Pictured from left to right are Brigadier General Owen MonConduit, Lincoln business development director Ayres Bradford, Major General Bennett C. Landreneau, Chenevert Architects partner Mark Baum and Colonel William R. Aldridge.

Spring 2012

Lincoln Honored With Prestigious Safety Award

During a recent Raffles Insurance Ltd. board meeting, Lincoln Builders, Inc. was presented the prestigious John A. Arnold Award of Honor. Raffles recognizes, through an award program, outstanding achievement in safety and loss control. Lincoln Builders’ risk control efforts were successful in achieving the highest point score of the Raffles membership. Lincoln was also honored for driving between 200,000 and 1 million miles with zero fleet accidents and was presented a Fleet Safety Award plaque.

Hurricane Katrina Project Receives LEED Certification

L incoln Builders and Chenevert Architects were pleased to present to Louisiana National Guard personnel the USGBC LEED certification plaque for Camp Villere’s Field Maintenance Shop #12 in Slidell, Louisiana.

Lincoln Builders of Ruston, Inc. was honored to receive the Adjutant General’s Award For Excellence presented by Major General Bennett C. Landreneau in recognition of the successful completion and LEED Certification of FMS #12 at Camp Villere in Slidell, Louisiana.

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Who was the first American to travel to space twice?

Be Smart When Driving With Your Smart Phone

A recent CareerBuilder survey found that 54% of people check their smart phones while driving.

In a University of Utah study of driving and talking on the phone, only 2.5% of test subjects were able to do both safely. For the other 97.5%, the ability to hit the brakes quickly was slowed by 20%, and the tendency to drive too slowly to keep up with traffic rose by 30%.

CareerBuilder.com offers these tips:• Turn off your phone when driving. Talking

on the phone or texting at the wheel is illegal in many states, as well as dangerous to you, your passengers, and other drivers. Pull over if you need to talk.

• Set priorities. Part of the problem comes from the current trend toward being accessible outside the workplace. Discuss the situation with your employer (and your family) so everyone understands you can’t always be connected.

• Have a backup. If you anticipate being needed outside the office, leave an out-of-office message on your voicemail, and provide contact information for colleagues who can assist callers in your absence. That way, urgent calls can be taken care of even if you don’t answer the phone.

Trivial Pursuits?1) A farrier specializes in which aspect of

horse care?a. teeth/mouthb. hair/hidec. hooves/shoesd. knees/legs

2) Who was the first American to travel to space twice?

a. Virgil “Gus” Grissomb. John Glennc. Charles Conradd. Alan Shepard, Jr.

3) Which of these pizza toppings is by far America’s most popular?

a. pepperonib. mushroomsc. sausaged. hamburger

4) In the U.K. and Australia, biro is a brand-name-turned-generic-name for which of the following devices?

a. photocopy machineb. ballpoint penc. disposable razord. space heater

5) Which of these computer-related corporations is not part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average?

a. Hewlett-Packardb. Microsoftc. IBMd. Apple

Answers: 1) c 2) a (Tragically, he died during a 1967 test of the Apollo craft prior to a third journey.) 3) a 4) b (Named after inventor Laszlo Biro.) 5) d

The Email FloodApproximately 2.8 million emails are sent every second. That’s a lot of email: The

average American sends or receives 112 messages every day. According to ccLoop.com, the most annoying email problems are:

• Attachment overload. Email users complain about the problems involved in attaching documents, downloading them, and finding them, especially in long email chains.

• Message deluge. Even without spam, wading through a flood of email messages waiting in your inbox every morning can be intimidating and time-wasting.

• Spam attack. Thirteen million spam email messages are sent every day. That’s a lot of offers to buy weight-loss products or help out a displaced foreign millionaire trying to move his or her money.

• Forwarding frenzy. The temptation to cover your back by forwarding irrelevant messages to all your colleagues or friends can be overwhelming, and it can lead to even more inbox stuffing.

Fill Your Team With Positive AttitudesThe success of any team depends on the positive attitudes of its members and its

leader. Demonstrate—and reinforce—these important personal guidelines:• Ego control. Remember, you’re committed to the goals of the team, not your own

ambitions. Can you and the rest of your team put the group’s priorities first?• Admitting mistakes. Be willing to honestly concede errors so the team can

successfully move on.• Constructive disagreement. Hiding your expertise just to avoid conflict won’t help

the team achieve its goals. Everyone has to be willing to stand up for his or her ideas and to listen respectfully to other points of view.

Set specific goals: “Lose 10 pounds this year” is more motivational than “Exercise more.”

Spring 2012

SPEED BUMP Dave Coverly

Don’t Kill Innovation

You may not be able to summon creativity with a snap of your fingers, but you can extinguish the spark with the wrong habits. Here are a few actions to avoid when you need to bring inspiration forth:

• Multitasking. Eliminate distractions. Don’t try to be creative in the midst of interruptions and other activities.

