When NEXimage was founded in 1975, the only office equipment they sold involved a line and some clothespins. “Back then we sold copy machines that made wet copies,” said Bill Swaney, CEO of NEXimage. “Things have progressed a lot since then. Within the past four years, all the multifunction devices that can copy, print, scan and fax all have been connected. We’ve adapted so that we can provide our customers with the full spectrum of services, from their computers to their copiers to their phones.”

Technology may advance quickly, but NEXimage stays ahead of the curve and works to provide its customers with advanced technology as well. Bill and Adam Swaney are enthusiastic about Blackberry Express, a service that connects an executive’s Blackberry to his or her network. “You can get to shared folders directly on your Blackberry. An executive would never be out of touch with the office,” explained Adam, Chief Technical Officer of NEXimage and Bill’s brother. “Because we have the server in our environment, we have everything wired; the only thing you pay for is the software.”

NEXimage sells and services office equipment and manages and maintains computer networks. They work with companies that are small enough to not have a full-time IT representative on staff, but large enough to need IT support. And NEXimage provides service with a smile: “We give our customers a personal relationship,” Bill said, “but we also give the best possible service with the quickest possible response time at the best possible rate. We’re a small family business with high-tech expertise.”

NEXimage
301-831-1911
neximageinc.com

Chad Buchen

Chad Buchen has the heart of an artist. He’s a young man with a plan, and the education and formal training to back it up. His landscaping firm, Sequoia Company, is growing, and Chad’s excited by prospects for his future.

“It’s important to know I have an education,” Buchen said. “A lot of landscapers just pick up a truck and lawn mower. I give people a good product with my knowledge, experience and education.”

Buchen believes landscape architecture allows art and science to unite. He combines planning, documentation and knowledge of the land’s natural components to do his job well. He feels there must be an eye for design and beauty.

“I went to school for landscape architecture, gaining experience and knowledge of design and construction,” he said. He stressed the psychological components involved. “I observe and walk through a client’s home. Their lifestyle tells me a lot. If they’re eclectic, I can do textures and colors outside. If they like plain, I keep it simple—straight lines, colors. In an older house with wood floors, I use bricks with patterns on the patio to mimic the floors— carrying the inside outside and ask questions: what colors and styles do you like, garden types—English, French, contemporary? Customer surroundings lead my questions.”

Each artist selects his or her favored canvas, then conceives and creates art. Buchen’s promotional materials state, “Concept, creativity, passion brought to life.” He considers his canvas “the land,” and landscaping his “art form.” Buchen added, “I enjoy creativity, putting ideas on paper and seeing them evolve.” The heart, passion and learned skill of an artist come together in this young businessman. The result is landscape artistry Chad Buchen is proud to say is different. “I always try to be unique.”

Sequoia Landscapes
344 W. Patrick St.
Frederick, MD 21701
301-682-3480
PAID ADVERTISEMENT

“Concept, creativity and passion brought to life.”

It’s impossible not to smile at Kevin Dunn. He’s anything but the oldfashioned image of an insurance agent. A Montgomery County native, he’s the person you want as your nextdoor neighbor, son’s good friend, or … your insurance agent. He’s engaging, attentive, informed, always smiling.

“It annoys people sometimes!” He laughs. While many complain about working every day, he says, “I put my suit on and enjoy coming to the office, getting out in the public. I’ve always been social. I meet different people and help them, getting paid to do what I like to do.”

Kevin Dunn is a Liberty Mutual auto/home/life insurance agent quick to say that if there are other insurance needs, he can still be of service. “I’ve been with Liberty Mutual since 2008, in the industry since 2006. My professionalism and education sets me apart. I’m one class away from the highest insurance designation. That helps me help my clients. I want to be looked at as a professional. Even though I’m younger, I have energy to get the job done.”

One can’t question Dunn’s professionalism. Within his job description, much of which he writes himself, he gives back a lot to his community. He’s involved with Chamber of Commerce, and partners with NIH and businesses and local services as an involved leader for those who need not only insurance, but a hand, or a smile.

As a man who anticipates a positive experience and new adventure each day, Dunn is determined to update an industry seen as necessary, but rarely upbeat. “Insurance can be fun!” He even has a Facebook fan page. “I don’t want people to think of an insurance agent or the industry as boring—an old guy sitting at a desk. I want to make it a pleasurable experience.”

