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LincoLnLagniappeGiving you a “little something extra”The Power of Integrity

SUMMER 2013

W ith the official groundbreaking and blessing of the project, Lincoln Builders of Ruston has commenced construction on the new

92,000-square-foot Community Health Center for St. Francis Medical Center. The four-story brick and stucco facility with a two-story atrium will be situated on a spacious 12-acre campus on Tower Drive in the Midtown district of Monroe, Louisiana. Designed for outpatient services, the center includes medical clinics for speech, physical and occupational therapy, cardiac rehabilitation and radiology. A pharmacy, diabetes and nutrition center, and physicians’ offices are also planned.

St. Francis Medical Center, Monroe’s second largest private employer, employs 2,200 workers system-wide,

making it a powerful economic influence in the region as well as a major healthcare provider. Lincoln Builders has been privileged to complete more than 30 projects for St. Francis over the past two decades, including the recent addition

and renovation of the facility’s Emergency Department.

Clint Graham, president of Lincoln Builders of Ruston, notes, “We truly value our partnership and relationship with St. Francis. Their commitment to excellence inspires all of us at Lincoln Builders. We appreciate the opportunity to once again team with St. Francis and its architect, Carroll Blewster of Bradley-Blewster & Associates, to provide this new state-of-the-art healthcare facility for the region.”

Lincoln Breaks Ground On New Community Health Center

The new Community Health Center for St. Francis Medical Center will be situated on a spacious 12-acre campus on Tower Drive in the Midtown district of Monroe, Louisiana.

“When the search began for a company to build our new Community Health Center, Lincoln Builders was number one on our list. I view Lincoln Builders as not just a provider of service, but a partner with us to fulfill our construction goals. They are an upstanding company capable of producing an outstanding end product and we have successfully completed several major projects together.”

—Butch TolbertVP Ancillary Services

St. Francis Medical Center

Seventeenth-century alchemist Avedis Zildjian never successfully created gold, but…

How To Network SuccessfullyFew of us achieve success completely on our own. We need other people to help us:

mentors, experts and partners. You won’t find them by sitting in your cubicle—you’ve got to get out there and network. Here’s how to forge connections wherever you go:

• Challenge yourself. Every time you go to a professional meeting, a cocktail party or other event, decide how many new people you want to add to your network. Don’t be too ambitious—you won’t make a meaningful connection if you rush through a conversation. If possible, target one or two people you know will be present.

• Introduce yourself effectively. A good first impression is crucial. Don’t barge into an ongoing conversation; look for small groups you can join easily, or individuals looking for someone to talk to. Make eye contact, and offer a warm handshake. Tell people who you are briefly—don’t tell them your life story right away.

• Ask good questions. Encourage your contacts to talk by asking thought-provoking questions. Instead of “What does your company do?” for example, try “What problems do you solve?” You want to be seen as someone who’s interested in other people’s perspective.

• Target diversity. Look for people with different backgrounds and skill sets. You’ll learn more from people who aren’t just like you and your usual colleagues. Quality, not quantity, is your goal.

• Exit with grace. Don’t overstay your welcome with any group or individual. After a few minutes, offer your business card and say something like, “It was nice meeting you—I hope you enjoy the rest of the event.” Follow up a day or so later with the contacts you want to stay in touch with.

Five Questions1) In 1950, the first use of the

teleprompter was for what?a) A news broadcastb) A soap operac) A political speechd) A TV commercial

2) Where would you find Darwin’s tubercle?

a) In a saladb) At the zooc) On your eard) At the voting booth

3) Seventeenth-century alchemist Avedis Zildjian never successfully created gold, but he did strike it rich by founding a brand of what musical accessory?

a) Guitar stringsb) Cymbalsc) Violin bowsd) Piano keys

4) In 1984, the shuttle Challenger carried 3,300 what on its mission?

a) Wafflesb) Beesc) Cassette tapesd) Beakers

5) Where might you find the geographical phenomenon known as a “black smoker”?

a) On a mountaintopb) In a volcanoc) On the ocean floord) On the moon

—from mental_floss

Answers: 1) b (CBS’s short-lived The First Hundred Years) 2) c (It’s a small projection on the ear’s outside rim, possibly a vestige of our ancestor’s pointed ears.) 3) b 4) b (Researchers wanted to see if the bees could construct honeycombs in a weightless environment.) 5) c

New Words For A New Era?The English language is always growing and changing. These new words may

not appear in any dictionary, but they’re sure to add some sparkle to your everyday conversations:

• Beardspiration. A beard so awesome that it inspires other people to grow their own beards. “Abraham Lincoln is truly a beardspiration to me.”

• Corporatistical. Adjective relating to oversize executive egos. “Telling me to remove all the semicolons from that report was really corporatistical of him.”

• Deskorations. Knicknacks for the workplace cubicle, intended to make the resident look cool. “That miniature fountain would make a great deskoration for the office.”

• Inboxapocalpyse. An overstuffed email inbox. “I’ve got 1,256 emails! It’s an inboxapocalpyse!”

• Stresscalation. When one person passes his or her stress on to a co-worker. “Pam’s meetings always produce a significant stresscalation to her assistant.”

