Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • August 20, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 21 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULT: Does CT have a need for a mega-sports complex like the one pitched in W. Locks? NEXT WEEK'S POLL: Who will be Connecticut's next governor? • Bob Stefanowski • Ned Lamont • Oz Griebel To vote, go online to hartfordbusiness.com BIZ BOOKS How to differentiate stars vs. job-doers By Jim Pawlak "The Power of People Skills — How to Eliminate 90% of Your HR Problems and Dramatically Increase Team and Company Morale and Performance" by Trevor Throness (Ca- reer Press, $16.99). When things are planned and plans are executed, the outcome depends on the employees assigned to "make it happen" at the front and back ends. The employees charged with driving success are divided into three cat- egories: 1. Stars who own their jobs 2. Those that simply do their jobs, and 3. Deadwood. While many businesses trim the deadwood, they seldom are willing to recognize the difference between stars and job-doers. Throness highlights that difference by citing the Container Store's "winning equation: one great person = three good people." With that as the lead-in, he believes that employees are the most valuable assets of any business because they represent its intellectual capital. Given that, leaders at all levels must answer four staff assessment questions to assess whether their employees are stars or job- doers: 1. "Would you hire the em- ployee again?" 2. "Does the employee minimize or add to your stress?" "How would you feel if the employee quit? 3. "If every team member played at the employee's level, would the team be upgraded or downgraded?" 4."Would it be difficult to find a replacement?" The answers will allow you to define the traits of your stars (attitude will usually be No. 1) and identify what can be done (i.e. training, coaching) to develop job-doers into stars. They'll also tell you what to look for in new hires and how to bring them onboard. Here, Throness emphasizes attitude, too, which needs to be part of the firm's culture. He's not talking about mis- sion and value statements that no one remembers. He's talking about the way the company does business (e.g. trust- ing relationships, think it through, do it now, make everything a "WOW," find better ways, etc.) because employees can relate to these on a daily basis. The Bottom Line: The business with few stars never achieves its potential. 54.3% No 45.7% Yes READER COMMENTS: "Yes, build it and they will come." "Yes, as long as it is privately funded." "I can't imagine the economics working in favor of this proposal. I hope there isn't a large state/ city outlay; let the private developer take all the risk." Jim Pawlak Book Review OTHER VOICES CT must reverse course to prevent outmigration By Chuck Cumello I t's hard to imagine that there were so many gubernatorial candidates in Connecticut given the daunting task of trying to reconcile the perilous state of the state's finances. The next chief of state will be deal- ing with a multibillion-dollar deficit on day one. There will be no easy solution but looking at our state finances from the perspective of a wealth manage- ment and financial planning firm, if the state was a person, their long-term plan in its cur- rent form would fail, and they'd be informed they have a spending problem. If it were a revenue issue, certainly the two largest tax increases in the state's history and the second-longest bull market in the coun- try's history would have solved that. Our revenue challenges come primar- ily due to the high number of residents leaving the state. The two largest age groups leaving the state are young people fresh out of college, not good for the future, and residents who have reached retirement age, not good for the present. In fact, a survey from Essex Financial of over 1,000 Connecticut residents found that only a quarter (25 percent) plan to live in Connecticut after retirement, while the remainder plan to leave or remain unsure if they will stay. We have found that one of the primary reasons as to why people well into re- tirement leave is because they want a tax-friendlier location. It seems the only audience that doesn't understand this is our representatives in Hartford. Connecticut's legislature needs to be reminded that in order to retain people post-retirement it's important to create an attractive economy where retirees don't have to worry about taxes deplet- ing their nest eggs. The greatest fear when thinking about retirement savings for Connecticut residents is that they won't have enough saved to maintain their lifestyle (27 percent), or that they will outlive their savings/run out of money (27 percent), according to the Essex Financial survey. As things currently stand in Connecticut, a person's social security income is par- tially taxed, withdrawals from retirement accounts are fully taxed, and public/pri- vate pension income is fully taxed. For business owners, the reality is that the economic system in Connecticut impacts their ability to operate effec- tively as they end up bearing the brunt of taxes or mandates imposed by the state. Business owners face similar issues as retirees because high taxes, coupled with the high cost of living and state man- dates and regulations, make it difficult for many entrepreneurs to turn a profit. Our state is one of a very few that has not enjoyed the fruits of the na- tional economic recovery. To turn things around, Connecticut officials need to come together to make a change to help businesses recruit and retain employees, keep retirees here for the long run and to make this a state people want to run toward, not away from. Big problems require big bold solutions. Want to get the attention of the wealthy, who we most certainly want to stay in this state? Get rid of the estate tax. Want to make everyone in the state happy? Privatize the DMV. Change the narrative of how the state is perceived for individuals and businesses, come to- gether to lower the tax burden on every- one. Create an environment of growth, innovation and entrepreneurship. We live in a spectacular state with beautiful beaches, ski resorts, wonder- ful woodlands and a location between New York and Boston that literally puts the world a two-hour car or train ride away. Our schools and medical care are among the best in the country. It is a beautiful place to raise a family. Most, if not all of the issues that caused our current situation are man made, which means they can be fixed. Change requires vision and courage. I hope Hartford is capable of that as the alternative is very frightening. Chuck Cumello is the CEO and president of Essex Financial. Chuck Cumello

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