Jason Bowman, the owner of Radford Auto Center is truly an example of an organization willing to accept the tides of Change and Innovation well before the waves come crashing down organizations unwilling to recognize inevitable change. Let’s face it, “the times are a changing.” The economy is in recession, fuel costs are up, budgets are down as a result organizations are forced to change the way they do business. Whether that is cutting costs through eliminating middle management positions, eliminating work force, or choosing to cease existence as a business….change is inevitable. Radford Auto Center is a great example of a business foreseeing such economical trends. Instead of waiting for these predictions to affects their business, Jason Bowman is ahead of the learning curve by becoming the first recognized “Going Green” Auto Center in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The proposal for Google’s new fiber optic network has become quite the high school homecoming queen election, everyone making claims for why their city deserves to make the final court. Cities like Blacksburg, VA, Topeka, KS, Buffalo, NY, Ann Arbor, MI are amongst thousands of cities bidding for Google to bring their experimental futuristic networks to a town near you. And why not? Google’s fiber optic networks proclaim unthinkable internet capabilities. Details of the network remain unclear, however Google’s fiber-optic networks would deliver data at 1 gigabit per second to homes, businesses and school. That would be roughly 50 to 300 times faster than the DSL, cable and fiber optics connecting most U.S. homes to the web today.

The New River Valley, “Go Green” organization is an organization that recruits local businesses in the NRV area to become more eco-friendly organizations. This past February, eight local organizations were recognized from go green NRV: Radford Auto Center, Wall Residences, Mountain Lake Hotel & Conservancy, Service Master Commercial Cleaning, Environmental Services and Consulting, East Coasters, Tuck Chiropractic, and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.

Of all these recognized businesses, Jason Bowman, the owner of Radford Auto Center is truly an example of an organization willing to accept the tides of Change and Innovation well before the waves come crashing down on organizations unwilling to recognize inevitable change. Let’s face it, “the times are a changing.” The economy is in recession, fuel costs are up, budgets are down as a result organizations are forced to change the way they do business. Whether that is cutting costs through eliminating middle management positions, eliminating work force, or ceasing to exist as a business….change is inevitable. Radford Auto Center is a great example of a business foreseeing such economical trends. Instead of waiting for such trends to affect his business, Jason Bowman is ahead of the learning curve by becoming the first recognized “Going Green” Auto Center in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

While Mr. Bowman’s business has just recently recognized as green friendly, it is a lifestyle he has been living since returning from the War about a decade ago. “Seeing the destruction man can cause through violence and war,” made him an environmentally conscious man. Upon returning, Jason opened up Radford Auto Center in 2001 with aspirations to make his auto center as self sustainable as possible. Some of the things that have been done include: Installing roof sun lights to allow more sunlight to enter his shop, increasing the temperature and light thus allowing him to save on heating and light costs. Furthermore, this unique Auto Center has installed insulated windows and doors for the same effect.

With only four employees all living about half an hour away, Jason and his co-workers all car pool to work together. Normally, it would take a total of 4 hours driving time if each employee drove to and from work separately. With car pooling, Radford Auto Center is able to transport all employees to and from work in 1 hour of driving time.

Radford Auto goes out of their way to recycle materials. Jason takes all paper and cardboard recyclables to a nearby recycling plant in Radford, VA. Furthermore, Mr. Bowman has also caught on to the digital revolution no longer using hard copy paper as a form of receipt or appointment reminders. “Most of the transactions are done via email,” drastically decreasing the use of printing paper and ink. With paper and ink costs it has become to costly to do business practices strictly through hard copies, and going digital is a clear way to save money.

At one time, the organization had to ship their tools and parts out of house in order to degrease and clean them properly. The traveling costs to clean such items proves to be costly after some time. To counter this, Jason purchased his own self generated cleaning system to properly handle and clean tools effectively. Not only is Radford Auto saving money because they no longer have to ship their parts out of house but this tool cleaner and all electricity in the shop is run through a self generated electrical system.

