Atlanta Executive Network News August Edition |
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| Mayoral Candidates Speak Out
The Atlanta Executive Network is proud to host a forum at its August 16th meeting for the three leading candidates for mayor of Atlanta to discuss the issues of importance to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. The forum will include City Council President Robb Pitts, former City Council member Gloria Bromell-Tinubu and former city administrator Shirley Franklin. All three candidates have actively sought the support of the gay and lesbian community and all three have attended past AEN meetings as guests.
This forum is one of the rare times this year that all three candidates have agreed to speak at one event. The debate will be moderated by Chris Crain, editor of Southern Voice. Audience members will have the opportunity to submit questions for the candidates. Join us for this debate at our meeting on Thursday, August 16th at the Colony Square Sheraton at the corner of 14th Street and Peachtree Street. Doors open at 5:45 PM for networking and the debate will begin at 7:00 PM. The door fee is $10 for members, $20 for guests and free for students.
Candidates Web
Sites Gloria
Bromell-Tinubu Robb
Pitts Shirley
Franklin |
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Come October Atlantans will be experiencing déjà vu as we hear the announcement as to who will be hosting the next Games. No, it's not the Olympics, but something almost as big. The Gay Games VII. With an expected attendance of 20,000 athletes, 1,000,000 people and spending of 500 million dollars, Atlanta would not only recapture the attention as an international city of sports and culture, it would make a lasting positive statement of pride for its diversity. And unlike the bid for the Olympics where Atlanta was a long shot, Atlanta has an exceptional change of winning the bid. AEN members and guests were privileged to see the remarkable work of the bid committee, Atlanta Games 2006, at the July meeting. Competing against Atlanta is Los Angeles, Chicago and Montreal. And it appears that Montreal is currently the only competition. Thirty volunteers have worked over a year preparing the bid book, which is being reviewed by the Federation of Gay Games delegates. Support has come from the City of Atlanta, Atlanta Convention & Visitor's Bureau, Atlanta Sports Council, Emory University, MARTA, and the Olympic venues. The valuable experiences of these organizations obtained during the Olympics have been generously offered. Large corporate sponsors already include Coca Cola, Coors and Delta.
The Gay Games began in San Francisco in 1982 with just over a thousand athletes from 12 countries. In less than two decades they have grown to be a global event. The 1998 Games in Amsterdam hosted 15,000 athletes 3,000 artists and 800,000 visitors from 68 countries on five continents, bringing together people from many cultures to experience the ultimate sense of community. And just like at the Olympics, world records have and will be broken as events are supervised in accordance with world governing bodies of the various sports. The Gay Games welcomes all people without regard to their sexual orientation, gender, HIV status, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political belief, physical ability, or athletic/artistic ability. By creating a safe and accepting environment, the Gay Games offers participants the opportunity to express themselves openly and to experience the camaraderie and validation of sport and culture. Individually, the experience can be a highlight of one's life. Collectively, one can experience the solidarity of community and celebrate the diversity and scope of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. Through the athletic and cultural events of the Games, stereotypes are challenged and barriers broken down. If Atlanta hosts the Games, they will begin around the time of Atlanta River Expo in June 2006 and run for two weeks through July 4th. One can only imagine the fireworks. For more information and how to offer your support contact:
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Social Awareness
Investing:
Social Awareness Investing is an increasingly popular concept for investors who, like many AEN members, want their beliefs reflected in their portfolios. Originally, social awareness portfolios focused on avoiding "sin" stocks like alcohol and tobacco, but today the field has broadened to include a wide range of cultural and ethical issues from workforce diversity to foreign outsourcing conduct. Indeed, a recent study shows that nearly one of every eight dollars under management in the U.S. is part of a social investment portfolio. But how well do these portfolios perform? The Good News:
Social Investing Can Compete Fortunately, when you adjust the returns on socially screened portfolios to reflect their higher risk, studies indicate that the screening process neither hurts nor helps the portfolio. This means that it should be possible for experienced money managers to apply the same portfolio building techniques they would normally use to meet an investor's goals. There should still be a well-diversified range of investment styles and choices available after screening. In fact, the majority of medium and small companies "pass" social screenings and at least half of the 1,000 largest publicly traded U.S. companies also meet most social investment criteria. Social Responsibility
= Value Added The Dynamics of
Applying Social Screens
Making the Socially
Aware Investment Decision Sources Cited
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If the answer is no, maybe one solution is in the small things, the details. With all the competing demands in our lives, details are easy to overlook, yet so important. Those details can have far reaching effects. We may never become aware of the specific effects, but we will see it in how well our businesses or careers do over time. The following are some important details that too often get overlooked: 1. Thank people whenever they do something for you or pay you a compliment. Acknowledge that you know they have extended themselves and that you appreciate it. People who feel unappreciated are unlikely to extend themselves again, send you referrals, become your customer or client, or go the extra mile as an employee. A simple email or voice mail message will sometimes suffice. Sometimes a card or letter or a face-to-face exchange is better. Saying thank you is important, even if what they did for you was not helpful. It is the intent that counts. Thank everybody, not just the "important" people. You never know who may be helpful to your business or career. There is a bonus in cultivating the habit of gratitude: your life becomes much richer. 2. Keep your commitments no matter how small. This lets co-workers, bosses, customers, clients, employees know that they can count on you. This is incredibly attractive and will keep 'em coming back for more. It is easy to be over-committed and then not be able to do what you agreed to do, but you will lose people that way. Be realistic about what you can and cannot do. And when you do make a promise, under-promise but over-deliver. That means committing to a deadline that is several days later than when you know you can deliver, or promising a quantity or quality less than you can produce. Then you deliver your project before the deadline or in a higher quantity or quality. People love being pleasantly surprised and feel as if they are getting added value. Promising less than you can deliver also gives you the leeway to accommodate emergencies or opportunities that pop up and still deliver quality in a timely fashion. 3. If you can't deliver as promised, keep people updated regularly on the situation and the progress you are making. This is true whether the problem is due to circumstances beyond your control or due to your own mistakes and poor planning. People do not like to be kept hanging. They will cut you a lot of slack if they know you are doing everything you possibly can to correct the situation. And the only way they can know that is to be kept in the loop. This can save relationships. For those who are perfectionists, you can still deal with mistakes. Accept that they are going to happen and deal with them superbly. 4. Make it a point to let people know they are important to you. Employee retention and customer retention are two of the biggest challenges facing businesses today. There are many inexpensive ways to let people know you appreciate them. For instance, remembering customers' or clients' birthdays. Send them a card and perhaps a small gift. Call them to see if they are pleased with your product or services and ask for suggestions about how you might do better. Recognize employees and reward them for a job well done. Give them a day off or a special parking space. The same principle applies to your relationships with co-workers, support staff, and your bosses. Cards, token gifts, taking them to lunch are simple ways to express appreciation. Paying attention to the details is an investment of time and energy that will pay handsome dividends. Remember, God is in the details Ann McAllister, Ph.D. Originally published on her website |
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Coming up...
Tuesday,
October 16
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— and — David Payne Board of Directors Ronald
Moore |
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Companies
taking environmental issues into account might lower insurance costs,
decrease waste disposal costs and increase the potential for product and
quality enhancements. In fact, it can be argued that the companies most
likely to profit from these trends are the ones that derive and drive
strategic value from their social initiatives rather than merely meet
policy and statute requirements. This corporate characteristic is usually
not considered by asset managers when they analyze investment portfolios.
Yet it may be an increasingly important element for successful investing.
