Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Terry Ploetz, Vice President of Business Banking for Centier Bank. We hope you enjoy Terry’s wisdom and perspective.

Time is a known and limited resource. In our daily lives we strive to save time for our own purposes. For those in a service market or sales position, growing your portfolio requires select and focused behaviors that take up quite a bit of time. To sustain future growth, you have to become more efficient or spend more time doing the work you did in prior years. At some point, the model breaks down; you can’t create or make more time.

Umbrella insurance is the subject of a few misconceptions that lead people to think it’s unnecessary. Some believe it to be applicable only to the lifestyles of the extremely wealthy, while others think their existing homeowners and auto policies provide enough protection. Both of these views fail to take into account how much exposure the average person is subject to on any given day. You drive your children to school, take your dog for a walk, update Facebook about your interaction with an unfriendly neighbor, have friends over for dinner—all without realizing that a single mishap or accident during any one of these activities could result in a lawsuit.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Todd Bruce, Senior Vice President & Regional Manager for Lake City Bank's North Region. We hope you enjoy Todd’s wisdom and perspective.

When you hear the words redemption and deliverance, what is the first word that comes to mind? I bet it’s not leadership. Leadership is about leading, coaching, developing, overcoming…to which I say, exactly my point, redemption and deliverance.

Have you ever dreamt of ditching the standard hotel room in favor of British castle or spending your vacation on a private island instead of a crowded resort? Thanks to home-sharing services such as Airbnb and HomeAway, either option is now attainable with the click of your mouse.

If the term “home-sharing” is unfamiliar to you, just imagine Uber’s business model with shelter taking the place of transportation. Home-sharing services are community marketplaces that allow people to rent out their houses, apartments, or even spare rooms to guests visiting the area. The practice offers travelers a unique alternative to hotels, and it can be a great way for homeowners or tenants to bring in extra money.

But while its benefits can certainly be extolled, the practice of home-sharing is not without risks. Whether you’re interested in hosting or renting, understanding how to best protect yourself from potential liabilities is the key to a successful home-sharing experience.

A strong return-to-work program has numerous benefits – for the employees and the employer! If you are having difficulty getting buy-in from your employees, front-line supervisors, or even top management to start or reboot your return-to work program, start by explaining the benefits of the program.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Tom Henry, Mayor of Fort Wayne. We hope you enjoy Mayor Henry’s wisdom and perspective.

Engage, innovate, and perform. Those three words have helped serve as my mission and vision since becoming mayor in 2008. Engagement, innovation, and performance also drive my leadership staff and the future leaders we’re developing among our 1,800 City of Fort Wayne employees.

On May 4, 2017, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2017-37 revealing dollar limits for High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) for 2018.

The threat of violence is a reality in the modern workplace. Each year, nearly 2 million U.S. workers report having been victims of workplace violence. And that is only the reported cases, unfortunately many other incidents go unreported.

The impact of workplace violence can be devastating. It’s a serious threat to an organization’s safety, security, business continuity, employee productivity, brand, and reputation. What can you do to prevent incidents in your workplace? And how can you be prepared to respond should tragedy strike?

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Ron Kitchens, Chief Executive Officer of the Southwest Michigan First Group of Companies. We hope you enjoy Ron’s wisdom and perspective.

With the rapid pace of change all around us these days and the constant drum beat of crisis, it is easy to fall into the Nike trap of management: Just Do It! Just do something! Just do anything! We all remember playing the childhood game, “Don’t Spill the Beans,” at least one point in our lives. The concept is easy: you compete against an opponent by carefully considering how to place beans on your half of a balanced bean pot in order to tip the pot towards your opponent so he gets all of those rotten beans.

The game of business is similar. A great organization knows how to place its “beans” in order to achieve success. When talking about customers or profit, we want the pot to tip in our direction. In regards to bad collection issues or supplier time delays, we want the pot to tip away.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) in an effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Act passed in the House by a vote of 217-213. After meetings with the White House and amendments to the plan in recent days, the Republican House leadership was able to secure the votes to pass this legislation.