Darren Ragle is the former art director of Comstock’s magazine.
By this person
True Detection
Anpac Bio — a medtech company building its U.S. headquarters in Sacramento — makes a bold claim to revolutionize cancer screening
But Anpac Bio’s major innovation is not about where, but when. Catching cancer in the earliest stages has been Yu’s goal since the company launched in 2010. With so much medical research focused on treatment and imaging, he set his sights on early detection as the key to prevention. His ideas were unconventional.
In The Blue
The cost of depression hits hard, but the good news — for staff and CEOs alike — is that businesses are getting proactive in their approach to it
While many of us are blissfully unaware of depression’s prominence in the workplace, those in HR, who are on the frontlines and can see the disease’s broader impact, have a more clear-eyed perspective.
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.
The Golden Promise
Most sports economists dismiss the idea that new stadiums boost local economies, but there are reasons to think the Golden 1 Center could be different
When Oleg Kaganovich was growing up in Michigan in the 1980s and early ’90s, his city of Grand Rapids was suffering the doughnut effect then typical of downtowns everywhere: Shoppers and residents were fleeing for the suburbs. By 1990, fewer than one in 10 residents shopped regularly downtown, a drop from about one in three in the early 1960s, according to a local newspaper.
Gone Cray
Northern California has been overrun by an invasive predatory crustacean that is fundamentally changing our environment — the good news is, they’re delicious
How many generations does it take to belong somewhere? For the people born on U.S. soil, the law is pretty clear: only one. A pity then is the plight of the humble signal crayfish, pacifastacus leniusculus, who despite getting on more comfortably than even humans in the gentle climes of Northern California, is, and will seemingly always be, invasive.
After the Fact
Six years after his long-time accountant was sent to prison for fraud, one client looks for answers
Bill Murray (not that one) was at the top of his game, so to speak, until an epic fall from grace. In December 2009, the 54-year-old tax accountant was charged with defrauding more than 50 clients of his Sacramento firm, Murray & Young Accountancy, out of more than $13.3 million. He subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 19.5 years in federal prison. The saga played out like a reality TV crime drama, from beginning to end.
The Strong, Silent Type
What secret powers your introverted employees may have — and how to unleash them.
No job is only a job. You are paid to be competent and to get your work done, sure. But there are countless social interactions that shade the way you’re evaluated: chit-chat on the elevator, poise in a meeting, even the stories you tell (or don’t tell) over happy hour. Connections are the key to raises, promotions and job offers.
The Ice Man
Building up from the ashes
After plans for a massive upgrade to the historic Crystal Ice and Cold Storage building went up in smoke, Mike Heller and his team were forced back to the drawing board — here’s how they forged ahead.
Buzzwords: Parity
The complexities of wage parity are beyond equal pay for equal work
We’ll be hearing a whole lot of buzz about wage parity this year — in part because groundbreaking research conducted by New York University, University of Pennsylvania and the University of Haifa in Israel identifies flat-out gender bias as the elephant in the room affecting wage parity. This new study, titled “Occupational Feminization and Pay,” is the single most comprehensive study on wage parity in the U.S. to date.
In Safe Hands
What the leaders of Sacramento’s health care system have to say about care quality and gender equality
Of the four largest private employers in the region, three of them are health systems — Kaiser (10,000 employees), Sutter (9,000) and Dignity Health (7,000). And whether it’s a new trend, a bit of gender-equity karma or just a wonderful coincidence, in this critical sector of the economy, all four of the region’s health centers are led by female executives.
Buzzwords: Synergy
If allowed to go unchecked, it could be the downfall of your team
Synergy, in the common lexicon, is the magic that makes collaborations more efficient, effective and profitable than individualized efforts. It originates from the Latin word synergia,meaning “cooperation.” You’re most likely to hear it used to describe the potential benefits of a collaborative or combined effort, like a strategic partnership, merger and acquisition, creative brainstorming session or co-branding effort.
Is it Time to Off-Board a Client?
How to create a clear transition from client to former client
When your company closes a new client, the last thing you might be thinking is how you’re going to eventually close out the contract, too. But not matter what you sell, every business needs this departure system in place if you’re going to have clean transitions and decrease stress.
Buzzwords: Millennial
Throwing a wide net won't help you market to this coveted demographic
The millennial generation’s sheer numbers, unprecedented spending power, and knack for radically influencing progressive trends and cultural shifts has made them a highly sought after target market. While millennials are currently the single largest generation to date, making up an entire quarter of the population, they’re also the most diverse generation this country has ever seen, making them far more difficult to target as a collective whole.
How to Exit Gracefully
4 tips for leaving a job on good terms
Long gone are the days of employees spending 40 years in service to the same company. Some experts now say that you should plan to change employment every three to five years to continue to advance and grow. Whenever it comes time to leave your job, you’ll want to make a graceful exit both as a professional courtesy and in consideration of your reputation.
The Dean Can Read Your Mind
Pierre Balthazard has spent years studying the brains of top bosses and now, he says he can neuro-train the brain into better leadership
Imagine a world where you’re hooked to a system of electrodes that scans your skull, hunts for patterns, and then scores your IQ, emotional intelligence, ability to communicate, capacity for judgment and potential to be a good leader. Then imagine that the therapist says, “The bad news is that your score should be higher. The good news is that I can get it there by helping you physically change your brain.”
Buzzwords: Ideation
Why is the buzz all about the ideation phase?
Ideation is the process of generating new ideas through open-minded brainstorming. Ideation is exciting, it’s creative, and it’s a great teambuilding activity.
Getting it Right, Right Away
Without a clear onboarding process, you risk losing new business
Sales and marketing can feel like a never ending marathon — as soon as you reach the finish line with one lead, there’s another sale to close. Even when all your hard work results in new sales, many businesses fumble when they pass the baton to engaging and welcoming the new client. The lack of a solid onboarding strategy can result in a rocky start to your relationship with clients, increased requests for refunds and decreased confidence in your business.
Buzzwords: Authenticity
Don't fake it
There’s a whole lot of buzz lately about authenticity: authentic leadership styles, authentic brands, authentic values, authentic marketing and advertising … and on and on. By definition, something is authentic if it is genuine, real, of unquestionable origin, not faked or copied, verifiable and trustworthy.
Horrible Bosses
Bad managers lead to bad employees — and a lot of wasted money
Studies show that the problem isn’t bad workers as much as bad bosses, who aren’t just a nuisance — they’re expensive. They cost a company productivity and turnover. Yet for some reason they’re being hired again and again. So why are we so rotten at hiring leaders, and how can we change?