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BUSINESS NEWS EATON NAMED ENERGY STAR PARTNER OF THE YEAR BY THE EPA Power management company Eaton announced that it’s being honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a 2016 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Product Brand Owner Award. The honor is a result of the company’s performance and leadership supporting the ENERGY STAR Program, specifically for developing a training curriculum for educating customers about the benefits of using energy-efficient products and for Eaton’s impressive offering of over 150,000 configurable models of ENERGY STAR-certified products in the Recessed Lighting category. Eaton has partnered with the EPA to save energy from the beginning, starting with its participation in the EPA’s Green Lights program, which preceded ENERGY STAR. “Eaton remains dedicated to educating customers about the benefits of using energy- efficient products, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving on energy and maintenance costs,” said Kraig Kasler, president, Eaton’s Lighting Division. “We value our alliance with ENERGY STAR and are extremely honored for being recognized for the second consecutive year.”

This past year Eaton created a training curriculum to educate customers at Home Depot and Lowe’s locations explaining the benefits of using ENERGY STAR-certified lighting. Eaton also incorporated the ENERGY STAR message and benefits into digital and in-store promotions. Since 2014, Eaton has increased its sales of ENERGY STAR products by 68 percent. Eaton offers one of the broadest ranges of indoor and outdoor qualified, energy-saving luminaires in the North American lighting market. The company’s ENERGY STAR-certified products include the largest offering of Halo and Portfolio lighting-emitting diode recessed downlights with over 150,000 configurable models – more than any other manufacturer. The Halo LED downlight product line had the first ENERGY STAR-certified LED downlight in 2009. “Eaton’s ENERGY STAR-certified products are helping Americans save money, save energy and do their part to reduce our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Eaton’s efforts demonstrate a strong commitment to energy efficiency and to preserving a healthy planet for future generations.”

MARK ZWEIG, from page 1

fail to pick the right person. They don’t have anyone qualified inside the company so they do nothing. They don’t have time. No one is as good as they are. And so on and so forth. Here’s the problem – it’s all B.S. Find a successor. Get someone good. Give them a real opportunity. Pay them well. Coach them. Advise them. 2)Train, train, train. Your job as an old-timer, and hopefully an experienced professional who has been at it a long time, is to train everyone you come in contact with. They all need your knowledge and wisdom. That’s how you will be immortalized and liberated, and maybe how you get real value out of your enterprise. Don’t be stingy with this knowledge. Share it widely. Make sure it is worth sharing, though. You don’t need to pass on your prejudices and preconceived notions to everyone else. That could be harm- ful to the company. 3)Don’t be greedy. You know what I mean here so don’t act like you don’t understand. Don’t take out more than you deserve. Don’t demand more for your shares or owner- ship position than it’s worth, either. Just think of how much money you really put into the company to get it to where it is, or how much YOU paid for your ownership interest when you got it. And then think of how hard it is for everyone else to get a big pot of cash to buy you out. Be reasonable. 4)Know when to jump in and when to jump out. I’ve written more than one article on this subject. But in a nutshell, do too much and then everyone will wait for you to do everything. Do too little and they’ll wonder why you get a paycheck. It’s an art to know when to correct/help/jump in, and when not to. You need to learn it. 5)Start preparing for your next gig before you move out. Maybe you’d be willing to part with some of your roles if you had other business interests or hobbies that were calling for your time. If you don’t have any of these then you run the risk that your en- tire identity is wrapped up in your role in your specific firm. That may be very difficult for you to ever give up. Think about it. We all know none of this stuff is easy. As professionals who have been in our fields for a long time – worked in one industry, in one firm – any change is hard to make. But you owe it to yourself, your family, your employees, and your partners, to be thinking about your exit plan in a serious way. MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s founder and CEO. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

1200 North College Ave. Fayetteville, AR 72703 Mark Zweig | Publisher mzweig@zweiggroup.com Richard Massey | Managing Editor rmassey@zweiggroup.com Christina Zweig | Contributing Editor christinaz@zweiggroup.com Sara Parkman | Editor and Designer sparkman@zweiggroup.com Megan Halbert | Design Assistant mhalbert@zweiggroup.com Liisa Andreassen | Correspondent landreassen@zweiggroup.com Tel: 800-466-6275 Fax: 800-842-1560 Email: info@zweiggroup.com Online: www.thezweigletter.com Twitter: twitter.com/zweigletter Blog: blog.zweiggroup.com

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THE ZWEIG LETTER May 30, 2016, ISSUE 1154

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