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A time for unity
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Thanks for inviting me to participate in the 2020 Virginia Business Political Roundtable. It was a very stimulating and thought-provoking discussion. One loud message came through following the Nov. 3 election — America is a nation divided. The results showed that the path forward must address that divide, or we will never achieve the unity
OurView: How did it get so late so soon?
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On the subject of time, the much-beloved children’s book author Dr. Seuss once wrote, “How did it get so late so soon?” With December here, that’s an almost perfect description of 2020. How did it get so late, so soon? Most of the past 8 to 9 months have been characterized by an almost immutable
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Walking around
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Back in 1982, Tom Peters and Robert Waterman Jr. co-authored a business book titled, “In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies.” Among many topics popularized by this bestseller was a concept called “management by walking around.” This wasn’t an entirely new idea. It was practiced in the 1970s at Hewlett-Packard and had roots
The Mailroom
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A deserving legend Congratulations on the Virginia 500 Power List issue. It is thorough and very well-researched. It will be on lots of people’s desks. You in my opinion picked the appropriate person to lead off the living legends section. Bill Goodwin has been incredibly successful and generous. I have had the pleasure of representing
Privacy matters
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That unintended consequences come with innovation should be no surprise. Today, technology and social media are global cultural obsessions with a tremendous impact on business. Not that long ago, who would have thought a wallet-sized object like a smart phone would replace nearly every piece of office equipment — telephones, typewriters, copiers, cameras and, to
Big accomplishments
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The motto of Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (HII) is “Hard Stuff, Done Right.” That easily fits the work of HII, parent company of Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia’s largest industrial employer. Its projects — including the construction of U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers — are huge, require complex engineering and are vital to our national
The Mailroom
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More balance needed After reading Carol Hazard’s “Blurred Lines” article in the August 2020 issue, I noted the full-page ads from United Bank, Atlantic Union Bank, PNC Bank and TowneBank. Given the strong advertising support your publication receives from banks, I believe you have a moral obligation to ensure fair treatment of credit unions. The
Antitrust matters
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On a bright spring day in May 2009, I was on the campus of Hampden-Sydney College near Farmville for my son’s graduation — obviously a proud moment for any parent. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner delivered the commencement’s keynote address. During his first term as senator and one of the first times I had heard the
The Mailroom
Letters to the editor
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Refreshing straight talk Mr. Niemeier, I want to thank you for your column, “It’s time to speak up,” in the July 2020 edition of Virginia Business. Your straight talk phrase, “an unjust society is bad for business,” says all that needs to be said! What a breath of fresh air for you to put the
What’s normal?
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When things get back to normal. How many times have you heard that? How many times have you said that? What’s normal? Sometimes there’s a qualifier, like what’s the “new” normal? Who knows? If you think you do, wait and see. It’s not just the normalcy that is intoned by such nostalgic statements, it’s the