Despite entering our vernacular more than a decade ago, “blockchain” is viewed by many as a painfully abstract and mathematically complex concept to grasp. Automation Alley’s Noel Nevshehir joins us on the blog this week to demystify blockchain and explain how supply chain management, manufacturing, health care, finance, the Internet of Things (IoT) and other sectors of the economy are being transformed by this technology.

With the COVID-19 pandemic altering the public health landscape in profound and possibly lasting ways, business decision makers have been forced to think differently about everything from the design and functionality of their office space, to the procedures, priorities and protocols that will define brick-and-mortar environments in the months and years ahead. Andy Gutman of Farbman Group joins us this week on the blog to discuss what those pandemic-driven changes will look like and preparations you can be doing right now to get ready for whatever tomorrow brings.

The physical workplace is where connections are made, innovation is fostered and culture is grown. It’s also where employees have access to the people, tools and resources they need to collaborate and innovate most effectively. Megan Robinson of NBS Commercial Interiors joins us on the blog to discuss the changes in workspace design, process and technology that companies should be thinking about to get people back to the workplace safely in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The benefits of a college degree are well-documented. Including increases in earning potential, job opportunities as well as self-esteem and networking enrichments, the benefits of degrees are irrefutable. These benefits are even more accessible for Michigan’s essential workers under Governor Whitmer’s “Futures for Frontliners” program to provide free tuition. This week on the blog, Jenny Tatsak, Ph.D., Chair of the Business Communication and Marketing department and Professor of Business Communication at Walsh, shares the ingredients needed for an education experience tailored to students managing multiple competing priorities.

The notion of shepherd within organizations was popularized by the renowned South African leader, Nelson Mandela. There is no denying that shepherd leadership is a fascinating and unexplored phenomenon in the realm of leadership models in business. We are joined on the blog by Philip L. Fioravante, Ph.D. to discuss how these action-oriented, adaptative and empathetic leaders provide cohesiveness, clarity of orientation, and reassurance.