2020 Spring Conference Proceedings

SP20-01 Annual Business Meeting
This video is only available to members; join GBA today to watch it.

During this meeting, our current President Arthur G. Hoffmann, P.E., D.GE. (Gannett Fleming, Inc.) and President-Elect Kenneth R. Johnson (GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.) share their thoughts on GBA and its role in helping members manage risk and optimize performance during these challenging times. We also officially elect and transition to our new Board of Directors. (47 minutes)

SP20-02 The Return of the Economist: The Impact of an Unprecedented COVID-19 Supply Shock
This video is only available to members; join GBA today to watch it.

Coming into 2020, the U.S. economy enjoyed plentiful momentum. Job growth remained brisk, consumer spending robust, and the stock market raced higher. But hidden underneath the luster of the lengthiest expansion in American history was a set of vulnerabilities. The fragility took the form of a stock market “priced to perfection” as well as rising public and private indebtedness. The COVID-19-induced supply shock has exposed those fragilities, driving the economy into a deep recession. The good news is that recoveries from such episodes tend to be sharp. Anirban Basu, MPP, MA, JD, Chairman and CEO (Sage Policy Group, Inc.) both informs and entertains as he speaks to an unusually interesting and challenging period in American economic history. (84 minutes)

SP20-03 Planning, Preparing and Executing for the Looming Recession
This video is only available to members; join GBA today to watch it.

This presentation expands upon the What, When, Where, Who, Why and How of planning, preparing, and executing for a future recession. What should be done? When should needed actions occur? Where within your organization should this occur? Who should be the key people involved? Why is it important? How should this be completed? Lee James, CPA, CBI, CMC®, F.GBA (Lee James & Associates, Inc.) shares with you best practices and lessons learned from prior recessions; challenges and specifics to help you be better prepared; and the importance of being proactive in planning, preparing, and executing to best survive and thrive through a recession. Everyone will benefit from this presentation. (76 minutes)

SP20-04 Negotiate It! How to Crush Your Fears, Develop Your Negotiation Muscle, and Gain Power in the Workplace
This video is only available to members; join GBA today to watch it.

Negotiation is a part of daily life – whether it’s formal or informal. Preparing for the next downturn means having your negotiation skills sharpened and ready! E. Lynn Price, J.D. (Lynn Price Consulting, LLC) teaches you how to apply the “Formula of the Three R’s:” a quick and effective way to see positive results with your negotiations at all levels. You learn when you should negotiate, how to overcome negotiation fears, and how to avoid common pitfalls. You learn how to develop the confidence to defend your position, respond to pushback, and negotiate both strategically and efficiently. This presentation helps you to be able to confidently adopt the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Get” philosophy so you are always encouraged to “Make the Ask.” (65 minutes)

SP20-05 Recession Tune-Up (Overhaul)
This video is only available to members; join GBA today to watch it.

The last few years have been boom times for many GBA firms. Experience suggests that the business environment is cyclical, and wow did the conditions just change! Tune-ups are best done before a breakdown, but better late than never. The best practices of a tune-up should enable your firm to weather the changing business season in a timely, responsible, and empathetic manner. During this presentation, Guy Marcozzi, P.E., LEED AP BD+C, F.ASCE (Duffield Associates, Inc.) shares a tool kit for your business tune up which includes considerations in aligning your team and business practices and developing an emotional bank to draw from while making hard decisions. Make the appointment to tune up your business for a healthy recovery. (82 minutes)

SP20-06 Gripped by COVID-19 – An Economic and Geopolitical Outlook Past the Media Headlines
This video is only available to members; join GBA today to watch it.

Rarely have Americans confronted so much uncertainty about the future. They have been gripped by a deadly virus (Covid-19) that has shut down economic activity and threatens to plunge the nation into recession, if not something worse. There are also growing fears the damage caused by this lingering pathogen could permanently alter the economic and business landscape. If that’s not enough to ponder, the nation faces a presidential election this fall, and its outcome will also shape the direction of the economy in 2021 and 2022. Last, and certainly not least, the US and other nations are about to face a debt bubble unlike anything seen before.
Simply put, we are at a defining moment in history, one that will affect future economic growth, employment, trade, and interest rates. In the midst of all this volatility is the sobering fact that corporate managers, investors, and households need to make decisions daily and be able to justify them. Doing so, however, will require tossing out the old rules and forecast models to make way for a more agile framework on how to operate in this highly challenging environment. Bernard Baumohl, Chief Global Economist (The Economic Outlook Group, LLC) shows us how. (90 minutes)