Mainebiz

V O L . X X I X N O. X I M AY 1 5 , 2 0 2 3 8 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E locations, in addition to its traditional markets, the brokerage said in its most recent market analysis. "e backdrop in today's market is certainly more healthy for both buyers and sellers than at any time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic," writes Chris Lynch, who owns the Portland-based brokerage. Lynch, whose team includes 100 agents, told Mainebiz he sees the interest going in concentric circles, not just from Portland but from markets elsewhere in the state as well. From Portland, there was a natural growth out to Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth and Freeport. But now potential buyers are beating the bushes in Buxton, Poland, Lisbon, to name a few places. "So if you look at Camden, you see [buyers] going to Union and Appleton," Lynch said. In Whitefield, a town of 2,408 people in Lincoln County, Lynch said his firm had a house with 12 bidders. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E Gov. Janet Mills announced that her Administration has issued $25 million in COVID-19 supplemental payments to 129 long-term care organizations to support their continued recovery from the pandemic. The Maine Department of Transportation was awarded $481,650 by the Federal Highway Administration's National Scenic Byways Program for the Village Connector Gateway Hubs project, which will construct two highway hubs in Rangeley and Oquossoc villages directly along the Rangeley Lakes National Scenic Byway. Spectrum announced it was awarded $6.8 million in Maine Connectivity Authority Reach Me Grant funds to bring gigabit high-speed internet ac- cess to more than 2,100 unserved homes across 14 towns. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King said that the U.S. Department of the Interior's Migratory Bird Conservation Commission approved a $2 million award for the Maine Department of Agriculture. The department will use the funds for the Conservation and Forestry project called Protecting Maine's Freshwater Wetlands. L.L.Bean HQ will take on new look L.L.Bean has a plan in the works to provide a more accessible and "immersive" experience at its flag- ship store in Freeport. Investment in the multi-year project, dubbed the "Freeport Experience," is expected to be more than $50 million. e project team is Zachau Construction of Freeport; Boston-based architect Arrowstreet Inc.; architects and engi- neers WBRC of Bangor; and South Portland's Sebago Technics engineer- ing firm. Once complete, highlights of the redeveloped store and campus include a new Main Street façade. e street-level entrance at the intersec- tion of Bow and Main streets will be redesigned to allow for easier access for customers. ere will be a new bike shop offering wares and services; the current boat, bike and ski store will be removed to expand the cam- pus's Discovery Park. A S K AC E A n s w e r e d b y B o b L a B r i e , L a B r i e T r a i n i n g a n d C o n s u l t i n g The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a non-profit association of independent consultants who value "Success through Collaboration." The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com. Q: There are only 24 hours in a day, and occasionally I need to sleep. How do I fit in everything I need to do in the time that's left? ACE advises: Time management is easy to talk about and hard to master. Improving your planning and time manage- ment will achieve positive results more quickly than improving any other single aspect of your job. You need to approach it with intention. A major goal of time management is to maximize produc- tivity. Time studies have revealed that 20% of the tasks that people spend time doing produces 80% of the results they achieve. If you are a manager, you need to teach yourself and your employees how to identify those key 20% activi- ties on an ongoing basis. Once you know where you should spend your time, you can develop an intentional plan what of needs to be done, then schedule, prioritize and reprioritize daily activities as needed. Planning is the thought process that precedes action. It includes studying patterns, routines and programs so that you can change old unproductive work habits into new productive ones. Proper plan- ning ensures that your time is used to best effect. To put your plan into action you need to tackle each day's activities intentionally, method- ically, systematically, and flex- ibly. If you are working on any- thing other than the 20% of activities that achieve results, you are not acting intention- ally. Multi-tasking is neither methodical nor systematic. Unless you are flexible enough to reprioritize and reschedule, you will miss an important task or critical appointment. We are all under pressure to do more with less, including less time. The old cliché — "Proper planning prevents poor performance" — is especially important today. Bob LaBrie, an ACE member, is principal at Gorham-based LaBrie Training & Consulting. He can be reached at bob@maxpo-nlp.com ACE will host a webinar at 9 am, May 19, "Intentional Leadership: How to Consciously Create your Vision for the Future," featuring Cassie Crosby, CEO of Iterata Solutions. Register at: consultexpertise.com/event-5228064 @ Do your employees take pride in what you do? Find out. F O R I N F O R M AT I O N A N D TO A P P LY G O TO B E S T P L AC E S TO W O R K M E. C O M A N E M P L O Y E E E N G A G E M E N T P R O G R A M D E A D L I N E: M AY 26 BROUGHT TO YOU BY: A P P LY N O W ! S O U T H E R N

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