One of my all-time favorite movies is Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. In this 1946 movie, Jimmy Stewart plays the main character, George Bailey, who takes over the Bailey Building & Loan upon his father’s death. After his uncle, Billy, loses $8,000 of the bank’s money, Bailey felt the solution would be to take his own life enabling the bank and his loved ones to benefit from his $15,000 life insurance policy. In...Read More

Throughout the duration of my Business UNusual research, I discovered many of our community leaders share several common attributes. Among their positive traits: They are hardworking, persistent and driven. To be driven can mean different things to people, depending their perspective, socioeconomic level, culture and the like. The thought of being chauffeured around like the character Daisy Werthan in the 1989 film “Driving Miss Daisy” might come to mind if you grew up in a...Read More

Beginning in childhood and continuing throughout my life, I have played a variety of different games, such as “Monopoly,” “Risk,” chess and “Battleship.” My goals included: being the person to possess the prized real estate properties, Boardwalk and Park Place, in the game “Monopoly”; strategically placing my two-peg battleship in a location my challenger would not find and sink; and being able to anticipate an opponent’s next move in the...Read More

Learning can result from a variety of different methods. In higher education, we often look toward the professors: Have they conducted research in their field of expertise? Do they have real-world experiences to share? Are guest speakers from specialized areas used to enhance learning for students? In addition to credentials and the resources used, we spend time developing curriculum delivery models to accommodate a variety of learning styles. Some students can only learn from lectures,...Read More

It would be easy for most of us to remember a time when we felt the burden of expectation. Chances are you have felt that feeling — probably several times yet today. Our workplace has expectations of us. Our family has expectations of us. Our friends, our community, even our dogs — well, you get the idea. Expectation can trigger a variety of different emotions. At times, we may feel motivated by it. Other times, overwhelmed. Sometimes we may feel as though the expectations others...Read More

Bravery comes in many forms. We think of the soldier who voluntarily goes off to some volatile land, fighting for our nation. Or the firefighter who risks her safety to enter a burning home, knowing every second counts in saving the life still trapped inside. But how about the person who realizes early on that he is different — in the way he thinks and his approach to life? Yet, something within him keeps him driving forward, not letting any barrier distract him from his goals. Bravery...Read More

A day does not go by without mention of the health of our local, regional and national economy. The daily dialogue includes unemployment, payroll tax cuts, the housing market and more. These topics crown the Internet, take up time on the evening news and space in your favorite newspaper, and, of course, are discussed around the proverbial water cooler. After all, the economy affects everyone. Some folks are desperately trying to find jobs, political dignitaries are debating best ways to...Read More

If you were given an opportunity to go back in time and change just one thing, what would it be? Bob Hatfield, owner of Custom Engineering & Fabrication, can answer that question without hesitation. It is a day that haunts him still, he relives the details of one particular play over and over again in his head. He remembers repeatedly watching the game-day film, analyzing his every move — playing the film in normal speed, in slow motion and in reverse. Hatfield has memorized every...Read More

People are creatures of habit. For many of us, trying new ways of behaving usually doesn’t occur without some difficulty. But for the most successful leaders, change is welcome and the dreadful status quo is viewed as the kiss of death. Countless books have been written on leading change — “Our Iceberg is Melting,” “Winning Through Innovation” and “Good to Great” to name only a few. “Who Moved My Cheese?” is one of the best-selling...Read More

Not even the slightest hint of Dane Miller’s passion for business surfaced during his childhood. No desire to build an empire from a neighborhood lemonade stand. No countless Lego prototypes adorned his childhood home. No dreams of having his image grace the cover of CEO magazine. His aspirations of working in higher education, along with his love of science, drove him to obtain his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering — a path that made sense since he was the son of two...Read More