BizTimes Milwaukee

Business owners are taking advantage of the combination of historic highs for estate and gift tax exemptions, low business and investment valuations and extremely low interest rates to transfer and protect wealth – and uncertainty in the long-term stability of the estate and gift tax laws has many considering whether the time to act is now.

An employee with personal financial problems spends an average of 20 work hours per month dealing with them, according to Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation, a financial literacy nonprofit organization.

Brookfield-based Fiserv Inc. was recently named a "Best in Class" mobile banking provider for the second year in a row in Javelin Strategy & Research group's "2011 - 2012 Mobile Banking Vendor Scorecard."

Recently I spoke to a group of HR Leaders at the statewide SHRM Conference in Madison about attracting, leading and retaining Gen Y employees. I'm intrigued by the number of leaders who, as we talk about the differences in the emerging workforce, well, they just kind of shake their heads in disapproval. This is fairly common.

Most who know me would not call me a cold, heartless, task-driven S.O.B. In fact, I always end up solidly in the "amiable" quadrant on those personality tests. So what I'm about to say goes against my very constitution.

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.