Recent content from Lee Schafer
Schafer: How doing business can be a bit more like Christmas morning
One successful entrepreneur in Minneapolis is telling a lot of people: Thanks.
Schafer: There won't soon be another opportunity to rethink the I-94 corridor
The central cities have bore the cost of helping connect those in the suburbs to job opportunities. How can a reimagined I-94 help those who live in Minneapolis and St. Paul?
Schafer: The fruits of Honeywell's long-game dedication to quantum computer now being seen
Planting seeds — be it time, money or effort — today may not show up for years, but the wait can be worthwhile.
Schafer: Strategy without execution is a vision with no plan
Most business consultants want to help companies develop strategy because it's fun and gives bigger fees. But the Pinnacle Performance Group thinks the messy details are what really matter.
Schafer: Inflation is making us uneasy, so how can we find gratitude?
By most economic measures, we have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. So why do we feel so crabby?
Schafer: Investing in Minnesota small business is a winning bet
That's where the economic recovery is bubbling up.
Schafer: St. Paul rent control vote turns builders, bankers away from capital city
The Twin Cities needs new multifamily housing and capital is flooding in for projects. St. Paul's voters just assured the city won't get it.
Schafer: Soaring used car prices could have an outsized effect on rural Minnesota
Cars are a larger percentage of household expenses in many rural Minnesota counties. Inflationary prices for used cars could hurt family finances more there.
Schafer: Our supply-chain problems have a simple explanation: We're still buying stuff
The list of factors contributing to our clogged supply chain is long, but the reason really isn't that complicated.
Schafer: The award goes to economists who try to figure out how the world really works
Economist Milton Friedman co-authored one of the earliest papers on the folly of rent control, finding that it caused apartments to be so scarce…
Schafer: Otto Bremer trustees ripped out the brakes, hit the gas and crashed
Around the Twin Cities, executives and board members at for-profit and nonprofits alike for years marveled and muttered over the audacious makeover of one of Minnesota's largest charities.
Schafer: Gas car, EV or how about no car?
With a 13-year-old car in the garage, our columnist is taking a serious look at options for something new — including not getting a car at all.
Schafer: ESG investing now is everywhere, meaning we've got another DIY project
The website of investment manager Stonebridge Capital Advisors of St. Paul barely mentions its practice of scanning for environmental, social and corporate governance…
Schafer: We already knew hospital pricing was a mess, so now what?
Even as treatment prices become easier to find, it's unclear that patients will take the time to make comparisons.
Schafer: After all these years, for-profit education is just getting started
While the landscape is dotted with failed ventures, plenty of capital is still flowing to the for-profit education sector.
Schafer: How the Minneapolis Fed influenced the rest of the Fed on poverty and unemployment
Minneapolis Fed Neel Kashkari's efforts have had an effect on current decisions regarding interest rates and inflation.
Schafer: Maybe these NDAs really protect only the bad employers
Nondisclosure agreements limit the flow of information about employers in ways that have gotten too extreme.
Schafer: Target's stock buybacks represent a bet it will be more valuable in the future
Corporate share repurchases are often seen as a sign of short-term thinking, but they're actually the reverse.
Schafer: Time we ask if the big companies are getting a little too big
UnitedHealth Group didn't even announce its acquisition last week of PreferredOne, the health insurance unit of Fairview Health. A colleague reported the story based…
Schafer: CEO Martha is bringing the hustle back to Medtronic
Geoff Martha became CEO of the nation's largest medical-device company just as coronavirus spread across the land. His first job was to quintuple production of respiratory ventilators.
Schafer: The seeds of investment fiascos are always the same
The tale of a big loss at Hmong College Prep Academy sure looks like someone was sold a tall tale.
Schafer: The maze to get down payment assistance must be simplified
The gap in homeownership in Minnesota could be narrowed, maybe significantly, if these programs were made more simple and uniform.
Schafer: It's OK for banks to make money, if it means their customers are doing well
Credit loss accounting is an important measure of bank health and was a telltale sign of how the pandemic affected the economy.
Schafer: CEO pay is broken, but what about low-wage pay?
The debate over the outsized pay to executives is going nowhere. But the action at the low end of the wage spectrum is interesting.
Schafer: The biggest transfer of wealth in history is underway, for some
Some well-off boomers are going to be turning over a big slug of wealth to some very lucky millennials.
Schafer: Rent control is always popular, but it never works
In St. Paul, there are a lot of people who can't afford the rent. Putting rules on landlords won't solve that.
Schafer: How a hugely valuable startup succeeded without inventing anything
Bright Health went public last week in Minnesota's biggest-ever IPO.
Schafer: Good luck with management by Zooming around
Bosses can learn a lot by wandering around the office.
Schafer: Back to normal means the normal challenges are back, too
The news that General Mills is cutting jobs after its stellar response to the pandemic, and the results that followed, shows that going back to where things were was never going to be easy.
Schafer: Making a lot of money and being rich are not the same thing
An attention-grabbing article on the income taxes paid, or not paid, by some of America's wealthiest people framed its analysis poorly.
Schafer: Let's keep hybrid work from being the worst of both worlds
The best workplaces will have people connecting all the time with each other across the organization chart.
Schafer: Retirement trends show that work just might not be worth it
The cost of work has gone up and pay is still catching up.
Schafer: Developers should look beyond destruction and see waiting customers
The opportunity on Lake Street and in the other damaged areas still exists.