Liberty Mutual
Insurance Group
6101 Executive Blvd., Suite 100
Rockville, MD 20852
301-881-9300 ext. 51568
www.libertymutual.com/lm/kevindunn
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
“Insurance can be fun.”

We’re a relationship company.”

Ron Main, President of Warner Construction, advocates quality work and the people who do the work. What makes his company successful? “We take a team approach to make a project the best it can be.”

Main’s dad was a carpenter foreman/ superintendent. “As a kid, I used to go to his job sites and carry his tools.” Sitting at his desk now, he looks over his left shoulder at a large shadow box on the wall holding a pair of overalls and an array of tools. “I grew up in the business. Those are my dad’s overalls.” The emotion is evident; his dad passed away three years ago but the passion in his son lives on.

Main tells you—construction’s either in your blood, or it isn’t. “At the end of every day, it’s easy to see what has been accomplished. It’s not all paperwork. You have to have passion; there are many challenges.” The challenges drive him. “Something may not go together perfectly. It’s how you adjust. Issues come up. It’s how quickly issues are solved” that makes it pleasurable work for Ron Main. Warner Construction is making a mark on Frederick, as well as up and down the I- 270 corridor. Even in questionable economic times, Warner keeps work flowing by strategically aligning itself in different market sectors. High-visibility local projects include the Frederick County Public School Consolidated Office Building and The Old Town Youth Center in downtown Gaithersburg. Looking at that shadow box filled with legacy artifacts from Ron Main’s father shows how

Warner Construction is built on more than bids, deadlines, and the bottom dollar. Since he began with Warner in 2002, Ron Main has made it his mission to not only meet expectations but far exceed them. He believes a company is only as good as its last project. “Our best marketing is through word-of-mouth networking.”

Warner Construction
50 Citizens Way, Suite 201
Frederick, MD 21701
301-696-0525
www.Warner-Construction.com
PAID ADVERTISEMENT

“Our best marketing
is through word-ofmouth networking.”

A Second Generation Company with First Generation Customer Service Values and Next Generation Ideals

Bill Swaney says the relationships he cultivates with his customers is a reflection of his father’s business ethic. “My dad always encouraged me to be number one in everything I did,” says Swaney, who succeeded his father in 1997 as president of NEXimage, an office equipment sales and service company in Frederick County, “Being number one in service to my clients is really important. My dad taught me how to win my customers’ loyalty. You have to actually care about them.”

NEXimage demonstrates its commitment to quality customer service by offering industry specific machines that speak directly to the needs of the customers. Swaney’s favorite is the Lexmark Education Station that can be loaded with software to assist teachers in grading tests. “This machine saves teachers hours of paper grading time. It’s extremely easy to be passionate about a product that will really help your client” he says.

Most Document Management companies base their income on the amount of pages a company prints per month. Swaney’s approach is different. “We actually want you to print less. I am more interested in improving my customers’ method of document management than increasing their paper usage.” Instead of relying on printing services, NEXimage also offers digital storage of a company’s documents. “It’s a great idea; there’s really no reason to keep paper copies of documents anymore. It’s incredible the amount of money you can save in storage alone. Not to mention the decreased carbon footprint.”

Aside from encouraging customers not to waste paper, NEXimage also encourages sustainability by selling copiers equipped with eco-friendly features. “My objective is to differentiate myself from my competitors by offering the latest in office equipment technology, offering green alternatives, and being number one in my industry.

NEXimage
108 Byte Drive, Suite 102, Frederick, MD 21702
301-831-1911
www.neximageinc.com

Leadership Lessons from Gettysburg

A Transformational Experience that will increase your bottom line.

“The secret to succeeding under challenging conditions is to get your team engaged
in their efforts.”

Few people know that during the battle of Gettysburg in 1863 there were over 51,000 casualties and 10,000 dead horses within 3 days. Even fewer people realize the second day of the battle is remembered primarily for the achievement of Lt. Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain.

Chamberlain, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery, had no special education in military strategies. What he did have was the ability to engage those around him. What he did have was a capacity for leadership, says Steven B. Wiley, founder of the Lincoln Leadership Institute at Gettysburg.

