So, you're working at Walmart?

By Gary Weldon (Staub Manufacturing Solutions)

Dear Walmart worker,

I want you to understand that I don't have a beef with you working at a retail store. That can be a good fit for some people, like students and those looking to pick up some part-time cash. But if you are looking to support a family, live the American dream or, at the very least, leave your parent's basement, you may want to be looking at other career options.

You might say to me, "Gary, I don't have any good career options. I didn't go to college." or maybe, "I went to college and now I have a bunch of student loans to pay off and I can't find a job in my field." Well, I have some good news! There are other, more viable, options. Let me explain. Or, better yet, let me tell you my story.

What we've got here is a failure to educate (Part 2)

By Steve Staub (Staub Manufacturing Solutions)

We don’t teach kids what they need to know to hold down a job.

Yesterday in part 1, I shared that I feel that the education system in this country has failed. Here are the three things I think are the main problems: Government, Methodology and Parents.

Government:

When the Government realized that the schools were pushing kids out that can’t even read they initiated  a brilliant plan called “standardized testing”. This, in my opinion, has done nothing but dumb down our schools.  Instead of teaching our kids the skills they need to survive in the real world, we are just teaching them to pass tests. Each Spring all the grade levels are required to take the State Proficiency Tests and it has turned into a classic case of you get what you measure. The schools get money and prestige (if they do well) and the teachers get graded on how the kids do on these tests. Because this is the primary focus, the schools will actually stop teaching new items to the kids and spend 3-4 weeks just teaching them how to pass these tests. So today we have workers who may know how to take tests but not much else.

What we've got here is a failure to educate (Part 1)

By Steve Staub (Staub Manufacturing Solutions

The education system in the United States has failed. 

You know why I say that? Because I think that if people were educated correctly they could get a job. I am amazed with how many people are complaining about jobs these days. Employers complain that they can’t find people to fill their open jobs and the unemployed complain that there are NO jobs.

Why is this? How can we have 7.5% unemployment and many other folks that are under-employed, yet employers can’t find the people they need? Let me tell you a little story about what happened to us just within the last few weeks:

Would You Ever “Fire” a Customer?

By Debbie Wanamaker (B2B Marketing Consultants, LLC)

Companies aren’t allowed to fire customers - customers are only allowed to fire companies. Not so!

When companies are first getting started they tend to accept just about any customer who is willing to pay them. However, established companies need to be more strategic in their customer selection in order to maximize profitability as well as employee and owner morale.

Is “selecting” your customers a novel concept for you? Were you under the impression that only customers had “selection” power?

When you’re beyond the immediate worries of cash flow, you can start to focus on profitability, enjoying the work you do, and enjoying the customers you work with – luckily these three things happen together when you have the right customers.

City of Dayton Killing Jobs, Hurting Economic Development (Part 5)

By Steve Staub (President, Staub Manufacturing Solutions)

There are solutions to this problem other than just saying, "No".

Unfortunately, this is the current practice in Dayton. Let’s start with an understanding that 150 million to 160 million pounds of TMDI (Total Maximum Daily Inventory) materials have existed above the aquifer for at least 25 years and have not destroyed the aquifer. Let’s add that the river is the single largest source of recharge for the aquifer and the contents of the river are a far more significant risk. With this in mind let's look at some possible solutions.

Three solutions that need to be considered:

A.  Allow TMDI Growth:
This was the original intent of the ordinance. In the original ordinance there was not an approval of or an intent to set a cap on the TMDI of each property. So, if the amount of restricted material is allowed to go up to 165 million pounds to support job growth then that is a positive thing, right? There is no logical argument that 160 million pounds is an acceptable risk and 165 million pounds is not. Oh sure, 100 years ago people used to dump waste material on the ground, but that is a thing of the past. Environmental practices have evolved, it is time for the Dayton Well Field Ordinance to do the same!

It is a weak argument to advocate that any protection is provided by a time of travel line to a few hundred properties while a property just feet away has no limit and could have millions of pounds of TMDI. This aura of protection is yet another part of the ruse that surrounds this ordinance and how it’s administered.