Recent Articles

• More affordability lifts home sales

  Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

  As the cost of buying a home has begun to come down, home sales have begun to go up. The economics are not complicated, but they do speak to the tension between price and what buyers are able to pay that has constrained the housing market for the past year. For the moment, the factors behind that tension appear to be easing somewhat, which should encourage more buyers to enter the market in the coming months. After two months of declines, sales of existing homes catapulted 11.8 percent in February over January’s figures. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said it was the largest month-over-month gain since December 2015.

• Is paid parental leave worth it for your business?

  Mashaal Ryan Business Management, Services & Risk Management

  Most Americans would agree that both women and men should have paid parental leave after the birth of a child. About 8 in 10 (82 percent) say mothers should have paid maternity leave, and 69 percent agree about paid paternity leave. But businesses, especially small ones, struggle with the costs of it. Of course, it's all dependent on you and your resources. How would it work? What's the best way that your company can offer this for employees without it cutting into your profit margin?

• The sooner you start, the better off you’ll be

  Patrick Gleeson Business Management, Services & Risk Management

  Someday, you'll retire. When you do, how will you finance your retirement? And when should you start? You may think, "In a few years I'll start paying into a 401(k), IRA or Keogh. Right now, I'm paying off student loans, saving to buy a car for a commute and trying to get a little money set aside for emergencies. Beginning to invest for retirement can wait a few years, until I’ll have more money." If you haven't already started investing for your retirement, the best time to begin is now. The earlier you start, the better off you'll be. It makes a bigger difference than you may think.

• Looking to land classier clients? Follow the formula

  Fred Berns Business Management, Services & Risk Management

  In their quest to work with higher caliber clients, many small businesses play "follow the leader." They'd be much better off playing "follow the formula." You're unlikely to succeed if you copy the leaders in your field in your efforts to connect with more affluent clients. Marketing and networking exactly like other companies won’t help you get the results you want. That's because you make a great you, but a lousy somebody else. You'll have a far better chance of establishing long-term relationships with blue chip buyers if you implement this five-step formula.

• Growing the muscles of communication in healthcare

  Keith Carlson Medical & Allied Healthcare

  In most every aspect of healthcare, communication is key to positive patient outcomes, stellar teamwork, and the seamless operation of organizations and facilities of every size and type. A Tower of Babel scenario in a healthcare-related circumstance is never acceptable. How, why, and when we grow our individual and collective muscles of discourse and conversation are of utmost importance. If you, your colleagues, your leaders, or your employing institution itself are lacking in this regard, it's not too late to change that calculus for the better.

• Why board size matters

  Robert C. Harris Association Management

  The board table was set for 30. At each director's place there was a board packet and name tent card. When the meeting convened, there were 12 empty seats. Nearly half of the directors did not show up. They addressed the problem by reducing the size of a quorum from 50 to 40 percent, or only 12 people. In a different scenario, an association rented a convention center for the board meeting. The directors numbered more than 200. The things that matter the most about board size are governance efficiency and producing desired results.

• 7 common mistakes business owners make and how to avoid them

  Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk Management

  I've been in business for over 20 years and have seen my share of mistakes made by business owners — many that certainly could have been avoided. Here’s my list of common mistakes business owners make, along with advice on how to avoid following suit. For example, think about a job that you worked in that didn't work out. Was it because you didn't have the skills to do the job, or was it because your values did not align with the organization's?

• Strategies to embed social-emotional learning in schools

  Brian Stack Education

  In an EdSurge article, Giancarlo Brotto makes a strong case for why the future of education depends on social-emotional learning (SEL), which he sees as a critical indicator to predict college and career readiness. He writes, "social and emotional abilities are said to be indicators of how well a person adjusts to his or her environment, adapts to change and, ultimately, how successful she or he will be in life." Student affect and SEL are important skills and dispositions that schools must find consistent, deliberate ways to assess. As schools think about college and career readiness, they must know that the critical competencies for success are evolving.

• How HR can help with board diversity

  Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk Management

  When employees sitting around the table come from different backgrounds, generations and gender, opinions and approaches tend to vary. Those differences can spur creative conversations, unique solutions and lead to a competitive advantage. However, it is often difficult for any company to create more diversity when they have not actively pursued it in the past. HR can help address this need from the front line up to the boardroom — here's how.

• Machines, not workers wanted for Alibaba’s futuristic hotel

  Linchi Kwok Travel, Hospitality & Event Management

  Alibaba, one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world, recently debuted a new hotel prototype in Hangzhou, China, where machines provide the services. This hotel of the future is called FlyZoo. The 290-room property maximizes guest-machine interactions but minimizes guest-staff interactions. Travelers, for example, can book and check-in into a hotel room with the FlyZoo App, as many other hotels have already offered with their apps. What makes the FlyZoo App stand out is that travelers can choose the room they want to stay in, including the floor the room is on and the direction the room is facing.

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