The battle at Gettysburg is an incredible learning tool for businesses and organizations today. With many of the country’s largest companies and organizations awash against the tide of an uncertain economy, the lessons we learn from Gettysburg have a profound impact on the success of these companies, says Wiley. The Lincoln Leadership Institute hosts as its signature event an intensive threeday performance development experience that employs the battlefield lessons of Gettysburg to teach businesses and organizations how to develop their staffs’ leadership potential.

In 1863, our nation just wasn’t ready for a war between the States; its healthcare system was unprepared for caring for thousands of casualties each day, and no one had experience leading an organization of 100,000 people. It just wasn’t on anybody’s resume, Wiley says. If that weren’t enough to give anybody pause, as the war dragged into its second year, it was the larger, better-trained, organization that routinely came up short against its less equipped and less well-trained opponent. What the South had then, that the North didn’t was better leadership, Wiley says.

The secret to succeeding under challenging conditions is to get your team engaged in their efforts, Wiley says. “You have to instill a sense of confidence and a sense of pride in order to get anyone to go beyond their own self-interest.” There’s no more powerful motivator, and Wiley repeats it often against the backdrop of a 2007 Gallup poll that revealed that 70 percent of U.S. employees feel disengaged from their work.

Those lessons are being heard by many of the biggest organizations in the country. Since 1991, the efforts of the Institute have garnered praise from such heavy-hitters as ExxonMobil, Pfizer, Black & Decker, Novartis, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and Verizon. Hundreds of teams from these companies have been sent to the Institute to learn from Steve Wiley and experience his unique brand of leadership development. Here’s what enrollees in the Lincoln Leadership Institute at Gettysburg can choose from as part of the Institute’s unique blend of programming:

“The Keynote Address: Lessons from Gettysburg”. Here Wiley introduces a series of performance-boosting strategies, many drawn from his own professional endeavors as author, entrepreneur, sales executive and franchise founder, that have served to transform his own approach to selling, negotiating, producing and leadership. One IBM executive calls this session, the best in which he has participated in 30 years.

As part of “Cases Studies: Lessons in the Field,” Wiley is accompanied by members of his team who bring their battlefield lessons to the worksite. The material, which includes both an examination of a firm’s position as well as its vulnerabilities, is designed to help business leaders better appreciate the impact of critical decision-making, and how being a good follower is as important as being a good leader. One Ford Motor Co. executive had this to say of this segment: “I cannot conceive of a better investment in our people than to let Steve Wiley motivate and develop them.”

In “High-Performance Negotiating: From the Battlefield to the Boardroom,” Wiley focuses on those skills needed to make a sales presentation, close a contract, lead a sales region, establish performance criteria, even buy a car. The session includes strategies on how to get your way more often while expending fewer resources of time, money, schedules and people. The lessons are delivered through a number of highly effective means, such as group and oneon- one role play, customized skill exercises, and a lecture. One Pfizer leader said, “these strategies can be implemented the very next day on the job to save and make money… lots of it.”

During the Lincoln Leadership Institute’s capstone event, “The Experience: A Transformational Journey from Gettysburg,” Wiley and his internationally known faculty lead participants on a three-day performance development experience through the hallowed ground of Gettysburg’s National Military Park, and make it into a living laboratory for the exploration of leadership. Participants in the three-day journey are introduced to time-tested strategies in negotiation, communication, listening and even wellness.

Here’s what one Black & Decker representative had to say about the experience: “Steve Wiley’s Journey from Gettysburg is the best and most comprehensive leadership development we’ve ever invested in.” A recent participant from Pfizer described the experience as, “a sustained, transformational leadership experience that has reshaped our culture, repurposed our mission and driven outstanding performance results.”

With tens of thousands of satisfied business and government leaders to speak about their experience at the Lincoln Leadership Institute, Wiley says you too could be a hero at your next meeting. Who knows, you might even meet the 16th president of the United States.

LINCOLN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE AT
GETTYSBURG: THE DAVID WILLS HOUSE
8 Lincoln Square, Gettysburg, PA 17325
717-338-9971
www.lincolnleadershipinstitute.com