Intentional actions bring intended results

Intended actions often result in unintentional consequences. We often set wheels in motion that eventually stop in places we had not considered, planned for...

Downtown: Make sure there is room for all

The Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority apparently needs to be encouraged to begin using the important information delivered by Gibbs Planning Group in a...

Land bank proves valuable to communities

Last week the nonprofit LINC (Lighthouse Inc.) community revitalization group announced a major project in the Madison Square neighborhood, a place-making initiative that may,...

The choices ahead: borrow, raise taxes or cut expenses

The federal income tax may be the cause of the end of our culture as we have known it. It will not be due...

West Michigan: a culture of optimism and conscience

I learned something this year. After spending the past 20 years in Chicago and Detroit, I returned home to West Michigan approximately one year...

Partnerships strengthen area’s real estate risk-takers

For the second time in 26 years, Grand Rapids is the host and beneficiary of the University of Michigan/Urban Land Institute annual meeting. The...

Voters are no longer stupid about the economy

In 1992, James Carville, the political strategist for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign against the incumbent George H.W. Bush, coined the phrase “the economy, stupid,”...

Dealing with a cash-strapped business: Keep it ordinary

One of the first lessons a child is taught is that you can't take things that belong to someone else. This lesson is pretty...

Business owners weather area’s multiple storms

As the presidential election and the dominant candidate coverage draws to a conclusion this week, the Business Journal offers congratulations to business owners and...

Decisions, decisions — how good are you at making them?

Decisions — either by you, your coworker, your boss, your family members, or your customer — drive your success, your lifestyle and your attitude. As...

Be yourself in all you say and do to earn success

How might the world be different if transparency truly replaced the guarded face we typically present when interacting with others? If we were to transform...

Fat-free data consumption begins with an ‘information diet’

As educators, it is not uncommon to discover that one or more students are either texting, surfing the web or updating Facebook while the...

Vote for insurance supporters

Editor: Every time you get in a vehicle, you are at risk of getting in an accident. Luckily, Michigan’s auto no-fault insurance system means...

Canada’s approach to tax rates: a comparison to U.S.

In this presidential campaign, we have heard the phrases “the 47 percent” and “effective tax rate of 14 percent.” The former is the percentage...

Metro’s search for partner could help employers

Metro Health is a specialty hospital in Michigan as a provider of osteopathic medical education, and it is once again convening a comparatively public...

Health care not immune to free market principles

Editor: I read with particular interest the article in the Oct. 9 Business Journal about the choice young doctors will face in whether to join...

Mitigate the risk and expense of buying a gas station

While there is environmental risk associated with gas stations, dry cleaners and other suspect sites, the laws enacted and equipment used at newer gas...

The things you decide direct your future

I recently met an interesting man named Dr. Thomas Mooney. He is a psychologist who uses the methodology espoused by well-known psychologist Albert Ellis...

Policy Forum brings bright minds to the discussion

The West Michigan Policy Forum this week is being conducted amidst some of the best economic news the state has seen in a decade....

Fair versus equal legacy planning with a family business

Planning for the succession of a family business can go beyond a discussion of equal versus fair. Should the business be transitioned now or...