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Fall 2001 Winter 2012
Jeremy Charlesworth could see the skepticism on his client’s face. She didn’t say it, but he knew what she was thinking: You’re wrong.
Alison Davis-Blake isn’t one for convention. Her quiet demeanor, questioning mind, and drive to excel have always set her apart. 
Signs mark the entrance: Production Area, Authorized Personnel Only. Inside, observers stand behind a line of caution tape, taking notes intently. In front of them a rumbling machine shuffles orange, green, and yellow balls along conveyor belts, through tubes, and down ramps.
It doesn’t take much to make you feel blue: gray clouds hanging low in the sky or buzzing fluorescent lights casting a cold, clinical pallor. Often the weeks after Christmas become the start of a bleak and seemingly endless winter. You’re pensive and it’s hard to function at work and at home.
In my career and my life I have found the key determinants to success include one’s ability to take on a challenge and adapt to change. Change comes in many forms: your responsibilities, your callings, and your addresses. 
I own two small companies. It’s hard to pay myself benefits, let alone all my employees. The first thing to look at is making sure they are paid a competitive wage, then add vacation/holidays and keep within reason. Next, they might need health insurance, but if the spouse is working elsewhere and is covered, we can sometimes eliminate it. Finally, you might look at adding tax deferred savings plans and insurance. Since both my companies are retail, we offer very steep discounts to employees. It has been my experience that most people working for small companies do not expect superb benefits. Also, in order to keep costs down, you must do a lot of shopping.
Over the next year, many of you will go through a performance review. your direct supervisor will evaluate the contribution that you have made to the success of the organization and help you develop a plan to build on your strengths and focus on opportunities you have to improve.
Several weeks ago, I traveled to the north side of Chicago to visit my son. I drove from downtown Chicago to Lincoln Park, where he lives. As I turned onto Clybourn Avenue, I suddenly encountered a scene that I hadn’t seen or thought of in years—the Clybourn Gospel Chapel.