already killed my old license. So four of us unlucky souls got to witness how not to run a business. I cringed as the lady spoke to tech support in Columbus. "What’s the monitor?" she asked. "How do I kno... |
Creative Class
When Hitchcock Fleming & Associates Inc. President and CEO Jack DeLeo was hired in 1973 just out of college by agency partner Bob Fleming, he had dreams of being the advertising firm's top graphic artist. "I looked around at the other artists and I thought, 'Wow, these guys are good -- I might have to do something else,'" says DeLeo. "Bob, who's like a second father to me, was thinking about retiring and said I should take a shot on the account side." Business development was a better choice for DeLeo. ... Creative Director
Tracy Lee Glenn, 34, program director, International House of Blues Foundation, Cleveland, tglenn@hob.com The Low-Down | Glenn taught for the Cleveland City Schools for three years and was a manager for a nonprofit literacy organization before joining International House of Blues Foundation in November 2004. Fun Gig | Last year, Glenn hosted more than 2,000 5th- through 12th-graders at the House of Blues for a variety of educational programs centered on cultural understanding and creative expression. Th... Entrepreneurial Spirits
With gas prices topping $2 a gallon, Liquid REsources offers an alternative fuel recycled from old beer, wine and soft drinks. On the Cutting Edge
Cynthia Moore-Hardy is trying to predict the future. In preparation for the construction of an all-digital hospital in Concord, the president and CEO of Lake Hospital System is working to incorporate the most advanced medical technology available in the hospital’s plans. "We’re trying to anticipate what technology we’ll need in 2008 to make sure the hospital is up-to-date," says Moore-Hardy. Construction of the new hospital will begin in the spring of 2006 and be complete by the spring of 2008. Th... The Deal Guy
Michael Gibbons remembers the water balloons flying over and at his car as he sat in the driver’s seat in the parking lot of a "fleabag" motel, as he puts it, while chatting away on an early 1990s-era mobile phone. The hotel, in Springfield, Mo., was home for the night while his young daughter, Caitlin, was in town for a girls soccer championship. Little did Caitlin and her friends know that her dad was working his first big deal as founder of what is now Brown Gibbons Lang & Co., the Cleveland-based ... Treasure Island
By mid-afternoon on a hot June day, Pam Hughes has to turn people away from the 60-room lakefront hotel she owns with her husband, Greg, in Put-in-Bay. "We have so many return clients," says Hughes as she sits at the front desk in the two-story lobby, which features an antique wooden rowboat hoisted over the main entrance and a ship's wheel and pair of oars mounted on one wall. "It makes the whole project worthwhile when the people come back." The BayShore Resort, which opened last June, is the first la... |
Across the Great Divide
It was every driver’s nightmare. I was stuck at the BMV for two hours as they worked on a "computer problem." I went to get my license renewed – six weeks before my birthday so I would have plenty of time to spare. Yeah, right. When the technical glitches occurred, I couldn’t leave because they already killed my old license. So four of us unlucky souls got to witness how not to run a business. I cringed as the lady spoke to tech support in Columbus. "What’s the monitor?" she asked. "How do I kno... |
Advice from On High
Mitigate Risk To successfully find angel money, a business should strive to alleviate as many risks as possible for a potential investor. Beware of these five kinds of risks. 1.) Market Risk – Is there a market for your product or service? Investors want to know there’s a demand for your business. It helps if you already have customers. 2.) Product Risk – Do you have the right product? You may have identified a market, but is the product exactly what that market is looking for? 3.) Capitalization ... |
Lunch By the Sea
After driving through the congested area surrounding the Interstate 271 and Chagrin Boulevard intersection in bustling Beachwood, arriving at my lunch destination was a welcome respite. Most lunchgoers on this side of town head to the crowded Eton Place or the classic Corky and Lenny’s. Marbella is a bit off the beaten track, a well-kept secret among East Side professionals seeking a quiet, more private lunch. There are three different dining areas at Marbella and plenty of private booths throughout. ... |
Off the Beaten Path
Ever thought of dining among dinosaurs to drive home the need for strategic planning? Maybe an overnight stay at a luxurious rural estate to increase productivity? Can you imagine what a milking contest against the CEO could do for boosting morale and teambuilding? Corporate meetings and events have come a long way in Northeast Ohio. Instead of simply booking a conference room to deliver the necessary message or training, many companies are incorporating excursions to museums, the zoo, resorts and mansi... |
Hollow Words
Following the recently well-publicized corporate ethical meltdowns (Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, etc.), no company should seriously question the necessity of having a meaningful ethics policy. In fact, many companies, both public and private, have ethics policies in place, approved by boards of directors, adopted by corporate executives, and enshrined in employee human resource handbooks. Yet, while most private companies might believe that their present policies are "effective," they don't seem to work very ... |
Art Appreciation
When it comes to purchasing original pieces of art, price tags often dishearten the average buyer, or limit the purchases one can make. The Artists Archive of the Western Reserve in University Circle wants to help area companies lessen the burden of paying for art to decorate their hallways and lobbies. The archive removes the price tags from the work and lends some of the region’s greatest works of art to Northeast Ohio organizations. This year, the archive began offering corporate memberships for $2... Do It Yourself
The intersection of Miles and Richmond Roads in Bedford Heights has long been a hotbed for construction-related businesses. In fact, there are more than 35 such businesses in that one neighborhood. With that much competition, one might suspect a survival-of-the-fittest atmosphere. Instead, the businesses have decided to band together to form a nonprofit entity called the Building District. Customer benefit is the impetus behind the group’s formation, says President Doug Rende. The companies vary in th... High-tech Toledo?
