StoneDimensions

By: Jeff Haden for inc.com

Great employees are reliable, dependable, proactive, diligent, great leaders and great followers... they possess a wide range of easily-defined, but hard to find, qualities.

A few hit the next level. Some employees are remarkable, possessing qualities that may not appear on performance appraisals but nonetheless make a major impact on performance.

Here are eight qualities of remarkable employees:

1. They ignore job descriptions. The smaller the company, the more important it is that employees can think on their feet, adapt quickly to shifting priorities, and do whatever it takes, regardless of role or position, to get things done.

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Each month, the MIA profiles an employee from one of our member companies. This month, we welcome Evan Cohen of Quality Marble & Granite in Ontario, CA to the Cutting Edge profile page.

Q: What is your role at Quality Marble & Granite?

A: My role at Quality Marble & Granite...well, yard worker, janitor, salesman, receptionist, bookkeeper, manager, visionary or anything else it takes to operate the day to day business. My formal title, however, is president.

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Well, the first quarter of the year is already over and time is flying by. In my first column, I spoke about membership in our association and the second was about accreditation, both topics which I am very passionate about.

Since the beginning of 2012, we have re-instated or signed 61 new members, and received 2 new applications for accreditation. This is a great start, but we can all do more. Everyone must remember that this is our association established by members for members, and to advance the natural stone industry. Our industry is perceived by the association that represents us, so only we can make it great.

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Black’s Law Dictionary defines succession as: “the process by which the property or rights of an individual or business are transferred to another through will, contract or descent.” In a business context, succession planning typically refers to the transfer of control and/or ownership interests in a company to another individual or group. Sooner or later it will come time to “hand over the reigns” of your business to the younger generation or to a targeted successor. This process is not as simple as just having the CEO walk out the door on retirement day with plaques and diplomas in hand, and giving the keys to the corner office to another individual. In order to ensure the continued viability and success of the company, a carefully developed and executed business succession plan should be adopted. This plan should be carefully and critically developed with the assistance of both legal counsel and a certified public accountant. The ultimate goal of any business succession plan should be to provide the retiring owner or ownership group with options and opportunities without jeopardizing the continued operations and viability of the company.

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There is just no momentum changing news in the American housing market that would cause industry folks to say the turnaround is finally here in a big way.

Case in point, nationwide housing starts edged down 1.1 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 698,000. On the positive side, the U.S. Commerce Department said this was the second-best pace of new construction since October 2008, following an upwardly revised 706,000-unit pace in January.

“Builders are reporting increased buyer interest and are expecting demand for new homes to improve in the coming months, but continue to exercise caution regarding new projects until that interest translates into more sales contracts,” said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). “This process is certainly being slowed by today’s overtight lending conditions, the difficulty of obtaining accurate appraisals on new construction and competition from depressed properties that can make it tough for prospective new home buyers to sell an existing home.”

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Q: I recently had some limestone tested for abrasion resistance per ASTM C241. The standard that I was citing was the Dimension Stone Design Manual, which states that because my application is stairs, the stone should have a minimum abrasion resistance of 12.0. The test laboratory says that the minimum recommendation per ASTM is 10.0. Are these two standards in conflict with each other?

A: No, they are not in conflict with each other. They are actually talking about two different things. The reference of 12.0 minimum in the Horizontal Surfaces Section (Chapter 14) of the Dimension Stone Design Manual is a recommendation of what is required for the application, regardless of what type of stone is used.

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M S International (MSI), one of the industry’s largest stone distribution companies, is making it possible for the Marble Institute of America to produce a major new documentary that memorializes the global historical relationship between man and natural stone. Funding for the documentary will be provided by MSI.

The 35-40 minute documentary will be based on a creative concept by Mr. Manu Shah, founder of MSI of Orange, California, that traces the evolution of man and stone from prehistoric times to today’s thriving use of natural stone as one of the premier decorative building materials used in commercial buildings and homes around the world.

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The MIA will take up residnece in the TCNA booth this week at Coverings. We will be promoting both our new iPad apps and MIA membership. If you are attending Coverings, be sure to stop by and say hello!

WASHINGTON, April 17 - Single-family housing production held virtually unchanged in March as a double-digit decline in the more volatile multifamily sector brought combined nationwide starts activity down 5.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000 units, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department today.

"While more consumers appear to be seriously considering a new-home purchase, builders remain very cautious about starting new projects until they see more actual sales materializing," said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. "At the same time, in places where buyers are ready to go forward with a purchase, access to credit for both builders and buyers and difficulties in obtaining accurate appraisals are persistent challenges that continue to slow that process considerably."

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