• Fear. Admit failure as a possibility, but don’t let it paralyze you.

• Fatigue. Being creative takes energy. Get enough sleep and rest, so your mind can perform at its peak.

• Pressure. New ideas are hard to generate when you’re worried about deadlines, competition or the rent. You may not be able to erase all the pressures you face, but don’t let them overwhelm you.

• Disorder. Concentration can be difficult when you’re surrounded by chaos. Maintain a tidy working environment, so you can find what you need and aren’t distracted by the desire to clean up.

• Routine. Break out of your everyday habits. Look for fresh challenges and perspectives to shake up your thinking.

• Poor health. Take care of your body—exercise, eat right and practice healthy habits so you have the energy you need to be productive.

Six Questions To Unleash Innovative PowersPeople often talk about innovation as if it must arrive as a bolt out of the blue. You

can summon problem-solving and creativity by asking the right questions.The next time you’ve got a tricky problem to solve, try these queries to start thinking

differently:1. What would happen if…?2. Do I have to do it this way?3. What’s the silliest way I could do this?4. What’s the worst way?5. What if solving this problem were a matter of life and death?6. If I did a one-page analysis of this idea, what three things would make it better?

What three things would make it worse?

Follow These Rules To SuccessUnless you inherit a fortune or win the lottery, you’re going to have to work for your

success. There aren’t any guaranteed strategies, but you’ll do okay if you follow these tried-and-true tactics for having a successful career—and life:

• Set specific and ambitious goals. Effective goals point directly toward results: “Lose 10 pounds this year” is more motivational than “Exercise more.” And although you need to be realistic about what’s possible, don’t set goals that are too modest. A real challenge will inspire your best efforts more than an easy win.

• Focus on improvement, not perfection. You can always do more, achieve more, get more. Don’t let the fact that you’re not at the pinnacle of achieve ment drain your enthusiasm. Measure your progress so you know how far you’ve come, and give yourself credit for moving closer to your goal.

• Take a proactive approach. You can’t just wait for things to happen—successful people make things happen. Create your own opportunities by focusing on what you can control and not worrying about what’s beyond your reach. If you can’t reach the CEO of the company you want to work for, for example, start with someone you can contact and work your way up.

• Don’t be afraid of failure. Most mistakes aren’t the end of everything. Put your ideas out there and give them a chance to succeed. If one crashes and burns, study it so you can learn what happened. Maybe you just experienced bad luck—the wrong place at the wrong time—and your idea still has a good chance of achieving results. Or maybe you can adjust your approach to improve your chances on the next attempt.

Embrace Your Inner Choco-holicChocolate doesn’t just make you feel better when you’re depressed (or happier

when you’re not). There’s some evidence it may actually be good for your health. According to a meta-analysis of medical data reported in the British Medical Journal, eating chocolate may decrease your risk of heart disease by 37% and your risk of stroke by 29%.

But step away from that candy bar. The researchers caution that chocolate products also usually come with lots of sugar and other calorie-packed ingredients, which can diminish or eliminate any potential health benefits. Moderation, as usual, is key.

DESIGN/BUILD • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL

Visit our website today at www.lincolnbuilders.com

We’re doing our part. This newsletter is printed on environmentally-friendly paper—50% recycled, using 25% post-consumer waste, and is composed of a mixture of fibers from certified forests, post-consumer recycling processes and fibers from other controlled sources.

Lincoln Builders’ safety and loss prevention program is administered by safety director Johnny Gibson, with support in claim management and reporting by insurance administrator Debbie Heard. This team, along with corporate management, trains Lincoln employees to think and practice safety on the jobsite and carry that practice home with them so their families may also learn the importance of safety. Congratulations on a job well done!

Pictured at left: Danny Graham (right) and Johnny Gibson with the “traveling trophy,” which will be on display at Lincoln’s corporate office this year.

Lincoln Builders Announces New AppointmentsClint Graham, president of Lincoln Builders of Ruston, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointments of Jerry Brasher and

Rich Nadler to the position of vice president. “Jerry and Rich have played major roles in the growth and success of our company over the

past 17 years. Their commitment to our goals and their pursuit of excellence in construction have helped shape the reputation that we are all so proud of here at Lincoln Builders,” Graham stated.

Brasher is a 1989 graduate of University of Louisiana-Monroe with a Bachelor of Science degree in Building Construction and has been employed by Lincoln Builders since 1995. He currently serves on Lincoln’s project management team.

Nadler is a 1993 graduate of State University of New York with a Bachelor of Science degree in Building Construction and has also been with Lincoln since 1995. His experience with the company includes field engineer, assistant superintendent, superintendent and project manager on various projects. Nadler currently serves as Lincoln’s Senior Estimator.

Prestigious Safety Award…

Jerry Brasher Rich Nadler

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