The organizational effects of health care coverage decisions
To provide or not to provide? That is the most pressing health insurance question facing companies across the country this year. As implementation of the Affordable Care Act moves forward, many businesses are making strategic decisions regarding health care benefits. Those that have sponsored health insurance for years are now considering dropping coverage and reallocating […]
How fund investors fare when attempting to time the market
The performance of the average mutual fund, exchange-traded fund (ETF) and hedge fund investor lags the performance of their funds. “The average fund investor loses money by engaging in active investment timing,” says Marco Pagani, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Finance and Interim MBA Director of the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business at San […]
How to get real about your emotional risk tolerance
The current market is making some investors question their allocation strategies amid concerns of volatile equity markets and where bonds might go. Your portfolio strategy, however, needs to be about how you want to be positioned in the market for the long haul, taking into account your financial risk capacity and emotional risk tolerance, says […]
How to decide financing options in the current market environment
Much of the country is still recovering from the recession, making it difficult for companies to secure financing. Northern California, however, is an exception. “It’s definitely a bifurcated market right now. The environment for financing is very robust here in Silicon Valley and other tech hubs,” says Kelly Cook, senior vice president and market manager […]
Annalee Saxenian: Look beyond computer science to build your data science team
You know that you need to harness your data to stay competitive, but where will you find these data scientists? Before rushing to hire an army of computer science candidates with doctorates, understand what successful data science teams do. Data scientists write code that applies complex algorithms to analyze and transform data into actionable insights, […]
Tim Connor: Four key elements to guide a truly integrated marketing campaign
Think back to your school days. You may remember an exceptional teacher who got through to you — one who helped you make a solid connection, clarifying the material until you arrived at that “ah-ha” moment. Powerful, meaningful connections like these are the essence of successful marketing campaigns. But it takes more than a creative […]
Jerry McLaughlin: Why Amazon may not be the right model for your business
Not long ago, I went to Wal-Mart with my daughter. The store had certainly changed from the days of Mr. Sam Walton. Piles of discarded clothes languished in shopping carts outside the dressing room. Items were in disarray aisle after aisle. It took several tries to get help from distracted associates. Later that day, I […]
Building Stronger Communities: Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland
Remaining relevant in a changing world: Learning from the Girl Scout’s long-term success How can nonprofit operations be relevant to companies not in the same sector? The answer is simple — successful businesses share commonalities regardless of how they are defined. Gone are the days when any organization, nonprofit or otherwise, can exist, let alone […]
Matthew Figgie & Rick Solon: Author shares advice on how to run a company as a street vendor would
In his book “What the CEO Wants You to Know,” Ram Charan shares the universal laws of business success that it doesn’t matter whether you are selling from a fruit stand or running a Fortune 500 company, the same basic fundamentals dating back to his days working in the family shoe shop in India still […]
Transparency in purchasing benefits, the time has come
The employee benefit procurement process, sometimes called marketing, has changed little over the past 25 years. This continues to frustrate many organizations looking for transparency, and potential cost savings, when procuring life, disability stop loss, dental, vision or pharmacy benefit management coverage. Formal Requests for Proposals (RFP) may travel by email, but the underlying process […]