Mike Collins, president of The Perfect Workday Company, Chapel Hill, N.C., presented an hour-and-a-half mini-seminar titled, “Time to Change! You Go First!” He engaged the audience with an interactive talk that included a handout to complete along the way.

 

For those who were able to arrive on time, he asked attendees with a January birthday to move to a row and sit chronologically by date of birth. What followed was trepidation, chaos and questions. It also showed who the leaders are, he said.

 

“This exercise demonstrates our reaction to any kind of change,” he said.

 

Collins then went on to speak about changing on a personal level, creating and leading change in a corporate environment and getting a handle on change on a daily basis.

 

“All change happens individually before it happens collectively,” he said.

 

He then offered numerous tips on how to get organized and manage stress and time in order to deal with change. Among them: accept what you cannot change; do one thing at a time; be flexible; don’t hold worries inside, but don’t dump on people; get enough rest; avoid self-medication; don’t forget your most important clients; and be the captain of your soul.

 

The latter point was borrowed from a William Ernest Henley poem, Invictus, which Collins said former South Africa President Nelson Mandela recited every day while in prison.

 

Strengthening manufacturing

 

The group also heard from Anna Mangum, program lead for N.C. State University’s Industrial Extension Service (IES). She spoke of how the IES, an engineering extension program, brings business to industry. Initially created to serve only the manufacturing sector, the service has since been extended to serve healthcare, government, service and non-profits, she said.

 

Mangum discussed how IES is strengthening U.S. manufacturing through its E3 (Energy, Environmental, Economics) program. E3 is a community-based partnership that increases the viability and profitability of manufacturers. Its three-tiered path calls for businesses to: Assess – Transform – Sustain.

 

IES has more than 250 partners, including 52 manufacturers, in 24 communities. It has provided more than 200 technical assessments and trained more than 400 employees, she said. According to a survey of roughly 50 percent of its clients, respondents reported $16.2 million in realized savings and an economic impact of more than $23 million.

 

Mangum explained in greater detail how the program works and invited her counterparts from Clemson University to the dais to cover their services.

 

Solar energy growing

 

Erik Lensch, CEO of Entropy Solar Integrators, LLC, offered a presentation of the economics of commercial solar energy. Entropy has more than 200 solar projects in operation, he said.

 

He provided a brief history of commercial solar energy before noting that, in 2013, solar accounted for 29 percent of all new energy generation in the U.S. He pointed out that the cost of solar energy has dropped precipitously over the last 15 years, then went over the cost savings realized from solar energy investment for North Carolina firms. He also gave examples of companies using solar energy in the state.

 

Economic growth expected to accelerate

 

Michael A. Brown, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities, closed the session with an outlook for this year and beyond. Using real GDP as a barometer, he said his group expects economic activity to accelerate in the year ahead.

 

He then offered an in-depth look at the economic indicators. Of note:

 

• indexes on business activity suggest an improving near-term outlook;

• growth in business fixed investment spending will continue to buoy growth in the coming years;

• small business optimism has begun to turn around;

• small business concerns have shifted from fears about sales to concerns about taxes and regulation;

• commercial and industrial lending has surged over the last quarter, helped by easier credit and increased demand;

• the rise in home prices has helped bring down the share of owners who own more on their home than their home is worth;

• a gradual recovery in homebuilding is expected;

• consumer confidence continues to rebound nicely;

• tighter credit standards and a strengthening economy have helped to improve the credit position of households over the last three years;

• consumer spending growth will continue to average around 2.5 percent;

• the employment rate is picking up, but structural issues remain;

• the services sector continues to lead job growth;

• wages and salaries now make up less than half of personal income as transfer payments have made up a greater share of income over time;

• inflation remains in check;

• the government’s QE (quantitative easing) program has ended, but funds rates will likely not be seen until the middle of this year; and

• growth in the global economy likely will pick up slightly next year.

 

“We expect a more robust pace of economic growth, with a slightly stronger pace of GDP growth,” Brown said.