Out and About
Last week we had our entire staff at an “advance” in a home on Navarre Beach that we rented from one of our marketing clients. Our advance is the same thing that others call a “retreat,” but we don’t retreat. Day one was focused on the marketing side of our business, and we sent over possible core values. We have core values for our publishing side of the business, but we need to find separate core values for the marketing side. However, we decided a few of the publishing core values are already our core values on the marketing side and the first one that comes to mind is “Excellence is our Ordinary.” A new core value that several people wanted to add to our list of core values was “Family – We prioritize our family and working hard.” I was glad that core value was brought up because I’ve always said that family comes first – before work but it wasn’t on the official list. The other new core value is “Gossip – we pass negatives up and positives all around.” Gossip is defined as discussing anything negative with someone who can’t help solve the problem. We don’t have that problem right now, but I’ve seen it in the past. And, because we are making this a core value – we won’t see it in the future because everyone will call people out if they see a core value not being demonstrated. Gossip destroys team unity very quickly. In the future when we hire new team members, they might not realize that it isn’t “human nature” for coworkers to talk about someone to other team members about an issue they are having. They may feel like they are just, “venting” but they need to vent to the person that can help them solve their problem. The constructive way to handle an issue is to talk to the person you have a problem with and then if you don’t get resolution, talk to a manager. Gossip in the workplace pushes people apart and makes trust very difficult. It’s up to the whole team to guard their words and protect our company culture. Gossip is unfair to everyone involved. It’s unfair to the gossipers because they must wrestle in a problem situation with no hope of resolution. It’s unfair to others who hear gossip because it undermines passion for their work, confidence in their leadership and belief in the company vision. It’s also unfair to leadership because they aren’t given the opportunity to address a problem within our business. Gossip just isn’t productive or constructive – so why? Just DON’T do it.
The Land Development Code we have now was a product of a 3-year overhaul beginning in August 2019. Public meetings were held, and from July 2020 to June 2021 additional workshops and meetings were held. Finally in 2021, the code was adopted. Then, in September 2022 to September 2023 there were updates to the re-write. And now, the county commissioners have decided to put together an LDC taskforce to address very specific issues. They are only allowed to address certain categories including floodplain management, development standards and special overlay districts. We hope to see some big positive changes coming forward from this taskforce. See page 1A for the story.
We also have a feature on the front of our Community section on an area photographer Bebe Booth, known for her wildlife photography. We have included some of the photos in this week’s issue, but she really does this as a hobby. She said she wants to capture the beauty of God’s creations. See page 1B for the story.
Quote of the Week: “Gossip is the Devil’s radio.” George Harrison (1943-2001) Lead Guitarist of The Beatles.