Business Mentors

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a valuable tax break for businesses that hire workers from certain targeted groups. Although it has been available in some form for many years, it tends to be overlooked. Currently, the WOTC is available only for businesses that hire employees that begin work before Jan. 1, 2014. Although […]

Stephanie Mayne is the human-resources manager at M.S. Kennedy Corp., a company based in the town of Clay that has been designing and producing high-performance analog microelectronics for 40 years. As the HR manager, Mayne receives a flood of résumés for every job opening. It’s easy for Mayne to determine what type of work ethic

“Shh, can you keep this quiet?” Certainly, most of us have heard that phrase at one time or another from a boss or a colleague in the course of our careers. Sometimes, it relates to a particularly sensitive piece of information about the organization that has critical importance to a business strategy. And sometimes, it’s

As employers prepare for open enrollment, some may be implementing new wellness programs to encourage and reward employees for taking steps toward better health. Whether starting a new program, or continuing an existing program, employers need to be aware of recent regulatory changes under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and evaluate whether their programs are

The video “Wealth Inequality in America” was recently featured on Upworthy (www.upworthy.com), a social-media megaphone. It was then re-posted by a significant minority that’s become more infatuated with socialism. The video is not only misleading, but the research methods of its underlying study are laughable. The content is based on a 2005 survey by Michael

As a kid, I remember watching a TV show called “What’s My Line?” with my parents. The point of the show was to have four people try to determine which of the three contestants was a test pilot, an astronaut, a mountain climber, or in some other unusual profession. When they were finished asking questions

“It has been said that Democracy is the worst of form of government except all the others that have been tried.” —          Winston Churchill Well, I did it. I took one for my team of nonprofit colleagues and board members. That is, I read every word of the 67 pages that constitutes the Nonprofit Revitalization

If I only had a dollar for every time that I have heard that statement. The fact is, workplace fraud happens, and it happens frequently. Newspaper headlines featuring employees stealing large sums of money are becoming more frequent. It happens to all businesses, large and small. It also happens in the nonprofit and municipal sectors

No one can prepare for a crisis. Well, actually, they can — and they do. A lot of businesses and nonprofits have operational disaster plans. But few also have a crisis-communications plan. Recently, however, we have started to see an increased trend in organizations coming to us to help them plan their communications roles, strategies,

Upstate New York is quickly becoming the model for reinvention. Change agents are leveraging the landscape from Albany to Buffalo that is home to nearly 500,000 students, billions of dollars of research and development, fantastic cost structures, and myriad lifestyle outlets. Entrepreneurship is leading us into a future that builds upon our history of innovation.