Guest Columnists
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Overdue
I expected that, by the time this article was published, the Missouri General Assembly would have passed a prescription drug monitoring program that would make Missouri the last state in the country to adopt one. They didn’t. Prescription drug monitoring programs in the U.S. are not new, but they’ve constantly evolved as policies have reflected
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Getting More from Online Reviews
Businesses know all too well the power that can come with online reviews, whether good or bad. Customers rely on online reviews to help make buying decisions, and reviews can also make a big difference in a company’s overall search engine optimization, making it more likely that potential customers will find them when searching online.
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The ‘Why’ Behind Diversity and Inclusion Efforts in Business
Many companies nationwide have stated a commitment to diversity, yet that commitment, and how it’s exercised in the workplace, varies. One way to uncover a company’s true understanding of diversity is to visit their website and review their statement on diversity and inclusion. Check to see if the company has a page dedicated to
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Business Smarts: Real Estate Resources
Mid-Missouri has a strong real estate market, and some would say this is a good time to consider buying commercial or residential property. As our population continues to grow, we can see the nearly constant addition of real estate. There are plenty of opportunities to buy and sell and plenty of real estate professionals who
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Your Company Needs a Privacy Policy
Don’t you want to know how businesses are using the private information they collect from you? Don’t you think your customers want the same thing? Depending on where you live and what you’re doing, having a privacy policy for your customers’ information may actually be required. The Federal Trade Commission, for example, recommends privacy policies
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Talking through Discomfort
It’s no secret that we would rather avoid conversations, situations, people, places, and things that make us feel uncomfortable. It’s easier to play the avoidance card than deal with discomfort. It’s human nature. However, when conversations of importance come into play – such as those that deal with basic respect for fellow colleagues, friends and
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Uncovering Unconscious Bias
In the workplace, our biases — that is, our preconceived opinions about something or someone — affect who we recruit, who we hire, who we promote, who we take advice from, and even who we have lunch with. Biases we’re not aware of, unconscious ones, impact everything we do. These biases can affect our bottom
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Don’t Assume Excellent Customer Service – Train It
Each of us has a handful of stories about great customer service experiences. But we probably also have at least that many stories about horrible customer service. Offering excellent customer service is one of the easiest ways for a small business to differentiate itself from larger, better-funded competitors. It’s also a powerful, inexpensive way to
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Business Smarts: Small Business Scams
Many of us think scams target individuals, but businesses are all too often the victims. One Columbia business I know of learned this lesson the hard way. Today, they’re out $11,300. One afternoon, one of two company owners — a smart, successful, self-made business leader in our community — received an e-mail that looked like
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Business Smarts: Make Cybersecurity a Priority
Most of us know that Yahoo was the victim of a cyberattack this year, and that the data of more than 500 million users was stolen. Not enough of us, though, give sufficient thought to the possibility of this sort of thing happening to our own small businesses right here in mid-Missouri. Business owners and
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Airport Terminal Improvements Needed
“Something has to be done. There’s something not quite right with having passengers waiting out in the snow.” – Ray Beck, former city manager, commenting in 1977 on airport terminal issues. And yet, as Columbia Regional Airport is on the cusp of celebrating its 50th anniversary, passengers are still walking out of a “temporary” 38-year-old
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Mike Matthes: A Brief History of Flying
“Come Josephine in my flying machine. Going up she goes! Up she goes!” – Fisher & Bryan, 1910 Written in the early days of “aeroplanes” and aviation, the song tells the story of daring young pilots courting their sweethearts with “flying machines.” The lyrics express the technological optimism of the era. I can only
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Mike Matthes: Death and Sales Taxes
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” – Benjamin Franklin Franklin never envisioned the Internet, which would allow consumers to purchase goods of all kinds from all over the world — free of taxes. And while tax-free shopping is likely appealing to a large number of us, it
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Mike Matthes: So, Why a City Manager?
Almost three score and ten years ago (no kidding), Columbia voters discarded the political party system and adopted a council-manager form of government. In 1949, we were categorized as a city of the third class — meaning 3,000 to 30,000 citizens, much smaller than today — but experiencing post-World War II growing pains, as the
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Peter Stiepleman: From Generation to Generation
The story I am going to relate to you is really a parable. It speaks of a rite of passage, but its purpose is to do something even more significant. It is a rallying cry for our community’s future. In just a short time, my 13-year-old son will celebrate his bar mitzvah. A bar mitzvah
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CPS Will Never Be the Same
Each year, I like to thank my team for the work they do with a small gift. Last year, I relied on Zuni symbols, figurines carved from shell or stone. I gave our deputy superintendent, Dana Clippard, a wolf because of her fierce loyalty to the success of others. I gave our CFO, Linda Quinley,
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Peter Stiepleman: Do the Math for Student Success
Last week, my fifth-grader son brought home a math assignment. My middle son and mathematics have a complicated relationship. He would say that it’s not at all complicated, but rather straightforward. He doesn’t like math. I’ve told him that math, like any other subject, requires attention. Math requires patience. Math can be demanding and overwhelming
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Peter Stiepleman: Constructing Successful Students
Every morning, long before the sun rises, I wearily make my way downstairs. And before I can prepare lunch for the boys and before I make my wife her coffee, I must first weave my way through a labyrinth of Legos and game pieces. We all have morning rituals, and this one is mine. Just
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#Como2Gaines
No person should have to start a business trip at 3 a.m. Nevertheless, that’s what I did. I grabbed my cup of coffee, checked to make sure I had all of my things and left my house in the dark while my family slept. Fifteen minutes later, I joined several other people as we prepared
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