Voting on Time

by Mikee Johnson, Cox Industries, CEO

Welcome to 2012!  Most likely, you have already been besieged with articles regarding New Years’ Resolutions.  While I have quite a list myself and do believe they are a worthwhile endeavor, I would like to focus on one of Cox’s New Years’ Resolutions.  We do not call them “resolutions”; we call them strategic tactics.  These tactics are, of course, derived from our core strategies and driven by key metrics.  Again, while our core strategies have many tactics, I would like to focus this article (and maybe future articles) on the topic of vendor relationships.

The idea of reviewing how Cox handles vendor relationships was sparked recently, while I was reading an article in a manufacturing magazine when a particular quote resonated with me, “You vote for a vendor and their practices when you purchase their goods or services; at the same time, you vote against another vendor.”  This quotation really stirred my conscience as I began to ask myself, “How much do I really know about the businesses where my own family spends our hard earned money?”  Then, I thought the same about Cox.  While I believe Cox has always been mindful of the people we do business with, my real conclusion was comforting in that I realized each of us can shape our communities and our industry by making thoughtful purchasing decisions.  I am sure your mind is already swirling with the many ways you can positively change the world around you with your own purchasing decisions.

Thematically, allow me to draw a relevant comparison, with the upcoming Republican Primaries and ultimately the Presidential Election in 2012, by asking: have you been considering how you will vote?  Many readers are probably entirely too frustrated with the behavior of our representatives in Washington, DC; and in light of your frustration, one may choose not to vote at all!  In fact, recent statistics from the United States Census Bureau, 41.8% of American voted in the 2010 Presidential election.  Interestingly enough, only about 50% of the United States is even registered to vote.  Below are several other interesting statistics from the 2010 Presidential Election:

• The most common reason people did not vote was that they were too busy (27 percent). Another 16 percent felt that their vote would not make a difference.
• Homeowners were more likely to register and vote than renters; 74 percent of homeowners were registered to vote and 68 percent actually voted; 61 percent of renters were registered and 52 percent voted.
• People with at least some college education made up 68 percent of voters. Individuals without a high school diploma comprised 6 percent of voters.

• People living in families who earned $100,000 or more were more than twice as likely to vote as those who lived with families earning less than $20,000 (61 percent and 30 percent, respectively).

I find these voting statistics disappointingly amazing.  Disappointing because we should all recognize the price paid for the right to vote.  Amazing because certainly more than 50% of Americans know the struggle to vote and still do not vote.  However, if it is of any comfort, the fact is we all cast votes every day.  We cast our votes when we spend our dollars or the dollars of our companies.  Now substitute the concept of voting for a candidate with selecting a vendor.  There are countless variables involved with selecting a vendor:  products, services, price, quality and many more.  Just like with political candidates, one might ask what is under the proverbial hood.  What is my vendor doing behind the scenes?

Within our industry, we are beset by a host of organizations with seemingly pertinent purposes and relatively inexpensive dues structures.  These organizations are best known in our industry by a host of acronyms:  TWC, SPTA, AWPA, SBMA, SFPA, SLMA and many more.  (Explanations below)  Some of these organizations are designed to promote our products, some are designed to protect our products and others are designed to insure the proper use of our products.  Whatever the case may be, their existence is critical if we are to be a vibrant lasting industry in the future. 

As for the associations that promote our products and services (SBMA, SFPA, SLMA), while these agencies are not an absolute must; as a fragmented industry, we regularly face more unified competing products that are continuously creating marketing campaigns to either out-promote or denigrate our products.  I am all for products and campaigns that promote their own features; I am even comfortable when they fairly compare their products.  Unfortunately, many in the business world choose not to participate in this fashion.  As for the organizations that protect our products, this is often little more than an extension of the aforementioned.  Legislatively, we must hold government bureaucracy in check.  We are often witness to unfounded statistics and measurements that can cause havoc in our industry.  We must also be cognizant of specific lobbying efforts that could unfairly target our products. Lastly, we must have up to date and accurate standards by which consumers can effectively utilize our products. 

All of these industry mechanisms cannot exist without two simple investments:  time and money.  The former is much more important than the latter.   The simplest answer is to write a check and let someone else do the real work. Time is so precious.  If you are a believer in the products that come from the treated wood industry, do you know who puts in the time in their organizations?  Who do you see investing in your industry’s organization?  Money is important, but time is really what it takes.

I will conclude by simply sharing with you Cox’s industry involvement.  If you would like to share where and how you are involved in our industry, we would like to hear your thoughts and also which organizations you think are valuable.

• Treated Wood Council:  Mikee Johnson (Cox CEO) – Executive Committee; Jane House (Cox EH&S) and Brian Hayson (Cox VP International  Sales) – Governmental Affairs  www.treated-wood.org
• American Wood Protection Association:  Mikee Johnson – Executive Committee; Greg Campbell (Cox COO) – Quality Control Committee Chair; Jim Healey (Cox VP) – Poles and Piling Committee Vice-Chair  www.awpa.com; Brian Hayson – Member
• Southern Pressure Treaters Association:  Mikee Johnson – Former 2-term President; Jim Healey – Board Member; Greg Campbell – Board Member  www.spta.org
• Southern Building Materials Association:  Cox Associate Member  www.southernbuilder.org
• Southern Forest Products Association:  Brian Hayson – Chair International Committee and past Chair of Treated Committee   www.sfpa.org
• Southeastern Lumber Manufacturing Association:  Cox Associate Member  www.slma.org
• American Lumber Standards Committee:  Brian Hayson – Treated Committee www.alsc.org
• International Research Group:  Matt Yaun (Cox Sales & Marketing VP) – Attendee; Mikee Johnson – Attendee  www.irg-wp.org
• Utility Supply Management Alliance – Don Surrency (Cox Industrial Sales) Past Board Member www.usma.com
• Pile Driving Contractors Association – Andrea Edwards (Cox Industrial Sales) – Treasurer www.piledrivers.org    
• North American Wood Pole Council – Jim Healey (Cox Industrial VP) – President  www.woodpoles.org
• American National Standards Institute 0.5 – Jim Healey – Voting Member; Byron Altman (Cox Purchasing) – Alternate  www.ansi.org
• Forest Products Society – Jim Healey – Executive Committee www.forestprod.org
• WoodWorks.Org – Keith Harris (Cox Marketing) – Advisory Panel  www.woodworks.org
• SC Forestry Commission – Keith Harris – Marketing Task Force  www.state.sc.us/forest

While this is only a partial list, it is a clear commitment of time and effort on behalf of our industry.  If you would like to share where and how you are involved in our industry, we would like to hear from you.  We would like to know which associations you believe are worthwhile to channel your energies.

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