Certainly, one of the most advanced technologies Jason and his colleagues have employed is installing a self generated electrical system. This system allows Radford Auto to reuse what was once useless oil and transmission fluid from customers’ car and regenerate the recycled lube into electricity. Such innovations have decreased Jason’s electricity cost by almost a grand. During peak winter hours, he would spend about $1,000 a month in electricity, however with this system their costs have gone below a $100 a month.

The extent to which Radford Auto Center is going green is certainly phenomenal and Mr. Bowman encourages other organizations to participate with NRV Go Green. Not only will your organization gain positive exposure by going green but they will be taking their part in preserving the environment. Jason predicts such green concepts will be mandatory requirements for businesses. Resources will run dry and, “I foresee such green concepts as being required by the government one day.” Mr. Bowman and Radford Auto are well above the learning curve in this regard. Through such innovations, Radford Auto is certainly going to succeed as an organization while others unwilling to change will face great challenges in playing catch up.

Going green is a win/win situation, by becoming more sustainable his business is cutting costs while business is picking up from the positive feedback he’s receiving. And ultimately, he’s preserving the environment one step at a time.

Danny’s presentation on the Music Industry in class Monday got me thinking about the potential of the Pay What You Want Model. I could really see the Pay What You Want Model taking off as a paradigm and evolving into a gratuity type system. Imagine going to your favorite artist’s website, purchasing they’re music, and much like tipping your server at a restaurant leave the amount you feel you owe for the services being provided to you…truly revolutionary.

As Spring Break approaches I can’t help but to think of how this annual week of debauchery is different from years past. Spring break just doesn’t seem to have the glory it once had in the MTV Daytona beach days. Unpredictable travel delays, costs, annoying airports, and unstable and unsafe countries housing popular spring break hot spots. Indeed, traveling to your destination can be more of a hassle than a vacation….o and don’t forget your passport. Certainly, the recession, airliners terrorist attacks, and drug cartels have changed the spring break experience. Rather than reflect on how this honored college tradition has changed, I will offer some innovate spring break tips on how to keep your vacation safe, inexpensive, convenient, and care free.

For the first time in months, Tiger Woods will break his silence with the press as he announced Tuesday he will hold a press conference Friday morning.The events that have unraveled since his Buick SUV crashed into a fire hydrant some three months ago have transformed the public perception of a man who was once looked upon as an American idol.To think, last January Woods gave a speech at Obama’s Inauguration.

Woods fall from fame is obvious and arguably his poor communication strategies throughout his fallout are to blame.As a sports figure, Tiger has certainly proven his ability in the realm of golf earning millions.However, the majority of Woods’ income comes from endorsements.Accenture, Gatorade, and Buick amongst others have dropped Tiger as an endorser costing the golf super star millions.These organizations determined that they didn’t want to be involved with the image and transgressions Woods is now associated with.

The way in which Woods has managed media relations during this crisis has been less than flattering.Furthermore, the limitations he has placed on tomorrow’s press statement restrict journalism. The conference is invitation only for reporters who likely have vested interest and no questions will be taken. It is clear, Woods will continue to have limited contact with the press.People have questions and Woods will not give any answers.By choosing not to open up to the media and only offering limited information to the press, Woods, is only giving his critics more reason to drag him down with today’s bull dog press.

Woods image may be tarnished, but his legacy has yet to be determined.Ultimately, Tiger will let his skills on the golf course do the talking but by doing so he is prolonging a crisis that could have been resolved with effective communication tactics.The way Tiger has secluded himself has cause the situation to become increasingly publicized.I’m not saying Tiger should have came out with a tell all book by now.However, Tiger should have opened up to the media and offered some more information in front of the camera much sooner. By waiting so long to come out, Tiger appears artificial and insincere. The information communicated by Tiger will be as pre scripted speech written by his lawyers and publicists. A more timely and sincere response from Woods would have saved face and perhaps prevented some of his endorsers from dropping him.