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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: How much freedom is enough? Or too much?

Jams Surowiecki (en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/The_Wisdom_ of_Crowds) would like you to look deeply into your business soul and choose between chaos and high walls. For that matter, so would I. It’s a decision worth thinking about. The right choice could remake your enterprise. The wrong one could, too. Surowiecki is just one of several thinkers pondering whether organizations do better with top-down plans, processes and hierarchies, or with loose controls and chaotic creativity. His book, “The Wisdom of Crowds,” maintains that large…

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“No habla ingles”: Immigrants who want to advance find many programs to help them learn English

No habla inglesImmigrants who want to advance find many programs to help them learn English Osvaldo Escobedo was hungry to learn English. It was bad enough when he couldn’t advance at the Nissan Motor Co. plant in Aguascalientes, in central Mexico, because he couldn’t converse in the business language of English. Later, when he came to the United States, he couldn’t eat much more than what he could pronounce. “When I go to restaurant, I ask [for] ‘coffee and doughnuts….

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PROFILE DAVE BROWN: Passion for history, people drives manager’s hobby

Instead, Brown transforms himself from a 21st century theater director for the IMAX 3D Theater at White River State Park into a 19th century Civil War soldier as a re-enactor with Indianapolis-based Mid States Living History Association Inc. Brown’s interest in the past began as a child. He was fascinated with older people in his small town of Hagerstown, Ind. “I would sit at the old soda fountain in the drugstore and talk to old folks about their lives and…

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School founder traveled challenging road: Before starting Montessori Academy, Cain overcame loss of parents, dyslexia to earn engineering degree, MBA

Vivian Cain founded the Montessori Academy of Indianapolis five years ago, but for most of her life, she’s been a walking billboard for people striving to overcome obstacles. Cain, 36, operates the private school on the northwest side of Indianapolis. The academy, which Cain started with $40,000 of her personal savings, has grown to 100 students and could expand to include a second location. “When we first started, I opened and closed, and cleaned and cooked,” said Cain, who serves…

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Hazmat conference to stress preparation: Topics include corporate readiness, Katrina lessons

Organizers of the Indiana Hazardous Materials & Environmental Safety Conference are hoping Hurricane Katrina’s demonstration of mass destruction will be a wake-up call for businesses and communities ill prepared for disaster. Corporate participation in the 18-year-old conference has waned a bit in recent years as hazardous and safety planning became more standardized. Some companies have become too detached after outsourcing their emergency preparation to consultants, said Stephen Nash, chairman of the Indiana Forum for Environmental Safety, which sponsors the June…

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DANIELS’ DEAL CLOSERS: IEDC generating jobs, but economy shares part of credit

It would have been big. Just last month, a team of officials from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and The Indy Partnership, its local equivalent, were furiously negotiating with South Carolinabased fire-engine maker American LaFrance. Intrigued by a mix of economic incentives and Indiana’s central location, American LaFrance considered moving its operations to Marion County. In formal negotiations, the company dangled promises of 653 jobs and a capital investment of $18.5 million. State records don’t reveal what incentives Indiana offered…

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Plug in professionals when tasks seem overwhelming:

Running a small business is daunting, to say the least. Small-business owners wear many hats and are expected to be a master of everything: from hiring workers to coordinating group health coverage, from developing marketing materials to hitting sales goals, from assessing technology needs to making tax and insurance payments, from issuing invoices to paying vendors-all while keeping an eye on cash flow. Whew. Larger businesses may rely on individuals or entire departments responsible for each task. For small-business owners,…

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LEADERSHIP: Consistency key to influencing employees’ behavior

Being a leader is not a part-time job. I have worked with many leaders who failed to recognize this truth. In fact, I am sure there have been times throughout my career where I haven’t provided the leadership that my team required. The truth is that it’s easy to be a great leader when things are going well. When sales are up, profits are growing and customers are happy, it seems that you have all the right answers. You lead…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Honeymoon period ends for Steak n Shake’s CEO

The steakburgers and shakes still taste good, but suddenly the stock is less appetizing. Shares of Steak n Shake Inc. have shed 22 percent of their value since late March, wiping out $122 million in market value. And now CEO Peter Dunn, who had the Midas touch after coming aboard as president in September 2002, is confronting skepticism on Wall Street. “It just seems like something is missing,” A.G. Edwards analyst Jack Russo told Dunn during Steak n Shake’s quarterly…

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PROFILE ALEX INTERMILL: Life is an ongoing adventure for local attorney

PROFILE ALEX INTERMILL Life is an ongoing adventure for local attorney As an attorney, Alex Intermill is used to the hectic pace of corporate law. So you’d think that in his spare time, he’d just want to kick back and relax. You’d be wrong. The 33-year-old is an environmental and real estate attorney with Indianapolis-based Bose McKinney & Evans as well as the town attorney for Pendleton, in Madison County. He gets his adrenalin pumping by competing in mountain bike…

