Sixth Sense: Business Leaders Assess Their Most Pressing Issues In 2015

As we begin a New Year, armed with well-intended resolutions and a list of things to accomplish, review or change, Talk Business & Politics asked six business leaders to single out the most pressing issue or biggest challenge they face in 2015 and how they plan to tackle it.

Ray Dillon
President & CEO
Deltic Timber Corp.
El Dorado

Since residential housing starts drive Deltic’s financial performance, I am hopeful that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2015 will continue to expand at an annual pace of 2.5 to 3% and unemployment rates will continue to decrease to the 5% range as mortgage interest remains at or near current levels. This would make residential housing very affordable for buyers that can qualify, resulting in total housing starts of 1.2 to 1.25 million in 2015.

Federal government regulatory rules promulgated through the Environmental Protection Agency continue to make manufacturing plant expansions and modifications to enhance productivity and efficiency difficult to justify and execute timely.

Denise Thomas
Director of External Relations
World Trade Center Arkansas
Rogers

As entrepreneurs, we always set goals – to grow our business and capitalize on new opportunities. It is a fact that 97% of your customer base lives outside the continental U.S.

Africa is the next big frontier and one of the best opportunities to grow your Arkansas-based company. Consider that South African GDP is $350 billion and Nigeria GDP is $521 billion, growing at an average rate of about 4% per year. Africa has an aggressive emerging middle class with a disposable income.

Forging a strategy for market entry, fostering new relationships and establishing business partnerships will help your company increase its bottom line and create jobs in both Arkansas and in Africa. The key to getting started is setting clear, measurable, realistic goals, creating a strategic plan and leveraging resources. Africa has a great need for products, services, development, etc., and Arkansas is naturally positioned to be a key strategic partner. Let us help you reach your goals.

Greg M. Joslin
Principal
Irwin Partners
Little Rock

We expect the current increase in commercial real estate (CRE) activity in Arkansas to continue throughout 2015. Investors are taking advantage of the inexpensive lending environment and considering CRE as a key component for overall portfolios; and businesses are looking to lock in competitive lease rates. This encouraging up-swing also means the need for increased dedication to time management.

In 2015, I plan to implement a simple “1-2-3” method for managing time and maximizing productivity:

• Go to the office early at least one day a week. Two uninterrupted hours before co-workers arrive and technology starts are invaluable for focusing on projects and tackling to-do list tasks.
• Reach out to two people each week who are not current clients.
• Before going to bed, identify the top three things that need to be done the next morning – and then do them before answering e-mails, phone calls or texts.

Focusing on these steps will help ensure that I’m not just “putting out fires” every day.

Michael B. Hargis, Ph.D.
Dean & Associate Professor of Management
College of Business, UCA
Conway

Our most important task, as a College of Business, is to provide a high-quality business education that prepares students for meaningful careers. We accomplish this by working with industry partners to design programs that are responsive to the needs of the businesses that hire our graduates.

We have had great success over the last few years and have introduced a new major in innovation and entrepreneurship; added an emphasis area in supply chain management and logistics; helped launch EPIC residential college focusing on entrepreneurship, public scholarship, innovation and community engagement; and updated our MBA curriculum to allow students to pursue concentrations in finance/banking, health services administration or information management. These changes have been well received and we have seen positive enrollment growth in our academic programs.

In 2015, we will continue our efforts to build partnerships with local, regional and national businesses so that we can make sure that our students are prepared for their careers.

Mark Waldrip
Partner
Armor Seed, LLC
Moro

We in agri-business must meet the challenge to provide the general public with good information and sound science that support the truth – that genetically enhanced (GM) crops and foods are completely safe.

It is incumbent upon us to provide accurate data in order to dispel the misconceptions which exist. The consumer must be informed that, over several decades of study, there has never been one single incident of any adverse impact on human health resulting from the human consumption of genetically enhanced food products.

The World Health Organization, as a leading authority on public health, should continue to provide data from years of research, which reinforces the safety of genetically enhanced foods. We cannot expect people to make intelligent decisions until we provide them with accurate information.

Harry Hamlin
Member
Mitchell Williams Law
Little Rock

The practice of law, as with many other services, is increasingly becoming commoditized.

As a business lawyer, the challenge is to deliver additional value to my clients. That means really understanding their business and then partnering with them to solve problems, legal or otherwise.

Lawyers are used to being presented with a problem, analyzing the problem and then finding a solution. In order to continue to be successful, we need to train our younger business attorneys to understand that not all legal counsel comes from a book.

Whether it’s the practice of law or any other service, differentiating yourself from the next person requires that you bring added value to the table.

Editor’s note: Ideas for topics or participants for inclusion in “Sixth Sense” can be sent to Talk Business & Politics Editor Bill Paddack at [email protected].