BizTimes Milwaukee

The phrase "work/life balance" is a misnomer. Attempting to achieve equal balance is unrealistic. However, striving to live a fulfilling life is possible with targeted focus and relentless effort.

A lack of collaboration not only discourages employees, it leaves managers feeling powerless and stressed from the over-responsibility. That is the basis for the Gallup Poll research that states employee engagement and a more collaborative culture increases productivity by 74 percent.

The U.S. economy has been slow to recover, unemployment remains high, the federal government's credit rating has been downgraded and some still fear the economy could slip back into a recession as more uncertainty looms in world markets because of the impending European debt crisis.

Fueled by its proximity to Chicago, vacant parcels of land, aggressive economic development initiatives and an engaged collegiate community, Kenosha County is making great strides in its rebound from the Great Recession.

The big automotive makers are gone, but Kenosha County has become a magnet for other businesses.

Since the beginning of the Great Recession, banks have been saddled with a glut of commercial real estate that they took back when property owners could no longer make payments or could not get their loans refinanced.

The high-tech market is flooded with new mobile devices, tablets and touch screen devices nearly every day, and yet, doing a group presentation or video conferencing on a tablet for business still isn't exactly easy.

There has been a lot of speculation about China having reached the Lewis Turning Point; the theoretical point when excess labor dries up and rapid increases in wages drives prices and inflation

Oregon, Wis.-based Gorman & Company recently began construction on a $19 million project to transform the former Brew House building and Mill House building, located at the former Pabst brewery complex in downtown Milwaukee, into a 90-room hotel.

Business owners spend a lifetime building a legacy only to risk having it swiped away because of a failure to plan. That's why estate planning, especially in an uncertain economy, is essential for business owners. The problems that businesses face upon an owner's death include lack of a succession plan or a market for the company. Even worse, the business may be the asset that triggers estate tax exposure. As a result, the business is all too often sold in a fire sale for less than full consideration because the estate needs funds to pay taxes on the business itself. The IRS will value the company at full fair market value the instant before the business owner passed away.

As a patent attorney at the law firm of Davis & Kuelthau, S.C. in Milwaukee, Joseph Heino has published numerous articles in professional journals and has done a large amount of technical writing.