During COVID-19 the needs of Phoenix’s vulnerable populations have been put into even greater focus. Those that were vulnerable before COVID, especially individuals experiencing homelessness, are at a greater risk for virus transmission due to issues like sanitation and shelter. Phoenix City Council recently unanimously approved nearly $27 million dollars to ensure greater … [More]
Tread Carefully when Terminating Employees during a Pandemic

With the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, there are a few additional considerations Arizona employers must keep in mind when terminating the employment of a current employee. Generally, Arizona employers enjoy wide latitude when hiring and firing due to the State’s doctrine of “at will” employment. Under at-will employment, an employer is not required to establish “just … [More]
How HR Leaders Recruit Top Talent in a Remote-First World
These are exceptional times. According to a Gartner online poll of Asian HR leaders in March 2020, “among 805 organizations responding, 88 percent now encourage or require employees to work from home.” As COVID-19 continues its onslaught around the world, governments have turned to measures such as social distancing to disrupt the contagion. Doing so has caused the way we work … [More]
Romantic Restaurant’s New Expanded Dining Room to Include Social Distancing Measures

Just in time for Mother’s Day, Marcellino Ristorante is reopening today to offer dinner take-out/curbside service with plans to reopen its newly remodeled dining room on Monday, May 11, after Arizona’s COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. The romantic restaurant’s dining room will be open for dinner service only seven nights per week: Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 10 … [More]
National Laundry Service App Expands to West Valley

WashClub Phoenix, a national app-based laundry service that launched in the Valley of the Sun last month, is expanding its mobile laundry service to the West Valley. The online, on-demand mobile laundry service company has started serving the areas of Avondale, Buckeye, El Mirage, Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria and Tolleson. "We've had an overwhelming … [More]
New Pandemic Relief Program to Fuel Business Productivity During Shelter-in-Place
To help businesses survive and thrive during the COVID-19 disruption, San Francisco-based SalesHood today announced a Pandemic Relief Program that provides companies with its award-winning sales and business enablement platform free for 90 days. “COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work almost overnight,” said Elay Cohen, CEO and co-founder of SalesHood. “With business … [More]
Indoor Waterparks Co. Donates to Nonprofit Helping Homeless Families
Family Promise of Greater Phoenix, a nonprofit organization that rescues primarily first-time homeless families and their pets and helps them return to independence, received a donation of hundreds of linens from Great Wolf Lodge Arizona. This effort is part of Great Wolf Lodge’s company-wide Paw Pledge initiative, which focuses on health and safety of its guests and pack, … [More]
COVID-19 Is Reshaping Corporate Culture
The outbreak of COVID-19 is radically changing how many U.S. companies operate. Public safety measures have closed physical offices and made remote working the norm. Travel restrictions have heightened the importance of efficient technology, communication and collaboration. Executives have had to pivot quickly, reorganizing and rallying their workforce to push forward in an … [More]
What Does a ‘Coronavirus Plateau’ Look Like?

I just googled “coronavirus plateau” and got more than 13,000,000 hits. With that many hits, it must mean something! It does — this is where a visual presentation of the numbers truly shows what the mind sees when it hears a word. And what happened to “bending the curve” or “flattening the curve”? We’ve all seen images evoking those terms; for example: Words are barely … [More]
People with Disabilities More Negatively Affected by Economic Impact of COVID-19
A Global Disability Inclusion survey of over 500 participants on April 13, 2020 reveals that people with disabilities are being impacted by COVID-19 at a higher rate than those without a disability. 51% of people with a disability have either lost their jobs, been laid off or furloughed, or believe they will lose their job in the next 90 days compared to 28% of those without … [More]
Emergency Coronavirus Loans Will Cripple Some Small Businesses
As America prepares to get back to work, will some people be left behind? The Small Business Administration (SBA) has adopted rules for emergency coronavirus loans that exclude otherwise eligible existing small businesses from relief solely because they are owned in part by individuals who have a criminal record. Given that at least nineteen million Americans have a felony … [More]
Disaster Relief Related to Employee Benefit Plans
The Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service jointly have provided in a final rule that all group health plans, disability and other employee welfare benefit plans MUST disregard the period from March 1, 2020 until 60 days after the end of the declared National Emergency related to the COVID-19 outbreak or such other date as provided by the agencies in future … [More]
Amid Crisis Relationship Between Boards and Management is Undergoing a Striking Shift
The relationship between boards and management is undergoing a striking shift as many companies take an enormous financial hit from the COVID-19 crisis. Leading the world’s largest organization of women board members, I have spoken with hundreds of corporate directors since the onset of the pandemic. These talks reveal new patterns in board oversight, important lessons … [More]
COVID-19 Unleashes a Time for Innovation

My business research focuses on a source of innovation that is often overlooked — the users of products themselves. Both people (like you and me) and companies use products that they buy from others in their daily activities. We might not know exactly how something is made, but we know how it is used. That is what is called user knowledge. Not surprisingly, users often come up … [More]
Join Economic Development Week, May 4-9
About Economic Development Week Economic Development Week was created by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in 2016 to increase awareness of local programs that create jobs, advance career development opportunities, and improve the quality of life in communities everywhere. Over the span of four years, more than 450 campaigns have been created throughout … [More]
A Critical Look at the Main Street Lending Program
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced new terms for its Main Street Lending Program that expand the eligibility criteria to cover more potential borrowers and increase the scope of eligible loans under the program. The revised Main Street Lending Program will now include three categories of loans, depending on whether the loan is a new loan or an expansion of an existing … [More]
Two Arizona Companies Team Up to Sell Hand Sanitizer and Give Back

In March, fears about COVID-19 sparked panic buying in the U.S., making hand sanitizer one of the most in-demand items across the country. As hand sanitizer (and the ingredients to make it) became increasingly hard to find, suppliers marked up the price exponentially. As a result of this, two Arizona small business leaders teamed up to tackle the problem, tapping into their … [More]
Local Credit Union and Pizza Co. Make Donations to Healthcare Heroes
Credit Union West employees recently donated their own personal dollars to show their appreciation for the health care workers at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Westgate Medical Center. In association with the Travelling Pizza Company, the generously donated funds provided more than 100 free pizzas to hospital staff who are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re … [More]













