New and refurbished buildings
are nice, but their price tags illustrate a challenge facing virtually every American college. “I’m a business professor by train-
ing,” Stimpert says. “I think the business model around higher education is very challenging.” The enterprise is, as Stim- pert points out, “very labor intensive.” That is particularly true at a small
liberal-arts college with a student-to- faculty ratio of 10-to-1. “The big change over the last 20, 30 years is that colleges have also become very capital intensive, too,” Stimpert says. Technology, labs, athletic facilities
— are all expensive, he says, and that means a modern college needs a diverse stream of revenue. Tuition and fees must be supplemented through endowments and fundraising campaigns, so a modern college president must be adept at rain- making as well as scholarship. All that seems to come together for
Stimpert, who says Hampden-Sydney will distinguish itself in the marketplace by pro- viding a better college experience for young men than they can find anywhere else.
Greg Danahy of Roanoke, a 2008 graduate, says professors are invested in their students.
“You go into these jobs because you
want to make a difference,” Stimpert says. “I think there is nothing more valuable
Create a keepsake Time
Order an attractive plaque of your article or advertisement.
Whether you are celebrating an award or special recognition...
S
VirginiaBusiness.com
or cre youryo
than educating young people, preparing young people to go on to have lives of consequence.”
VIRGINIA’S SOURCE FOR BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
■ Best Places to Work: TOP MIDSIZE EMPLOYER for a life
Best Places to Work offer flexible schedules
FEBRUARY 2017 $4.50 61 Construction
gets back on track
76 Commitment
to women’s education
80 Coffee makes Suffolk perk
Growing well F
rom day one, Dynamis Inc. founders John Milam and John Braun were passionate
about building a company that emphasizes the well-being of employees. “We work hard every day to keep our people happy so they want to be here,” says Milam, the company’s CEO. Braun is Dynamis’ president. The Fairfax-based company
custom designs software for inci- dent response and management systems. Its main customers are the U.S. departments of Defense and Homeland Security. Dynamis has about 50 employees in loca- tions ranging from Hawaii to Germany. Before they started the company in 2008, Milam had been a
defense consultant, and Braun was a legislative consultant. “The services we provide are high-end ana lytics,” Milam says. “We had clients that needed the kind of analytical support that was creative and flexible.” The company provides decision support for its customers. “Our
customers have to make decisions such as what to do, how to do it and when to do it,” Milam says. “We help them with those decisions.” The company is trying to increase its international business.
One of its customers is the Brazilian government. It used a Dynamis information management system in planning logistics and keeping track of first responders during three major events — the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Summer Olympics and the July visit of Pope Francis. “It gives them an operating picture of all the venues they
want to defend,” Milam says of the software. “They have a visual understanding of where their threats are. They now have a national incident management command and control system.” The Belgian Interior Ministry recently chose Dynamis to
develop a customized nationwide incident and crisis management system based on the company’s Cobra platform. Cobra software tools support facility operations and help manage special events, emergencies and disasters. The company expected to end 2016 with about $25 million in
revenue. “[In 2017,] we are looking at $30 million,” Milam says. Milam and Braun view their growing revenue as a result of
happy employees doing their best work. The company has been on the Best Places list four times since 2011. “We don’t believe in work/ life balance because that pits work against life. We believe in work/
Photo by Mark Rhodes
Company puts an emphasis on keeping employees happy by Joan Tupponce
John Braun is president of Fairfax-based Dynamis.
life integration,” Milam says.
He and Braun made
a decision early on not to grow rapidly but to grow well. “We wanted to have a definitive culture and to build the back-office functions so when we got successful on the business development side, we could execute our contracts,” Milam says.
To improve employee skills, Dynamis created the School of
Athens, a forum for training and professional development. “We are trying to create a school where people can learn enough about themselves and the business to become thought leaders in our community,” says Milam, noting Dynamis is an ancient Greek word meaning heart, drive and spirit. The school provides sessions, mostly taught by employees, on
subjects ranging from corporate goals and values to technical skills. The company also has a mentoring program where employees are coached either one-on-one or in group sessions. “We spend time talking about what we do, soliciting feedback on questions such as: Is the work interesting, is it challenging?” Milam says.