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Standard Life turns page, rolls with changes: A year after sale, firm improves rating, makes profit

Standard Life Insurance Company of Indiana has much to celebrate as it passes the one-year anniversary of its sale to Capital Assurance Corp. Profitability, a rating upgrade and product launches all are among the positives the company can tout since it gained new life and left behind old owner Standard Management Corp. last June. Standard Life notched a $15.8 million profit last year, due mostly to a gain from the sale of its life insurance business. Subtract that, though, and…

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SPORTS: Child of city fears demise of program that saved her

You can sense the ache in Rochelle Taylor’s heart, the knot in her stomach. She goes to bed at night wondering, “What are we going to do?” She wakes up thinking, “What are we going to do?” Kids are her passion. Not just any kids, but the ones who live in the city neighborhoods … often underserved, undeserving victims of circumstances into which they were born. And circumstances in which they might remain, unless someone extends a hand. Taylor is…

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BULLS & BEARS: Nation’s hefty trade deficit puts value of dollar at risk

Whenever anyone starts talking about foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar, you can usually see eyes-including mine-glazing over. Nevertheless, now may be a particularly useful time for investors to gain awareness on this topic. Currently, a number of wise investment thinkers share a growing concern that the U.S. trade deficit, currently running at an unprecedented 7 percent of GDP (the country’s output of goods and services), will eventually trigger a dollar decline. At Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting a couple of…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Life cycle costing process looks beyond initial price

The clients of most large contractors are typically as varied as the buildings they have us construct. Some buyers of construction are satisfied if they can simply get a building erected as quickly as possible at the lowest possible costs and are willing to make compromises in quality and workmanship. More sophisticated buyers are increasingly turning to a process called life cycle costing, or LLC. This process takes into consideration not only the initial price, but also the cost of…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Beware cost increases you can’t see

There I was at the grocery store engaged in economic research. I found a plasticwrapped pack of 24 half-liter bottles of “spring water” from a famous soft drink company was $4.99, or $1.57 per gallon. The store brand for “spring water,” packaged in the same fashion, was $3.88, or $1.22 per gallon. A 24-pack of regular or diet 12-ounce soft drinks from the same famous company was selling for $6.49, or $2.97 per gallon. That’s just about the price of…

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Stringtown-the next downtown success story?: Trio of real estate investors are betting on the burg

Drive around the roughly 50 blocks of Stringtown, a small, working-class neighborhood on the city’s near-west side, and you’ll come across some cute, rehabbed, two-bedroom houses for rent. But there are also signs of neglect-boarded-up houses with siding falling off, cars up on blocks, and broken windows. In the neighborhood just west of White River and the Indianapolis Zoo, a few real estate investors are wagering that the tight-knit district is ready to blossom. The burg stretches from the river…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Good transportation paves the way for strong economy

“Like it or not,” noted author Richard Florida opined as he looked out over a crowd that recently gathered in Indianapolis to discuss economic development issues in central Indiana, “you are all part of the greater Chicago region.” That might come as news to you who pay taxes, follow sports, or subscribe to a newspaper. But the point is well made. In the larger scheme of things-the so-called Shanghai perspective one would take in looking at our economy from the…

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Crown Hill nearing new deal: About 70 acres expected to sell for $5.2M

An announcement on new development for 70 acres of woodlands held by Crown Hill Cemetery and Funeral Home may come within weeks, bringing to a close a controversial land deal that some environmental and neighborhood groups hoped to stall. Crown Hill leadership is talking with three developers that have submitted competing proposals for mixed-use projects, cemetery President Keith Norwalk said. He declined to name the developers or provide details on their proposals but called an announcement “fairly imminent.” The price…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Improving state’s economy requires a team approach

More than 50 years ago, the famous economist Joseph Schumpeter told a simple story that perfectly captured the essence of market capitalism. It’s a turn-of-the-century tale of a railroad being built in a part of the country where none had existed. The new investment rapidly upsets the order of everything-once ideally situated towns are left high and dry, while others move up in stature as they exploit newfound advantages. It’s messy and it’s painful, but the result is for the…

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Cherrymasters’ luck might turn next year: Proponents argue that state regulators could electronically monitor slots in taverns around Indiana

In past years, legislators have proved unwilling to expand gambling outside Indiana’s riverboat casinos. But Indiana Licensed Beverage Association Executive Director Brad Klopfenstein, who has been leading the push to legalize electronic “cherrymaster” machines, thinks his luck could soon turn. “The legislators we’ve talked to, they don’t seem to have the steadfast ‘no, no, no’ attitude they used to have,” Klopfenstein said. “We’re hoping we’ll get a bill filed and it’ll get a fair hearing next year.” And new technology…

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