Christine Calvin is the former editor in chief for Comstock’s magazine.
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What does your business look like in an optimal world?
“What if you could snap your fingers and find that unicorn hire you’ve been dreaming of? What if you could click your heels and transform your company’s culture? What if you could wake up every morning in absolute control of your business? Imagine the possibilities.”
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What does your company look like in an optimal world? How about your own career?
“What if you could snap your fingers and find the model client? What if you could click your heels and transform your company’s culture? What if you could wake up every morning in absolute control of your time, treasures and talents? Imagine the possibilities.”
Go Slow to Go Fast
Winging it won’t work in today’s business landscape
Have you ever walked into a semi-dried lake bed? You start out on firm sand, and little by little the ground gets softer and stickier and deeper until finally the mud pulls your boots straight off your feet. That’s the position of many companies battling today’s marketplace, particularly small-business owners set in their ways and family businesses unable to overcome Dad’s unwavering march into the ground.
Let’s Get Focused
Could you strip down to just the essentials?
Forget the question of whether you would want to do it. Could you strip down to just the essentials? Given the task, how easy would it be for you to identify the most necessary and vital items in your home? What about those in your business?
Can You Change Your Mind?
As the minimum wage debate heats up, both sides need to remain open-minded
When was the last time you changed your way of thinking on a major issue? Have you ever? In April of this year, “This American Life” ran a story called “The Incredible Rarity of Changing Your Mind.”In the story’s introduction, Ira Glass asks the question: “When it comes to major issues — like climate change, gun control, abortion rights … do you know anybody that has changed their mind?”
Strategic Thinking for the Future of Higher Ed
Acuity with Steven Currall
Steven Currall is the Chancellor’s Senior Advisor for Strategic Projects and Initiatives and a management professor at UC Davis, where he is leading campus-wide deliberations about the vision for the university’s long-term future.
We’ve Got a Winner!
Thanks to our stellar community for your ongoing support
As a business magazine serving the Capital Region, we spend 99 percent of our time looking outward, focusing on the stories of great leaders and companies making strides to improve their outcomes and communities. But every so often we find a reason to commandeer the microphone and tell a great story from within.
Weekend Warriors: Vermont & Montreal
Last weekend with Christine Calvin
This past weekend my husband Scott and I were honored to officiate our first wedding. We tag-teamed the nuptials of our dear friends Chase Davis and former Sac Bee political reporter Torey Van Oot in Vermont over Memorial Day weekend.
A Voice for Millions
Acuity with Jeannine English
Jeannine English assumed the office of AARP president in June 2014. Previously, she chaired the AARP National Policy Council and served as president of AARP California. This year, she’ll be directing the organization in advocating on behalf of its 37 million members.
Weekend Warriors: Coffee, Roses and Tattoos
Last weekend with Editor in Chief Christine Calvin
I know how to do Sacramento weekends right — it’s sort of a point of pride.
Bringing Home the Bacon
Comstock’s wins a pair of Maggies from the Western Publishing Association
Comstock’s magazine is has been awarded Best (consumer) Web Publication and Best Business Magazine in the western U.S. buy the Western Publishing Association.
‘Reply All’ Etiquette Matters
An open letter to email users everywhere
Numerous times a week, I’ll be in a conversation with someone who says, “Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. I get about eleventy billion emails a day.” I often say the same. Yet if I were to weed out all of the unnecessarily forwarded emails and the eternally sinful replied-to-all responses, my inbox would probably be down to a tidy 36.
Unnatural Selection
Scientists at UC Davis may be on the cusp of an HIV cure
The person who finds the cure for HIV will have their name etched in medical history. It’s a hard pill to swallow for one man who has spent 40 years chasing a cure. A cure for HIV, built upon decades of his work, could very well be proven this year. Yet Dr. Gerhard Bauer’s name may be little more than a footnote in the arcane medical journal that publishes the breakthrough.
This is the story of curing HIV.
