Saturday, November 10, 2018

Three Ways to Motivate Your Employees


For more than five years, Geoff Block has served as the manager of RLB Squared, LLC, a South Carolina-based investment firm. In this capacity, Geoff Block oversees the day-to-day management of the firm and employees.

If you own or manage a company, you must keep your employees motivated if you want them to continue performing well. You can motivate employees by:

- Offering incentives. By implementing an incentive program at your company, you show your employees that you appreciate good work and encourage them to work well throughout the year. Incentive programs can take various forms to fit with your business. For example, you can cover part of the cost of employees getting additional credentials or education.

- Being communicative. Routine communication is often overlooked, but sharing new goals with your employees and showing how much you appreciate them is essential. Don’t focus on emails and newsletters; find time to speak with your employees face-to-face.

- Promoting advancement. When your employees know they are working toward something, they automatically feel motivated to accomplish more. Provide employees with training opportunities so they can learn the skills they will need in their new positions.

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Vintage Wines and Their Point of Comparison


A Tulane University business graduate, Geoff Block gained executive experience with Crown Growth Partners. He currently oversees the day-to-day operations of RLB Squared, LLC. Aside from managing this firm, Geoff Block enjoys fine dining and vintage wines

When two wines of the same variety are displayed in a wine store and one is more expensive than the other, it may be because the more expensive bottle is a vintage wine. The age of a bottle of wine often affects its price, particularly when it comes to red wines. Taste is altered as red wine ages because time reduces the tannin and acidity levels in the wine. 

Aside from processes and procedures that are controllable, the taste of vintage wine is greatly affected by an uncontrollable force — nature. The climate in a particular region where grapes grow has a huge impact on the outcome of the wine. During wet seasons, grapes don’t ripen at the time they were originally expected to ripen. That means the fruit harvested during a wet year might be mediocre when compared to fruit grown and harvested under normal climatic conditions. For this reason, even wines of the same label may taste differently from year to year.

Wine enthusiasts use the vintage chart as a general reference guide. The vintage chart contains information on the region where a wine was produced, the variety of grapes used in the wine, and the years of bottling. The chart also provides a rating. A certain wine may be rated as “superb” in one year and rated “very good” in another, thanks to those occasional uncontrollable forces.

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Tulane Forward Melvin Frazier Selected in 2018 NBA Draft


An experienced executive who formerly worked with Crown Growth Partners, Geoff Block has served as the manager of real estate investment firm RLB Squared since 2013. An alumnus of Tulane University, Geoff Block continues to support the school through regular donations to its athletics programs.

On June 21, 2018, Melvin Frazier became the first Tulane University basketball player to be selected in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft since 1997. Frazier, a junior and former star player at Higgins High School, was selected 35th overall by the Orlando Magic.

Frazier had a memorable campaign in 2017-18 as the Green Wave forward averaged 15.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game en route to winning the Most Improved Player for the American Athletic Conference. He averaged 11.5 points as a sophomore and 5.2 points as a freshman. Following the season, Frazier stood out at May's NBA Draft Combine as he registered a 40.5-inch vertical leap, which was second-highest among all forwards.

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Eligibility Requirements for Lowcountry Strong Support


Geoff Block is an accomplished financial services provider who joined RLB Squared, LLC, in Bluffton, South Carolina, as manager following his tenure at Crown Growth Partners. In addition to his work at RLB Squared, Geoff Block engages with numerous charitable organizations, such as the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry.

A registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, or Lowcountry Strong, works with families and community members throughout Beaufort and Jasper counties with a mission of benefitting in-need individuals, particularly those impacted by natural disasters.

Due to limited resources and high demand, Lowcountry Strong services are only available to eligible individuals. To begin, only full-time residents living in either Beaufort or Jasper are eligible. Individuals are only considered for Lowcountry Strong support if their financial needs can be viewed as critical, typically as a result of considerable damage to their place of residence. A family may also be eligible for support if their overall quality of life has greatly suffered.

Finally, Lowcountry Strong services have been designed to benefit the region’s most at-risk families. Households with annual incomes surpassing $85,000 generally are not accepted into the program, though exceptions can be made for families in extreme situations.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Russell Wilson Traded to New York Yankees


A former executive with Crown Growth Partners, Geoff Block serves as the manager of RLB Squared, LLC, where he oversees the company's extensive portfolio of hedge funds and real estate. Beyond his professional pursuits, Geoff Block is an avid fan of the Major League Baseball (MLB) New York Yankees.

In February, the Yankees traded for Texas Rangers’ Russell Wilson, one of the most high-profile players in all of professional sports. Wilson was drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft and played briefly for the Colorado Rockies minor league system before his rights were acquired by the Rangers, but he is best known for his abilities on the football field.

Wilson has been the starting quarterback of the NFL Seattle Seahawks since 2012 and owns a career win-loss-tie record of 65-30-1 to go along with 161 touchdowns and 22,176 passing yards. He's a four-time Pro Bowl player and won a Super Bowl in 2013. Although he confirmed he has no plans to give up football, Wilson will attend Yankees spring training and share a dugout with Yankees stars Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Lionel Richie - American Hitmaker


After success on Wall Street with Crown Growth Partners, Geoff Block turned his attention to managing his family’s holdings through his RLB Squared company. Geoff Block has numerous outside interests, including the music of singer-songwriter Lionel Richie.

Born in 1949 in historic Tuskegee, Alabama, Richie helped found the Commodores, one of the top rhythm and blues acts of the 1970s. Playing the saxophone and singing, he also wrote such hits as “Easy” and “Three Times a Lady.”

Richie went solo in 1980. His song “Endless Love” became a hit duet with Diana Ross, and his 1982 self-titled album climbed the Billboard charts and earned him a Grammy for best male pop vocalist. His next album, Can’t Slow Down (1984), introduced his popular song “All Night Long” and won Richie a best-album Grammy.

Richie added to his fame by co-authoring (with Michael Jackson) the humanitarian hit “We Are the World.” His success continued with 1986’s album Dancing on the Ceiling, a four-million copy bestseller.

Setbacks such as his father’s death and a messy divorce interrupted Richie’s career until the release of Louder Than Words in 1996. Two other works followed, Renaissance (2000) and Coming Home (2006). He returned to top album status with Tuskegee (2012), a country CD in which he collaborated with Jennifer Nettles and Willie Nelson. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honored Richie for his lifetime achievement in December, 2017.