We often talk about how important family is to us at Induron. We love our Induron family and spending time together at work during the holidays, but we also love hearing about the traditions (or lack thereof, in some cases) and memories everyone has with their own families at home.
Here are a few of our favorites: Continue reading Christmas Traditions and Memories of the Induron Family
By Davies Hood
The holidays give us wonderful opportunities to spend as much time as possible with family, but I’m lucky that I get to spend a lot of special time with my daughters in the weeks leading up to the holiday season.
Some of you may have heard about this last year, but others may be surprised to hear that I dance in “The Nutcracker” with my daughters and the Birmingham Ballet. And I LOVE it! Everyone always asks if I wear tights, and the resounding answer to that question is NO. However, I do cross-dress. Continue reading Another Year Dancing with My Daughters
By Davies Hood
It’s been a great year at Induron, and I am truly thankful for the family, friends and co-workers that surround me. I have been blessed with abundance in 2013, and it is in a large part because of these wonderful people. Continue reading What We’re Thankful for This Year
By Jeff White, Induron Sales Manager and Gulf War M1A1 Tank Platoon Leader
The coatings industry is at it again. The development of a new coating that can be utilized on equipment, weapons and clothing to better neutralize nerve gases is always welcomed by our warfighters. Continue reading Coatings to Combat Chemical Weapons
By Jeff White
Happy Halloween! My two go to Halloween costumes as a kid were a “soldier” and a “pirate.”
As an adult, I got to live the life of a soldier for a few years. But I’ve never sailed the high seas as a pirate, so the lore of the pirate lifestyle still interests me. Continue reading ARRRG….A Special Halloween Post about Blackbeard’s Booty
By Tex Enoch, Induron Sales Rep
The first of many American Water Works Association (AWWA) Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE) Conventions occurred for me over 30 years ago in San Francisco.
Although I worked for a small, very regional, paint manufacturing company, Pennsbury Coatings, it was decided that I should participate in that meeting. Continue reading 30 Years of AWWA ACE Conventions
It’s the time of year when everyone is talking about New Year’s Resolutions. And that’s fine… if you’ve got a personal goal to lose weight, quit smoking or stop biting your nails.
But if you’re a manager, I urge you – don’t make resolutions for your business.
Make goals instead.
Why? Resolutions tend to have a negative connotation. You often make them when you need to change a bad habit, which is why when February rolls around, you’re not always pulling in lower numbers on the scale.
Goals, on the other hand, are a positive way for you to make changes in your business. I set goals for Induron every year (actually, I’m constantly setting new goals for Induron, so we can be the best at what we do). Here are a few you may want to incorporate into your 2013 plan:
Create a mission statement and core values. Every company needs to know why they’re in business. It’s important for customers and employees to see, in writing, a company’s mission statement and core values. So if your business doesn’t have these, or if they’re old and could use some revitalization, take some time early in 2013 to work on them. Gather your management team together (mine went on a retreat last January to do just this) and hammer out why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Institute an environment for teamwork. It’s true what they say: “There’s no I in TEAM.” Teamwork – especially within management – is a key component to successful business. When everyone is on the same page, working toward the same goals, and “meshing,” magic can happen. Our management retreat last January created a renewed sense of teamwork that helped us reach many of our 2012 goals.
Make your goals aggressive but attainable. At the beginning of 2012, I set a goal of increasing sales by 20 percent by the beginning of 2013. Was this an aggressive goal? Absolutely, especially considering the economic environment at the time. But we achieved this goal, I feel in part because it was so aggressive. You can’t be afraid of your goals. Obviously, a little research (and, frankly, some gut instincts) needs to go into your goals, but aim high. And remember the old Zig Ziglar quote, “A goal properly set is halfway reached.” Once your goals are set, share them with people. That accountability is a great way to help see you through to your success.
I wish all of you a prosperous New Year!
Founded in 1947, Induron manufactures high performance coatings that serve a range of industrial applications, including the wastewater, transmission and distribution and groundwater storage industries. Learn more about us at www.Induron.com.
By Davies Hood, Induron President
“’Tis the Season to be Jolly!” That’s something I try to live by, especially during the holiday season, and there are very few things that make me happier than time spent with loved ones.
Thanks to The Birmingham Ballet, I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time over the last two months with my two daughters doing something that THEY both truly love… dancing. As a father of daughters, opportunities to do things with my girls take a little bit of creativity. They are not interested in the same things I was a child – football, wrestling and anything cowboy don’t fit in with their love of all things pink.
However, The Nutcracker gave me an opportunity to spend some time with them… on stage performing! To get ready for the performance, I got to rehearse with them every Saturday for two months and spend several hours in the car going to and from the Ballet Studio. There were, of course, several Icee stops involved!
Pictured is my Nutcracker family. The smiles on my two daughters’ faces were as genuine as could be – and so was mine! I know that this post has little to do with industrial coatings or business in general, but Christmas is a time for us all to remember what is truly important. Family and quality time are important to me and the whole Induron Family!
Now that December is in full swing, we’re getting excited for the holidays! Here are some of the Induron Family’s favorite holiday traditions:
“Once the grandchildren were all old enough that money was the gift they cherished the most, my mother-in-law felt they should work for it. She rolled up $50 bills as tightly as possible and then hid one for each grandchild in the Christmas tree. Now that she’s in her 80’s, she has a few son-in law elves to assist with the process. While hiding the money, the elves assure themselves that the location of the $50 bills will not be forgotten, but each year there is always one that takes multiple parties to find. Last year, it was a full day and a half before the last bill was discovered!” –Dick Belliveau, Induron Sales Rep
“I have three favorite Christmas traditions: I love lighting our Christmas tree with as many different styles and colors of lights as is humanly possible. I also love hiding our ‘Elf-on-the-Shelf’ in different locations throughout the house and having my two elementary school age daughters search for ‘Sizzle’ every December morning. And as a child, I loved visiting the Santa Claus that always stopped by my grandfather’s house on Christmas Eve and letting him know exactly what I wanted the next morning.” –Davies Hood, Induron President
“Santa’s gifts under the tree always arrived unwrapped, in a big burlap sack that Santa had left there. It sure added to the excitement on Christmas morning for my three daughters! Now, with the kids grown, nostalgia has set in. For the past five years, all our decorations have been ‘vintage,’ including the aluminum Christmas tree with the color wheel.” –John Anspach, Induron Technical Director Continue reading Our Favorite Holiday Traditions
