
The Value of Customer-Centered Strategies
Putting clients first can ensure the longevity of your business
In those early days of Disneyland, Walt hired Van France to establish Disney University and hire and train the “cast” (employees) that would bring the theme park to life. France reinvented the training and development of employees with his carefully crafted Four Keys (now more commonly known as Crystal Clear Priorities, aka CCPs).

Plan Your 2017 Strategy Now
Entrepreneurs and business owners always need to be planning ahead
While we’re several months away from the deluge of articles and general business obsession over 2017 goals, plans and strategy, now is the ideal time to determine your first quarter goals and plans.

Where the Wild Things Are
Local conservation and rehabilitation nonprofits fight for the rights of wildlife
We often only extend care and concern to the domesticated animals that share our homes with us — but Mittens and Rover aren’t the ones in danger here.

Bee-ing Friendly in Our Yards
Home improvement chains offer consumers more bee-friendly plants
As Californians continue to opt for drought-tolerant landscaping, thus requiring less lawn and more plants outside a home, major home improvement chains are committing to selling bee-friendly plants that do not contain neonicotinoids, a widely-used insecticide.

Close to Home
Capital Region Family Business Center’s executive director on how family businesses can learn from one another
Since 2007, the nonprofit Capital Region Family Business Center has worked to help family-run businesses solve some of the unique challenges facing their companies. The organization recently took another step toward that goal by hiring Stella Premo as its first full-time, paid executive director. We talked to her about the ups and downs of running a family business.

Reflections From a First-Timer
Getting to the Golden 1 Center on opening night
I was getting more hesitant as the hours passed. Would I run into unsavory people? How crowded are we talking? And, being inherently conservative, I wondered about the cost.
I’m talking about my decision to take light rail for the first time … and doing so alone.

All Aspects of U.S. Food System Come Together for Farm Tank
Sacramento hosts inaugural event to address tough questions in the food system
When Sacramento declared itself the Farm-to-Fork Capital of America in 2012, it opened a floodgate of introspective conversations across the region. How do we truly lead in agriculture?

Roseville Courts Warwick University
Undergraduate campus will create an estimated $600 million economic impact over first decade
In fall 2018, Warwick University will become the first international university to open a new stand-alone college in the U.S. The British university hadn’t planned on this groundbreaking achievement. Rather, they were courted by Placer County and the City of Roseville to bring their program and expertise to the area.

Take It Easy
U.S. workers are taking less and less vacation — here’s what their employers are losing to the vacation gap
You probably need a vacation. Most of America does. Between 1976 and 2000, the average worker took roughly 20 vacation days annually, according to data from Project: Time Off. But as the economy buckled in 2008, so did our desire to flock to the beach, and in 2015, the number plunged nearly a full week lower, translating to 658 million unused vacation days.

Startup of the Month: ViVita Technologies
Medical device startup pumps innovation into replacement heart valves
A healthy human body is a fortress with guards at the ready to seize intruders. When under attack, these guards (antibodies) secrete chemicals that recruit and grow immune cells. The cells then seek and destroy the intruders (antigens) to protect the fortress.