Many discussions take place in The Pit, an Milam
open semi-circle area at the company’s headquarters with six big, easy chairs and a white board. “We sit together and discuss issues of interest or concern,” Milam says. “We talk about everything from a project someone is working on to getting the best interest rate for your home.” The company’s benefit package includes a
tuition reimbursement plan and a wellness program. A personal trainer comes in weekly to meet with employees, and the company also provides a masseuse as needed. Milam believes management’s job is to make sure employees are
happy in their work. “If you have an employee with something out of whack, the manager has to work on it,” he says. The company’s 10,000-square-foot headquarters has an addi-
tional benefit for employees. “The best thing about this building is that it has a veranda on one side with a table, deck, chairs, etc.,” says Milam. “A lot of people go out there and work. We have a lot of meetings out there. It’s a relaxing atmosphere.”
www.VirginiaBusiness.com VIRGINIA BUSINESS 39
2017 Best Places To Work In Virginia DYNAMIS Presented by Virginia Business - February 2017
r creating a presentation of our company’s article...
go to our website at
www.virginiabusiness.newskeepsake.com to place your order. We also offer reprints. Contact Kevin Dick at 804.225.0433 or
kdick@va-business.com Photo by Don Petersen
www.VirginiaBusiness.com VIRGINIA BUSINESS 61
Andre
degrees, that p exception rather than the rule, says Jim Andre, director of Middle College and Adult Career Services.
After getting their GEDs, many students immediately go to work or join the mili- tary. In response to that trend, “the focus has moved to: ‘What can we do to help individuals coming through this program get obs Ho d
t
off he em lloyeryers in u re ion in tr to b readready? ”y?’
t joj b ?H w do w mee e emp o ers wo kforc By
our regi p yo n ang du t Midd e
fo ffree), ege ar
or ree),Andrendr belliieve communit lleges ar hee h lp n to of
elpini g to buiuildld the d
of hethe uture “T erh e ar out h
Middlel Co leollege wh ch they an t en eves community co -coll- orkfo c
Byma hing up ou g dullts withwith l ge (whiic
tt
hey can a tend he workforcer e
futur .e. Ther are a lolot of yf oungung grow ng number any k nd o
s ut t erehere, a growiin number, an kind f ll
The money p
get jobs? How do we meet the demands o the mploy s in our r gion inin training the workforce to e atctch
qualifies students for mo and-pull” job in logistics exposure to te to he field of oglog ond home to a d
PluP us nstructo ons
connectio she says.
rtn r
and lol catc ted at h cross inte states,tes, there are jobe obs l s, iinstructors he
an int rersta
Richmond home t a the here
o le
de s
bs
connecti n wiithw th emplompl y sh says
the busiu ine s com ne
par nerships and grant s es
h lple p tstu oy
E fiield,
MiiMddlledd e Coll egel ge ha las long enjoyed pa t e ships nd ran support from h b s n ss mmun y, addsWashko. lOne F a c al
o munity dd Wa ko. inan
g enjjo e ds
t
in nciial Corp.o p ,Vrginiairgiirgi d iill I dIndust iries a d
g nia nd yed fm C
eep ro
career, instead of just tryin says Mary Jo Washko, who Middle College program at For instance, Washko or
ore s “I.“I
with everything they need to complete a short-term, workforce-training pr gro
amgram.am. “We want to help them workwork towards a ng
to in ngniing pro d a ng
finish high school. Stud class for a h fhalf a d y Thursday.
fini
n sh hig las f
gh s ayMond y through onda thr ugro gh
ot of our students don’t have pport systems,” says Washko. f the students have children a d re issues, and others will be the heir families to graduate from
nd
hool. e new pilot program for Midd e includes several components: and basic skills preparation and g, workforce training and testing
d
b s t kets an i l
ck
ma erials and t st By n egr
nd
ships and p og
opp rt
bu tiic t a d frf ee m t rials and testin
college and workforce readiness exposureure activities, digital and financial literacy, e parking and class
g,, s
g d te tiing
ffees.ees
By i integ ating education, partner- s and career pathways, Washko says the pr gram gives students a “fantastic pportun y.iity”
rtner M ore greag ees T.“The
h stafff , the teach- to s e
ee you faii u a ll. le
V
I
R
G
I
O
N
I
A
O
B
I
U
N
E
2017
S
S
P
L
T
A
S
W
R
K
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