Economic Size Matters
Acuity with Barry Broome
Barry Broome has been tapped as the president and CEO of the newly formed Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council and will drive the organization’s mission to attract businesses to the Capital Region. His extensive background in economic development includes six years as the CEO of Southwest Michigan First and 10 years as the president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.
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.
Economics for 2015 and Beyond
Acuity with Sanjay Varshney
After a decade at the helm of Sacramento State’s College of Business Administration, Sanjay Varshney in late August accepted a position as a vice president and wealth advisor at Wells Fargo Bank—Wealth Management Group. Varshney is a professor of finance at Sac State. He is also the chief economist for the Sacramento Business Review, making him one of the region’s preeminent voices on economics, business and higher education.
Technology Fails: Comstock’s Editorial Edition
How many things do I need to put on in the morning, anyway?
How effective are technological tools at changing the behaviors and quality of life of the people who use them? I know a lot of people who bought FitBits in the past two years and zero people who still use one. Meanwhile, our editorial team can’t even figure out how to benefit from a sleep app.
A Fresh Approach to Florin Road
Acuity with Verna Sulpizio
After managing the development of property and business improvement districts across California, in January Verna Sulpizio became the new executive director of the Florin Road Partnership, a PBID that spans Florin Road from Chandler Drive to Tamoshanter Way.
You Look Like You Need a Vacation
6 tips for checking out and kicking back
You just got back from a trip? Me too. And I already need the next one. My name is Christine Calvin, and I take vacations. That’s right, I use all my PTO every year, and I don’t feel an ounce of shame. You should do the same — it’s going to cost your company either way.
Tech Support
Acuity with Kirk Uhler
Longtime Placer County supervisor Kirk Uhler was recently selected as the new CEO of the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance. Uhler is also the owner of Roseville-based Rensa Group, a marketing, communications and government relations firm, and the co-founder of VidGage, a social media platform.
New Year’s No’s
Let’s make a list some goals to avoid
This year, I’m focusing on “no.” It’s a magical word rarely used when it comes to answering work emails on vacation, committing to stuff you swore you would avoid and attending events that drain productivity from your day. And for what? If you count the number of really valuable nonmandatory meetings, networking mixers and fundraisers you attended in 2014, how many would you come up with?
Food for Thought
Acuity with Chris Jarosz
Chris Jarosz is the founder of Broderick Restaurant & Bar and co-owner of the Wicked ‘Wich food truck. This year, he also took on the overhaul of midtown’s Capital Dime restaurant and its sister eatery, Trick Pony, which have been folded into the Broderick Roadhouse family of restaurants. It’s not all glamorous, but it is pretty tasty.
Welcome to the Future
Medical breakthroughs are close to home
Dramatic medical and technological advancements always grab my attention. They cause me to pause and contemplate how incredible the human mind can be. We create such remarkable things. But our achievements and creativity don’t have to be as groundbreaking as fetal surgery in order to influence society.
Growing the Anti-Growth City
Acuity with Matt Yancey
Matt Yancey has been selected as the new CEO of the Davis Chamber of Commerce after serving more than seven years as the director of business and economic development at the Sacramento Metro Chamber. So how do you grow a city that’s been historically anti-growth?
Threat Control
Smart companies take a proactive approach to risk
During the recession, risk management seemed a lot more like crisis management than a forward-looking, enterprise-wide approach to handling risks in a way that promoted sustainable growth. But today, smart companies align their risk management tactics with their strategic plans, which is helping them achieve their most important business priorities.
A Message for California’s GOP
Acuity with Kaitlyn MacGregor
At 25-years-old, Kaitlyn MacGregor is the new director of communications for the California Republican Party, and she has her work cut out for her. New data from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California shows that young voters aren’t registering Republican and neither are moderates, African Americans or Latinos. With elections just weeks away, MacGregor will need to make strides quickly.
Strategic Thinking
Are you employing your highest quality of thought?
You’ve been there. You’re on a deadline with limited information, and what you’ve got to draw from is a similar episode that transpired eight months ago, or eight years ago or with an entirely different company. But hey, there are some parallels. This time sounds like that time (sort of), so you base your present reaction on your past experience. The process is called reasoning by analogy, and while it can be a powerful method in the decision making process, it can also be problematic and limiting.
