Startup of the Month: HomeZada
A cloud-based platform to get your house in order
HomeZada is more than digital storage for insurance purposes. The comprehensive solution helps long-time homeowners and new buyers maintain and manage their budgets, plans and possessions online.
When High Hopes Crash
What to do when a good hire makes bad on a big promise
I hired a new business development director because she promised she could bring a specific new client on board. It’s been six months, and it’s pretty clear that the client is not happening. She’s done a great job otherwise, but I feel duped. What can I do?
More Asking, Less Telling
How you talk to your employees matters
Quality communication goes far beyond organizational structures, clear directives and efficient systems. Time and again, I’ve watched highly effective teams crumble due to a lack of effective dialogue. And that’s because the most successful way to engage and improve your company is not by talking. It’s by listening.
What Business Could You Be In Tomorrow?
Forward thinking in business creates huge results
When can we officially declare Sacramento as no longer being a cow town? I’m pretty sure we’ve hit that milestone. Business leaders, developers and innovators are pushing boundaries they likely wouldn’t have considered even a decade ago, as can be seen on nearly every page of this month’s magazine.
Mind If I Push You Around?
Poll: Tell us your thoughts on bullying in the workplace
The Workplace Bullying Institute would like to see legislation put in place to protect employees from abusive coworkers or bosses. The California State Council for the Society for Human Resource Management says legislation would leave too much room for subjective analysis. What do you think?
This Time, It’s Personnel
Will legislation to protect employees from workplace bullying stifle demanding managers?
Carrie Clark, a former teacher, says bullies aren’t confined to playgrounds. Sometimes, they run the whole school. And they do more than demand that work get done. They threaten, humiliate or intimidate for reasons unrelated to job performance.
It’s Hip to Be a Foodie
What dressing for success means in the food movement
To find the kind of innovative employees needed to continue pushing the food movement forward, it’s important to look as much as listen. For instance:
“This position requires a vegetable costume as occasional work attire.”
Get Ready to Pitch
4 tips for impressing investors
Once you’ve invented the best thing since wearable technology, you’ll probably want to fund it. To impress the pockets out of investors, you’ll need to:
Avoiding the Push Over
How to make an anti-bullying policy work
The Society for Human Resource Management has developed a model procedure for handling bullying complaints. Key language includes:
Patent Problems: Who Owns the Idea?
Know who your inventors are before you file
I have been working on a new piece of light industrial equipment for several years but had trouble with a certain aspect. I mentioned it to a colleague, who had a great idea that I was able to use. I am getting ready to patent my invention, and this colleague is now arguing that he is the co-inventor and entitled to the patent and future proceeds of the sale or use of this patent!