The top wireless city in Ohio? Sit down Cleveland. You too, Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati. Toledo is the most wireless, or "unwired" city in the state, according to microchip maker Intel Corp. Its annual "Most Unwired Cities" survey looked at which cities in America have the most hotspots for wireless laptop PCs and other wireless-enabled devices. Toledo ranked fifth, skyrocketing from its spot at 64 last year. This year, it was just behind Seattle; San Francisco; Austin, Texas; and Portland, Ore. The ... Lap of Luxury
The Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center is keeping up with the Joneses. In June, the hotel became the first of Marriott's worldwide properties to unveil the hotel chain's new state-of-the-art guest room, featuring a 32-inch high-definition flat-screen TV, upscale bath space, luxurious bedding, and wireless Internet, among other things. The guest room makeover centers on creating a high-end residential ambience to cater to today's stylish business and leisure traveler. Suites, now called lofts, wil... Malone at the Top
One Northeast Ohio advertising agency has recently made a jump in the polls, so to speak, in the national race for the best advertisers. Akron’s Malone Advertising rose 50 places in trade publication Advertising Age’s 2005 ranking of the country’s top 400 advertising agencies. The jump from No. 177 to 127 not only confirms that Malone is one of the fastest-growing on the market, but also cements the agency’s place as reportedly the largest advertising agency in Northeast Ohio. "Our dramatic grow... |
Design on a Dime
From Shabby to Chic Here are a few inexpensive ways to create and maintain an impressive office space. Limit Clutter. Entrepreneurs with minimal decorating budgets often accessorize with old furniture and trinkets from home. If you want a professional look, limit your "leftovers." A good rule of thumb to follow: If you wouldn’t want an item in your home, don’t bring it to the office. Keep it Clean. Stained and/or ragged carpet and dirty walls can signal to customers that a business ignores details. ... |
Cash is King
Greg DeGulis, a partner in the Cleveland law firm of McMahon, DeGulis LLP, helped lead an acquisition last year. His firm had recently worked closely with local firm Evan Palik LLP, on a major asbestos defense case. But when Evan Palik's sole client, Kemper Insurance, announced its plan to cease selling insurance and phase out the firm's legal services, McMahon, DeGulis saw the opportunity to expand its employee base and add cases. An acquisition made sense because of the firms' familiarity with each ot... |
Leaving a Legacy
Bill Hawke is used to advising financial management clients on charitable planning. In fact, charitable giving is a longtime passion for this financial adviser who was previously a social worker. In the late 1970s, he wrote grants to request money for a juvenile offender program he was running at the time. Now a certified financial planner with Cleveland Financial Group located on Chagrin Boulevard, Hawke decided three years ago it was time his family understood the importance of giving to charities. He... Off the Beaten Path
Ever thought of dining among dinosaurs to drive home the need for strategic planning? Maybe an overnight stay at a luxurious rural estate to increase productivity? Can you imagine what a milking contest against the CEO could do for boosting morale and teambuilding? Corporate meetings and events have come a long way in Northeast Ohio. Instead of simply booking a conference room to deliver the necessary message or training, many companies are incorporating excursions to museums, the zoo, resorts and mansi... |
Help Wanted
9 Steps to a Good Hire Here are a few helpful hints on how to successfully hire a good manager. 1. Know what you’re looking for. Before you begin to look for an employee, write down a detailed job description of the position you wish to fill and the necessary skills and characteristics of the ideal candidate. 2. Be consistent. It is important that each candidate goes through the same process and is asked the same questions so no one has an advantage over someone else. 3. Get a second opinion. Once you... What Workers Want
The suggestion box in the employee kitchen of U-Store-It's corporate headquarters in Middleburg Heights sat, for the most part, unnoticed, except when it was dusted off once a year. About a year and a half ago, the national self-storage company created an electronic suggestion box. Employees could e-mail comments to a specific address that would go directly to the company's chief operating officer, who made it his policy to respond to every single e-mail. In the first two months of the service being onl... |
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