Walk On Fire For Real?It’s a popular exercise in some teambuilding

courses—walking across hot coals barefoot (or in socks) without getting burned. But is firewalking a trick?

Trick or not, there is a secret to it. Firewalkers step on coals, not on flames. The coals are covered with ash. The fire should be lit early and allowed to burn down. The firewalker steps quickly across the coals. The ash on the coal provides some insulation, so as long as you walk at a good pace without letting your feet rest on the coals for more than a second, you’re fairly safe.

Speed and the physical properties of the coals make firewalking possible—not any kind of magic.

Summer 2013

SPEED BUMP Dave Coverly

Rebound From A Crisis By Rebuilding Trust

A crisis can hit at any time, shaking the confidence of your employees and your customers. Whether it’s the result of an ethical lapse, or something beyond your control, your first job is to rebuild a positive attitude within your organization. Here’s how to regain employees’ trust:

• Get the facts out. Your workforce wants and needs to know what’s going on. Even if you have only partial information, share what you know and what you don’t know as quickly as possible, before rumors start squeezing out the truth.

• Re-recruit your best people. Your competitors won’t wait long before picking off your best employees (and customers). Identify the people you must keep, open the lines of communication, and do what you must to keep their loyalty.

• Maintain your focus. Don’t let the crisis distract employees from their jobs, or you from yours. Though you and your workforce may have to deal with the immediate crisis, stay organized so the main work continues to get done.

• Build some momentum. Aim for a quick success that will keep everyone’s spirits up. This lets everyone see that you and your organization are here to stay.

Blog For SuccessYou don’t have to be a celebrity to write a successful blog. You do have to put

some work into it, though. A blog can help you gain attention, help people, and enhance your career, but to create the kind of value that makes a blog truly successful, pay attention to this advice:

• Design counts. Your words and thoughts may be brilliant, but the layout of your blog’s opening page is what potential readers will see and respond to first. Whether you use a professional designer or work with a template, make sure the layout is attractive, simple and easy to navigate.

• Target your audience. Your blog should have a distinct focus. That doesn’t mean you can never write about off-topic subjects, but a consistent tone and topic gives your readers something to look forward to. Otherwise, your blog may come across as disorganized and chaotic.

• Read other blogs. When you look at other people’s blogs, you’ll get a sense of what works and what doesn’t. Take a wide view: Look at blogs from outside your subject or industry to get a better idea of what you can do.

• Stick to it. Post something as often as you reasonably can, even if it’s a picture or a link to another article. This encourages readers to check back with you often. If you post only once every three weeks, most blog readers will stop visiting you often. Every post doesn’t have to be brilliant to draw readers in.

• Facilitate communication. Make commenting on your posts as easy as possible, and respond to comments promptly. Link to other blogs, and ask bloggers to link to yours. You want to create a community of like-minded people, which can only happen when communication is open and effortless.

• Master search engine optimization (SEO). You want people to find your blog easily when they do an online search. Do some research to find out how to use text, tags and other tools that will make your blog show up quickly.

• Provide excellent content. Of course, people will read your blog and return for more only if you give them information and ideas that they really want, or that they can use. Concentrate first and foremost on creating content that’s compelling, and your blog will ultimately attract the attention you want.

The Enduring Quest For A Close ShaveA close shave has been coveted for thousands of years. It all started in the Stone

Age, when sharpened flint-blade razors edged out the earlier Neanderthal tool for hair removal: seashells. Egyptians obsessed over hair removal in 3,000 B.C., regarding a clean-shaven face as a sign of good breeding. They used razors, creams and pumice stones.

In 330 B.C., Greeks and Romans emulated the Egyptians by shaving their heads and beards during the reign of Alexander the Great.

Across the ocean, Aztecs shaved with razors made from volcanic glass (obsidian) in the 1500s. Then came the breakthrough: In the late 1600s, steel blades were introduced in Sheffield, England. Fast-forward to 1929, when Col. Jacob Schick marketed the first electric shaver.

In the 1960s, disposable razors hit the market, and in 1971, Gillette began selling a twin-blade razor. Then, in 1998, Gillette introduced the Mach3 triple-blade shaver—after spending a reported $750 million to develop it.

50P.O. BOx 400 • RUSTON, LA 71273-0400 • TEL: 318.255.3822 • FAx: 318.251.0114mARkETiNg@LiNcOLNBUiLdERS.cOm • www.LiNcOLNBUiLdERS.cOm • OFFicES iN RUSTON, LA, BATON ROUgE, LA & FORT wORTh, TExAS

P.O. BOx 400RUSTON, LA 71273-0400

Service Anniversaries…

Junot Dixon – 30 yearsLynn Hutchinson – 20 yearsPaula Rose – 10 yearsWest Bayne – 5 years

A t a recent company crawfish boil, president Danny Graham presented employee service awards. Congratulations to the following individuals for your loyal service to Lincoln Builders:

Experience Makes A Difference!

5 YearsJustin WhittingtonWest BayneMichael Stanley

10 YearsCamilo Ortiz KiraPaula RoseScott Collins

15 YearsVic MorrisDean BristerBernardo DeleonJohn LarkinValerie GavetteGreg Gammill

20 YearsLynn Hutchinson

30 YearsJunot Dixon