This is an original article the NIST Manufacturing Innovation blog, written by Dileet Thatte.

According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every year 48 million people in the U.S. get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases. That means 1 in 6 people in the U.S. get sick from contaminated food every 12 months. These statistics are important to take note of and address since the U.S. food supply also represents a huge economic asset, contributing almost $1 trillion to the national gross domestic product (GDP) each year.

This is an original article written by Elliot Forsyth, Vice President of Business Operations at the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (The Center), part of the MEP National Network.

When I was leading Organizational Development strategies at my former company, we used to call it the “getting hit by a bus” scenario. Then someone decided that was too morbid so it was rephrased to the “winning the lottery” scenario. In either case, we used the scenario to help the C suite and other senior leaders to think through who would replace their most critical employees if they no longer worked at the company. If your best and brightest employee won the lottery one evening and didn’t show up for work the next day, how would operations continue with minimal disruption to employees, customers, and stakeholders?

Originally written by Calumet Area Industrial Commission.

In January of 2017, Calumet Area Industrial Commission (CAIC) accepted the call to action from IMEC and the Illinois Department of Labor to administer America's Promise Grant (APG) to underemployed and low-income individuals, plus recent high school grads. Since then, APG has helped further CAIC’s mission in leading industrial expansion and retention in Chicagoland and Northwestern Indiana.

This is an original article written by Dan Brown, President of DB Performance Solutions.

Why Risk Matters

In business ”RISK” is a scary word. We have risks if we move forward and risks if we remain still. No matter what industry you are in, you are guaranteed to run into risks. As a business leader, how do you know when to take a risk and when not to take a risk? The answer is pretty straight forward - analyze and then manage your risks - which is certainly easier said than done!

Contributed by our partners at John Wood Community College.

Regional companies will learn practical ways to adapt for the future at the “ABC’s of a Thriving Workforce” conference set for Tuesday, September 24 from 9a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at John Wood Community College’s auditorium in Quincy.

This is an original article, contributed by Jeff Johnson, President of LMI Chicago.

Who has never said, “If I only had time, I would…”? Our bet is – not many! Time, the most precious of commodities that we sometimes take for granted, often squander and regularly wonder where it went. So, how do we take better care of time?

This is an original article written by Alex Newman, Co-Founder and CEO of Finance Fuel.

A quick definition so that we’re on the same page: Working capital is your cash for day-to-day expenses. More specifically, working capital represents short-term assets available to a business for meeting their financial obligations like payroll, creditors, and suppliers. Cash flow is your ability to generate cash over time, while working capital is a snapshot of what’s on hand.

This is an original article written by Gina McClowry.

Every leader leaves behind a legacy. Toxic leaders who abuse their leadership role can continue to harm a company even after they are gone. I’ve seen the long term effects of toxic leadership in some of the organizations I’ve consulted with. In each company, it took concerted effort and practical steps to rid the culture of the leader’s poison.

This is an original article written by Michael Allbritton, Cybersecurity Analyst and Trainer with Alpine Security. 

Introduction

Today we all communicate constantly over the internet. Some people say we spend too much time on our mobile devices, and we do not interact enough with the world, and with the people around us. However, that is a discussion for another time. In this blog post we want to discuss how we keep our internet communications secure from eavesdropping.