Features
Inventory Preparation
Don’t wait until the eleventh hour! 25 07 Stand Out Performance
Continuous Improvement Reaching for a Common Goal
The 17th Green Wyndham Golf Tournament Recap 14
Congratulations to Cook & Boardman in Simpsonville, SC for being named our 2023 Branch of the Quarter for Q3
This is an incredibly exciting time in the history of our company. We have achieved unprecedented heights in our industry and that affords us the opportunity to do things that have never been done before. We will continue to grow, but we need to focus now on finding ways to use our size and scale to improve our profitability. Revenue alone is not a great measure of success. Generating healthy profit margins is what enables us to reinvest in all of you - from expanded training programs, to higher 401(k) matches, to absorbing more of the increases in health insurance. As revenue grows so do our overall costs, but improving our margins (which is a measure of the profit on every dollar of revenue) gives us the flexibility to enhance many of the things that impact you every day. There is nothing permanent except change. Those aren’t my words, they are from an ancient Greek philosopher writing over 2,000 years ago, but they are just as true today. Cook & Boardman is doing well - and some of our locations are fantastic - but so are most of our competitors. If we want to be the best, we have to keep improving and become better every day. You’ve heard the leadership team talk a lot about continuous improvement recently. You’ll hear that a lot as we move forward, but it really starts with each of you. Just because we’ve been doing something a certain way for a long time doesn’t mean there isn’t a better way. That is true for every role in the organization, and starts with the executive team. That’s why we’ve made a big change to align the branch organization under Joe Harrell and create an entirely new sales function under Brian Thomas.
We’ve never had focused sales leadership in C&B and while this won’t change the reporting structure for salespeople in the field, it should provide a level of support, best-practice sharing and functional advocacy that we have not had before. With our Districts structured fully along geographic lines, we hope to simplify collaboration and provide our customers with unparalleled access to our full suite of products and services. You’ll continue to see other initiatives in the coming months to help you be more efficient and effective. Our single biggest challenge - currently and in the foreseeable future - will be finding enough talented people like all of you. We sell a lot of products and provide a lot of services, but what defines our company is you. If we can provide the best training, the best operational tools and the best opportunities for all of our team members, we will achieve our goals and create a truly unique company providing comprehensive safety and security solutions for our communities. I’m very grateful to the entire leadership team for their support over the past few months, and to each of you for continuing to drive the business forward. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish together. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and joyous holiday season.
Departments
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Employee Health and Wellness “Health & Wellness Survey” Your Feedback & Our Responses Employee Training CBG University Training: District Manager Leadership Experience
Risk Management The Pillars of Protection Operations The Importance of Early Inventory Preparation
A Message From the CEO Continuous Improvement IT Services Enjoy Safe Scanning Human Resources Celebrating Employee Anniversaries
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In Every Issue
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Project Highlight Paramount Access Control Project in Paramount, CA Company Events A look at what has been happening across the C&B group of companies
A Day in the Life of... HR, Payroll, and HRIS Manager Supplier Spotlight Best-selling collections from VT Industries Employee News Contributions from our Associates
Hall of Famers Recognizing our long-time employees SERVE Award Recipients Big Wins Listing Projects awarded totaling $500K+
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David Eisner Chief Executive Officer
Editorial Staff: Melissa Krouse, Amber Hagan | Graphic Design: Amber Hagan, Jil Quinn | Editorial Board: Melissa Krouse, Emily Towery, Katie Eure | Contributors: David Eisner, Bill Hickox, Rafael Cohen, Randy Toma (BlueViolet Networks), Amber Hagan, Emily Towery, Stephanie Rossomano, Lou Andruzzi, Craig LaMontagne, Stephanie Colby | Printed & Distributed by: Kendrick Graphics, Columbia, SC The Doorknocker is a quarterly company newsletter for employees of The Cook & Boardman Group, LLC, headquartered at 3064 Salem Industrial Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27127. All images are used with permission.
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