Tight Lips & Closed Doors
Keeping secrets stifles success
The free flow of ideas creates a culture of innovation: sparking new ideas, kickstarting creative problem solving, fostering collaboration and creating synergy between related projects and ideas.
#CleansePlease
How to detox your social media strategy for increased engagement and better outcomes
Some of social media’s best qualities are also the very elements that contribute to its complexity: It is immediate, constantly updated, flexible and inclusive. Connecting with audiences in real-time is great — so long as you have the ability to monitor and respond in real time.
Something Fishy in Sacramento
Community-supported fishery opens pick-up site in Oak Park
The next big splash in local food is coming from the ocean. Anna Larsen’s subscription fish box company, Siren Fish Co. keeps an eye on sustainability.
Do Millennials Hate Government?
Assemblymember Matt Dababneh on how he appeals to young voters
With membership in both major political parties in freefall, it should come as no surprise that Dems and Republicans are trying desperately to get the attention of millennials, America’s 82-million strong contingent of mostly 20-somethings. But all the shiny bells, whistles and “we get you” come-ons don’t seem to be doing much good. Millennials remain the prettiest girl not at the party.
Burn Notice
Biomass is coming under fire for polluting the air and threatening wild forests. But is the controversy warranted?
Much of the 8 million tons of woody debris that facilities burn each year is material that would probably burn in open fields if there wasn’t an energy-producing alternative. Since the smokestacks on a biomass plant include filtering apparatuses that can remove some pollutants from the emissions, the industry — which has helped to phase out open burning of agricultural waste — has been credited as an overall boon to California’s air quality.
Keeping IT Confidential
Which data is opened and which stays closed
“It’s not secret data,” says West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon. “It’s already held by the government; the data sets are all subject to the Freedom of Information Act. It’s not private, confidential data. It’s already open to the public, but it’s just not in any usable form.”
The Four Commandments of the Good-Jobs Strategy
How well-paying businesses make it work on the floor and at the bank
Judging by prevailing retail practices, somewhere etched in stone is this edict: “To slay thy competition thou shalt undercut on labor costs.”
But a few apostate companies have strayed from that decree by offering decent wages, good benefits and predictable work schedules. Shockingly, the wayward are prospering.
Be Careful How You Classify
How to avoid wage litigation in the age of the $10 hour
For California labor lawyers, the 2012 Brinker v. Superior Court ruling was something akin to Brown v. Board or Roe v. Wade. In a case involving meal and rest breaks for hourly employees, the court ruled that businesses must have a policy giving workers those breaks — but they don’t have to ensure that staff actually take them. It seemed like near-total victory for business.
Crüze Control
Driving authentic brand development in a crowded mobile food scene
This is Chef Breedlove’s third attempt, more or less, at branding a mobile food business, and this time he’s letting his personality and mad-scientist approach to mobile food define the brand.
The Hard Truth on Trust
Leaders, trust starts at the top
Trust is often at the heart of what goes right and what goes wrong. Strong trust leads to constructive conflict while poor trust invites elephants into the room. When a company has a culture of trust, people keep their commitments. In its absence, team members become unreliable and productivity drops.