U.S. News & World Report, publisher of Best Hotels, Best Vacations, Best Cruise Lines and Best Travel Rewards Programs, today announced its inaugural 2026-2027 Best Conference Cities and Best Conference Hotels rankings, identifying the top destinations and properties for meetings, conventions and business events across the United States. Developed with input from … [More]
C-Suite Speaking Habits: How Top Executives Use Words to Win Hearts, Drive Action, & Move Companies
July 2020, the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook hopped on a Zoom call with the United States Congress. Their goal? Clarifying, magnifying and amplifying their companies’ contributions to the country. Presenting themselves to the public. Selling their work to the world. What followed was a masterclass in compelling communication — one that illuminated how the world’s … [More]
The Most Defensible Differentiation Is Already Inside Your Organization
Making the ‘unique value proposition’ truly unique – and sustainable
Sustainable growth begins when leaders stop treating differentiation as something to invent and start treating it as something to surface, validate and systematize. In most organizations, the most defensible differentiation is already there. It exists in how employees solve problems, how clients experience the company, how operations deliver under pressure and how trust is … [More]
Small Businesses Can’t Afford Broken Customer Communication
Small businesses don’t usually lose customers in one obvious moment. It tends to happen gradually through missed calls that go unanswered too long, follow-ups that never quite land, or customers who drift away when the experience feels disjointed. It’s National Small Business Month, and a great time to zero in on how Arizona’s small businesses can level up and beat the … [More]
The AI Transition: Why Communication Architecture Matters
Educate in structured steps to avoid damaging workplace culture
Artificial intelligence is increasingly integrating into the business world. In fact, implementing AI processes will soon be inevitable for most companies. When executed correctly, these processes can scale a business and add convenience for employees. However, there is a common problem: Team members tend to reject new processes, especially when they’re not communicated … [More]
Civic Think Tank Launches Nonpartisan Media Institute to Support Local Journalism
Center for the Future of Arizona announced the Arizona Media Institute, a first-of-its-kind statewide resource created to support journalism in Arizona and ensure that media have useful data and tools needed to support fact-based journalism on issues that matter most to Arizonans. The Arizona Media Institute is anchored by a new online hub that makes it easier than ever for … [More]
Arizona Unveils Free Tool to Target Economic Growth at the Neighborhood Level
The Arizona Business Database has launched publicly, offering the first statewide, neighborhood-level research tool that combines business attributes, employment, demographic, and geospatial data into one interactive map and filtering interface. The free tool is designed to help policymakers, funders, researchers, community groups, and business owners identify where targeted … [More]
Understanding AI in the Nonprofit Setting
Transparency and AI use policies make the difference
When the National Eating Disorders Association implemented a wellness chatbot named Tessa as a replacement for its human-staffed national helpline, the generative AI program began dispensing diet-culture advice harmful to the disordered-eating community. The technology was quickly yanked, but the negative media attention and reputational harm to the nonprofit was already … [More]
The ‘Why’ & ‘How To’ of Gratitude at Work
It can be simple, but the benefit is grand – and it benefits all
Business owners will routinely claim that employee retention is one of their ongoing challenges. I disagree. It’s employee defection that causes migraines! For businesses that don’t have the capacity to offer significant annual raises and/or year-end bonuses, one way to build morale and engender loyalty is by showing deep gratitude to the staff. This can be accomplished … [More]
10 Key Considerations for Choosing a ‘Secure’ Messaging App
In an age where governments and corporations alike collect vast amounts of personal data, hacktivism—activism through hacking—has emerged as a powerful tool for exposing corruption, protecting civil liberties, and pushing back against digital overreach. From whistleblowers leaking classified information to anonymous groups taking down oppressive digital infrastructures, … [More]
Amid TikTok Ban Uncertainty, Users Are Flocking to RedNote: The Plot Twist No One Expected
As the clock ticks down to January 19, 2025, the fate of TikTok in the U.S. hangs in the balance. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling any day now on whether TikTok will be banned in the United States, leaving millions of users, brands, and influencers in limbo. But while the legal process plays out, an unexpected trend is taking shape: TikTok users are flocking to … [More]
Credit Union Awards State Forty Eight Foundation with $30,000 Grant, Supports Entrepreneur Speaker Series
OneAZ Credit Union and the OneAZ Community Foundation award the State Forty Eight Foundation with a $30,000 Legacy Grant. This grant will help elevate the State Forty Eight Foundation’s Entrepreneur Speaker Series, which aims to encourage and inspire Arizona’s small business owners. “This $30,000 Legacy Grant is an investment in the dreams and aspirations of local … [More]
The Way We Talk Around Here: How your organization’s culture shows up in your language and why it matters
The unspoken rules and unquestioned assumptions that make up an organization’s culture are so well hidden that, once we become insiders, we stop noticing them. They’re just ‘the way we do things around here.’ But shared internal language — “the way we talk around here” — both reflects and sustains the unconscious patterns of thought, behavior and interaction that add up to … [More]
Insurance Agent Networking Group Acquires Mesa-Based United Agents of Arizona
Renaissance, the premier network of independent insurance agencies, has acquired the agency network business of United Agents of Arizona (UAA), an agency group based in Mesa, Arizona. The transaction closed effective Sept. 30. The arrangement gives UAA’s seven agency members – which collectively represent $170m in premium – the opportunity to leverage the same … [More]
The Power of Feedback and Communication in Fostering a High-Performing Culture
A strong combination to avoid misinterpretations that lead to mistakes
Effective communication is the No. 1 ingredient to build and sustain an effective workplace culture. However, according to our recent survey, just 26% of knowledge workers strongly agree their leaders are good at it. So, what does it take for leaders to be successful at effective communication? It starts with recognizing that communication is about much more than just … [More]
Need to ‘Nope’ Out of a Business Situation? Thirty Scripts for Entrepreneurs Who Struggle with NO
If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re used to doing hard things. So why do you struggle with saying no? Whether you need to turn down a prospective client, reject a misguided employee idea, or decline the invitation to chair a committee at a professional organization, why does that two-letter word get stuck in your throat? Julie Bee says, for one thing, entrepreneurs are human. … [More]
New Professionals Collective Launches in Scottsdale
The Scottsdale Professionals Collective officially launches in the Valley this week. Founded by Brook Choulet, M.D. and Lindsay Benjamin, J.D., owner of Benjamin Legal, this curated community aims to foster meaningful in-person connections among leading physicians and attorneys in Scottsdale and surrounding areas. More than just another networking group, this supportive … [More]
Using LinkedIn for Demand and Lead Generation
“Work smarter, not harder” is the overriding mandate in the marketing world ― once sage advice, now a universal corporate edict. Budgets are smaller. Tactics that guarantee measurable results are the new default. The need to maximize every minute of your time and dollar of your spending allotment is paramount. Against this backdrop, the fundamentals of digital marketing still … [More]
