Ideas

I've been reading "The Great Workplace: How to Build It, How to Keep It and Why It Matters," by...

Qualifying! It's probably the most under-valued and under-performed activity in sales. If almost any sales organization were to double its effectiveness at qualifying – which is painfully easy to achieve – it would deliver at least 10 percent to its bottom line overnight.

A panel of accomplished female business leaders will share their insights at the 2012 BizTimes Women in Business Breakfast, which also will feature the presentation of the BizTimes Woman Executive of the Year to Gail Lione.

"Are you looking to cleanse your soul? BizTimes executive editor Steve Jagler asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am," I responded.

Management expert Bob Nelson, Ph.D., thinks that rewarding your employees is even more crucial in a tough economy and tight job market. The economic needs of the United States are changing and adaptable, and innovative workers will help America remain competitive.

The Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership will host its Manufacturing Matters! conference on May 9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Frontier Airlines Center in Milwaukee.

SPX Corp. revealed its newly completed manufacturing facility addition in Waukesha last week.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings and his wife, Nicole, will serve as honorary campaign co-chairs for the United Way of Greater Milwaukee in 2013.

Flash back six years ago: The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee had almost no commercial intellectual property; then-Chancellor Carlos Santiago often lamented that there had been no construction cranes over his campus for decades; and academic R&D was at a low level.