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BUSINESS NEWS KIMBERLY MOORE, FOUNDER OF CHICAGO BASED COMPANY KDM ENGINEERING, WINS 2018 ENTERPRISING WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARD The Enterprising Women of the Year Awards is widely considered one of the most prestigious recognition programs for women business owners. To win, nominees must demonstrate that they have fast-growth businesses, mentor or actively support other women and girls involved in entrepreneurship, and stand out as leaders in their communities. Many of the honorees also serve as leaders of the key organizations that support the growth of women’s entrepreneurship. The flourishing success and growth of KDM Engineering may be one of Kimberly Moore’s most significant accomplishments thus far. But, attributable to her growth as a leader and mentor, Moore established and runs her own non-profit organization in Chicago – Calculated Genius – which provides scholarships to young women who are pursuing careers within the STEM field. Moore is a determined and driven leader who has managed to establish a thriving engineering firm as well as a continuously
growing non-profit organization. She is deeply involved in her work and local community, always looking for ways to give back to those around her as well as her employees. “The recipients of the 2018 Enterprising Women of the Year Awards represent an amazing group of women entrepreneurs from across the United States and as far away as Kenya and Malta,” said Monica Smiley, publisher and CEO of Enterprising Women . GATE ENERGY AWARDED LEVIATHAN COMMISSIONING GATE Energy has been selected as the provider for facility commissioning of the Leviathan Project Platform for Noble Energy Mediterranean Ltd. The associated scope includes topside commissioning planning, onshore commissioning execution, and offshore commissioning services of the Production Platform for the Leviathan Field Development Project. Leviathan is a natural gas mega project offshore Israel with first gas targeted for the end of 2019. Noble Energy is the operator of the Leviathan Field, which contains
approximately 22 trillion cubic feet of gross recoverable resources and represents Noble Energy’s third major gas development in the region. Steven Guy, president of commissioning: “This award highlights the capability of GATE as a world leader in commissioning services. GATE is very excited to continue our Commissioning Services partnership with Noble Energy, including prior projects in West Africa, the Gulf of Mexico and onshore United States. GATE is proud to represent the best interests of Noble Energy as we support the delivery of a world-class project. This award is a testament to the trust-based relationships we develop with our clients and our ongoing commitment to health, safety and the environment. These have driven increased backlog for the years ahead, even in the face of intense global competition.” GATE Energy is a family of companies that provide scalable, fit-for-purpose services for the energy sector including project delivery, engineering, commissioning, field services, and integrated production operators.
JULIE BENEZET, from page 9
demands not only asking questions, but also answering questions you did not expect. Today’s knowledge workers, particularly the new generation of Generation X executives, measure worth based on data, metrics, and pushing the enve- lope. They will happily challenge everything you say, including things you always took for granted. “Well, why can’t we install screens in the middle of our spaces?” To prove your value, you either have to concede or, better, confess ignorance and com- mit to finding a great solution. “It’s important to recognize that clients’ dismissive behavior might come from their own discomfort in a rapidly changing world.” 4)To prove your value, empower your listener. While they are unlikely to admit it, clients dislike not knowing what you do. It takes them out of their comfort zone. Your job is to empower them to hold up their end of the conversation. To achieve that, try converting highly technical information and design ideas into understandable terms. Using everyday analogies (e.g., “It’s like when you finally take apart that bro- ken grill and discover …”) and visual aids bring them into the discussion. Keep it simple, but not simple minded. Change is hard, for everyone, but the reward of entering the discomfort zone is valuable new information and opportunity. JULIE BENEZET spent 25 years in law and business, and for the past 16 years has coached and consulted with executives from virtually every industry. She earned her stripes for leading in the new and unknown as Amazon’s first global real estate executive. She is an award-winning author of The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There Is None . She can be reached at julie@juliebenezet.com.
risks to learn who they are, what they want, and where you fit. In the process, it’s important to recognize that clients’ dismissive behavior might come from their own discomfort in a rapidly changing world. Here are four ways to close the gap between you and your clients: 1)Understand that clients lack the bandwidth to under- stand or care about your work. When I joined Amazon in 1998 as its first global real estate executive, for the first time in my career I experienced life as an expense sump rather than income generator. To succeed, we had to accept that our clients only cared about real estate when it failed. Once in a while they liked it (especially if it involved food service), but that was the exception. What mattered to them was their work. The hyper-connected digital world required inventing and testing new products and services at warp speed. The last thing they wanted was to expend precious brain cells learning about stodgy bricks and mortar. What was true in 1998 is now universal to business, even with the addition to real estate of highly technical solu- tions. 2)Winning means convincing your client to care on their terms. A/E professionals often are reluctant to leave their comfort zone of design and techno speak. What they fail to notice is the audience for A/E speak is limited. To close the communication gap between you and your client, explore how they define success. That opens the channel to their willing- ness to hear how you can serve them. It requires business oriented inquiries rather than technical requirement discus- sions. Converting their needs into design is your job after you understand them. 3)To close the gap, you have to change. To gain client trust
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THE ZWEIG LETTER February 12, 2018, ISSUE 1235
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