The banker in Frank Capra’s classic It’s a Wonderful Life may be idealized, but it is nonetheless true that banking is the core on which the business community rests. Bankers’ decisions impact business; what is impacting their business — and the decisions they are making for their own and everyone else’s business? Local bankers share their expertise and experience to bring … [More]
Paul Hickman, Arizona Bankers Association
Business today — indeed, all aspects of our lives — relies on a complex network of services. Yet, banking remains a core element; banking enabled the early emergence of regional commerce. Practices, products and platforms have evolved but, still, without banking, there could be no commerce. The financial services industry is indeed the cardiovascular system of any modern … [More]
Corporate Conservation Is More than Just a Box to Be Checked
Our nation’s and the world’s resources are increasingly constrained. Companies across the United States and here in Arizona can lessen their impact on the environment by reducing industrial byproducts as well as consumption of energy, water and raw materials. Businesses that incorporate eco-friendly practices remain competitive and see lower operating costs, ensuring long-term … [More]
Tools for a Changing Workforce
Why is change so difficult? First, people tend to naturally gravitate to the status quo. It’s familiar, there’s a comfort level associated with it, and so it feels “right.” Second, change can challenge people’s beliefs about their core strengths. Consider that many knowledge workers have spent years honing a particular skill or set of skills. When new technologies create … [More]
The Surprising Truth about Humans and Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is not new but, suddenly, everyone seems to be talking about it. We have hit an inflection point with computing power and data that is finally allowing for commercial applications of this technology, and that’s what all the excitement is about. It’s only going to get faster and better from here on out. Along with talk about the new possibilities, … [More]
Infilling Abounds in Arizona
Phoenix is growing — but not in the same way it used to. While the city is still associated with development of large tracts at the edge of its boundaries, Phoenix residents have begun to move inward. It’s been well publicized that millennials are waiting to start families and delaying their move to the suburbs. The data on millennial trends is strong and well known, but baby … [More]
Patterson and Clifford: Clear Vision for Clear Title Agency
Clear Title Agency of Arizona, an industry leader in commercial and residential title and escrow services, continues fast-paced growth in its 10th year of operation. Bart Patterson, chief executive officer of Clear Title Agency of Arizona, started the title company with great confidence, experience and knowledge riding on the heels of two previous successful business … [More]
The Pain Drain: The Fiscal and Societal Burden of Chronic Pain
We find ourselves in the midst of an epidemic of persistent pain, with 100 million Americans affected by regular headaches, back, neck, abdominal and joint pain. Chronic pain is now the most common form of enduring illness for those under the age of 60, and it is breaking the proverbial bank for individuals and employers. Pain has an enormous ripple effect on individuals, … [More]
Prepare for Open Enrollment
With Open Enrollment upon us, this is a good time for employers to help their employees understand the options they will be committed to for the next year. Here are five tips to help them. 1. Know one’s open enrollment dates. Open enrollment isn’t the same or at the same time for everyone. For the more than 177 million Americans with employer-provided coverage, many … [More]
Business Travel Fraud Schemes Technology Is Squashing
With business travel spend reaching more than $318 billion in 2016, fraud potential is at an all time high. However, new advances in travel expense management technology combined with proper internal controls can help businesses reduce fraud and control their travel costs. Here are three fraud schemes businesses can now curtail with smart applications of … [More]
Speedier Feedback Improves Results
“What drives engagement is frequency of feedback,” notes Mark Heymann, founding partner and CEO of UniFocus, which recently successfully beta-tested its Pulse Survey solution with Best Western Hotels & Resorts. Working collaboratively with a group of its independently owned and operated hotels in North America, Best Western gained a valuable new metric to quantify the value … [More]
Reprogramming Tech Education
Woz U launched last month online and plans ground campuses in more than 30 cities across the country and around the world. Named after Apple Computer co-founder Steve “Woz” Wozniak, Scottsdale-headquartered Woz U is “education reprogrammed,” a new approach to higher education for the tech industry. It offers online curriculum to educate computer support specialists and software … [More]
Got Hacked Yet?
“There are two kinds of companies — those that were hacked, and those that don’t yet know they were hacked,” cybersecurity expert Sunny Handa, D.C.L., recently told attendees at The Counselors of Real Estate® Annual Convention, quoting former Cisco CEO John Chambers. Noting the global hacker economy is three to five times the size of the security industry, Dr. Handa warned that … [More]
Phoenix Has Decade of Strong Industrial Construction
It’s been quite a fruitful year so far for industrial real estate in the United States, reports Yardi Matrix in its recent “Top 50 Cities for Industrial Construction in the Past Decade”. Citing the National Real Estate Investor, Yardi Matrix reports that total industrial sales are expected to exceed 2016 levels this year, marking the second-best volume in 10 years. Large … [More]
Sky Harbor Market ‘Coveted’
CapRock Partners, a leading private industrial real estate investment firm based in Orange County, California, has acquired a distribution/manufacturing facility in the highly sought-after Sky Harbor submarket of Phoenix. “This asset is an ideal fit for our growing portfolio, as it is located in one of Phoenix’s most desirable submarkets and will allow us to utilize our … [More]
Race to Remodel
The home renovation business is booming as owners of high-end homes aim to increase the value of their homes for sale in a market where median sale prices have stagnated for homes built more than 10 years ago, due to an increasing inventory of high-priced but rapidly aging homes plus competition from new homes. Square One Construction is a new luxury renovation company … [More]
Big Box Repurposed
Consumer Cellular has signed a 164,000-square-foot lease with Everest Holdings — represented by Ashley Brooks in CBRE’s Phoenix office — in a former Sam’s Club located at 17500 N. Black Canyon Freeway, following the empty big-box store’s conversion to a single-tenant office building. The national cell phone services provider will occupy the space beginning in March 2018 when … [More]
Hispanic Small-Business Growing
Hispanic small-business owners are among the fastest-growing market of entrepreneurs in the United States. In fact, the 4th Annual Report 2016 by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce cited that the number of Hispanic-owned businesses was on track to grow to more than 4.23 million last year. Northwestern Mutual conducted a 2017 survey to identify Hispanic small-business … [More]