Design Thinking
Acuity with Kris Barkley
Kris Barkley, the Design Director at Dreyfuss & Blackford Architects and president of the American Institute for Architects Central Valley, sat down with Comstock’s Editor in Chief Christine Calvin to talk about digital fabrication, biomimicry, the industry landscape for up-and-coming architects and, of course, next months’s Experience Architecture Week.
Get Creative
Improve your business by thinking like a designer
Thomas Edison is most often credited with inventing a thing, the light bulb. But if you really take a look at what Edison did, you’ll see he was able to envision not only the technology, but also how people would use it and why they would benefit from its use. What he actually created was a product with a fully realized marketplace. Edison’s approach was an early example of a concept that has since been dubbed “design thinking” — a creative manner of problem-solving that places the user at the center of the experience.
Survey Says
Squaw Valley has enough water to move forward with village expansion
Squaw Valley Real Estate and KSL Capital Partners, the company that owns Squaw Valley Ski Resort, have received the critical report needed to move forward with a planned expansion of the resort’s village.
Arcade Fire
Tahoe startup is expanding its waistline
Arcade belts has moved beyond the living room floor.
It’s Here.
Welcome to our new website — here's what you'll find
After much anticipation (and oh so many hours), the all-new comstocksmag.com has launched.
The changes we have made come as a result of paying close attention to how readers are using our magazine and website, so let us know what you think. Talk to us on Twitter and Facebook, post comments on our site, email us, call us or send a good old-fashioned letter. We’re listening.
The Next 25 Years of Comstock’s
A new product for a new generation
More than any other, this issue might give many people the impression that Comstock’s is staffed by dozens of graphic artists, illustrators and web developers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Though, given the magnitude of the magazine’s redesign and the timeline under which we’re transforming comstocksmag.com, I can understand the misconception.
Starts and Stops
San Joaquin has seen its share of change
It was in 1989 that the San Joaquin Business Council formed to envision and outline an economic development and prosperity plan for its county. Called Vision 2000, the strategic plan and its backers, including the newly created San Joaquin Partnership, sought to add tens of thousands of jobs to the region by removing barriers to business development and promoting the relocation of companies to San Joaquin.
High Flyin’
How McClellan went from AFB to BP
In 1993 the federal Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission added McClellan Air Force base to its list of potential closures, and the Capital Region drew in its collective breath.
What the Waterfront
The evolution of West Sac’s shoreline
As a resident of fabulous West Sacramento, I was going to start this column with my standard opening line of “West Sac is the best Sac,” but flipping through the pages of our July ’92 issue, I found a quote from Val Toppenberg that said, “Cross-river bashing is not productive.” What a fun-killer.
Woe are the Railyards
A tale of starts, stops and unfinished business
The year was 1990, and downtown Sacramento was “poised on the brink of one of the nation’s most ambitious development opportunities,” a “landmark project” with the potential to “change and expand our vision of Sacramento and initiate a new era of urban lifestyle.”
Capital Ink Tattoo
Mikhail Chernyavsky, host of the video series “Emerge” for Comstock’s magazine, sits down with the owner of Capital Ink Tattoo, Irish Cash, to learn about what it takes to start a business as a young entrepreneur.
Insight Coffee Roasters
Mikhail Chernyavsky, host of Comstock’s Emerge video series, takes a behind the scenes look into Insight Coffee Roasters, where owner Lucky Rodrigues shared his vision for midtown’s newest coffee shop, his goal to develop sustainable relationships with producers and his take on launching a business in Sacramento.
Das Is Gut
A sit down with the owners of Low Brau
Emerging restaurateurs Clay Nutting and Michael Hargis found a niche made in heaven when they opened their midtown spin on a German bier hall. Now, just ten months after opening, LowBrau is operating in the black, and the owners have their sights set on future growth. Check out the story behind the beer taps in this month’s Emerge video feature.