Schafer: For Minnesota's biggest companies, share buybacks signal recovery from downturn
Others may get worked up about the effects of share buybacks, but they don't give me heartburn the way that, for instance, executive compensation does.
Schafer: Workplace can't be just about work, so employees need an outlet
Keeping the conversation from spiraling into forever wars isn't just up to the managers, though.
Schafer: Commerce at home is the newest 'New Era in Retailing'
Loup Ventures of Minneapolis thinks one of its portfolio companies called Enjoy, about to go public, represents the next thing in retail.
Schafer: Why cars, chips, lumber and other goods are suddenly more expensive
Small changes in end-user buying lead to bigger swings in the operations of suppliers down the value chain.
Schafer: Supply chain shows its resilience in pandemic
The case for long supply chains remains intact, so long as they are flexible and adaptable.
Schafer: Banks resist racial-equity audits, but they shouldn't
Wells Fargo and other big banks have recommended shareholders vote down racial-equity audit proposals.
Schafer: How bosses can prevent employee churn at pandemic's end
Workers have reported high levels of burnout.
Schafer: There's good reason to believe Glen Taylor's Timberwolves pledge
Taylor's efforts to keep the NBA team in Minneapolis should be successful.
Schafer: A Dayton brother tackles a new horizon, efficiency in philanthropy
Constellation Fund is built on the notion that relying on objective evidence is the way to direct money into the most promising programs.
Schafer: Mpls. Fed economist explains how modern monopolies hurt workers
The kind of monopolists described in this research don't just charge a lot for their product. They keep far lower-cost substitutes from ever reaching consumers.
Schafer: Another week, another scandal unmasks an investor with a gambler's mind
Archegos Capital Management seems pretty typical of what you might call modern Wall Street.
Schafer: As vaccine rollout makes progress, you can feel the mood change
We are stuck in the In Between Time — approaching normal for some, not close to normal for others and plenty of stress in managing both.
Schafer: An actual investment produces something, and the rest is gambling
The sports-card collector and dealer Rob Hunegs said his market is as hot as it has been in 30 years."The market is also fluctuating, much…
Schafer: How Gravie nudged into insurance, keeps finding capital
Minneapolis health insurance firm Gravie got its start in 2013 and it's still progressing nicely, as it's just about to announce that it's closed on…
Schafer: There's value in offices, even if Target says it's declining
It might be easy to forget, after hearing Target Corp. say last week that it will empty a huge downtown office tower, that Minneapolis before…
Schafer: As inflation looms, the bond run ends and investors scramble
Investment analyst Michael Batnick, blogging at the Irrelevant Investor this week, posted what he called the most important chart of the decade. It had nothing…
Schafer: How a St. Thomas professor helps execs learn 'historical recovery'
If business executives are still puzzling over how to make a difference on racial injustice, they can start by going back to class. That's what…
Schafer: Wind turbines aren't a problem, but there are some on the road to carbon-free power
Three electric space heaters were running at our house the whole weekend of Valentine's Day, when it dropped to 19 below zero here in the…
Schafer: Sure, retirement savings for many held up in 2020. We should still do better.
Sometimes even the good news stories in this era of COVID-19 don't turn out to be all that good, and so it is with the…
Schafer: How Delta fared better than other airlines while leaving middle seats open
A lot of people must only care about price when buying airline tickets.Nothing else explains why there's not only travel websites such as Expedia but…
Schafer: Why the search for satisfaction at work is crucial and sometimes elusive
Aaron Kardell, founder and chief executive of the Minneapolis software firm HomeSpotter LLC, thinks he might have written his first computer program when he was…
Schafer: Walz's strategy for EVs could leave dealers stranded with models
The governor's desire to change Minnesota's auto market relies too much on rules rather than incentives.
Schafer: The difference between relief and stimulus is all the difference
The historical marker is weathered to the point it is mostly gone. And there's not much else to see but a stone chimney.But any regulars…
Schafer: Objectives are new, but the action on Robinhood last week wasn't
Last Thursday, the stock trading firm Robinhood Markets inadvertently said it would block its users from purchasing the shares of Best Buy Co., traded under…
Schafer: Why 'blank check' companies are all the rage
Back before Omar Ishrak retired last year as the chief executive of Medtronic PLC, run out of Fridley, it's unlikely the board ever gave him…
Schafer: In a tough year, donors came through for Minnesota's charities
Donors to Minnesota nonprofits were surprisingly generous last year.The total from Give to the Max Day in November blew through the previous donation record,…
Schafer: How Kinetic, a new networking site from Minnesota, aims to stand out
The social media site LinkedIn stopped being useful the day I logged on to find someone I knew who could introduce me to a consultant…
Schafer: Distrust is all around, especially in America
The authors of the annual Edelman report on people's trust in major institutions should be forgiven for declaring a bankruptcy in their most recent annual…
Schafer: It may not look like the right time, but plenty of business owners head for the exits
It made sense when consultant Julie Keyes said last week that the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the plans of baby boomers who had hoped to…
Schafer: If last week's chaos can't get CEOs involved for the civic good, what can?
The breathtaking actions of the mob incited by President Donald Trump to rush the Capitol Wednesday made it nearly impossible to keep your eyes off…
Schafer: Office life will change, but the need for offices won't
One item that stood out in this typically slow season for business news is the sale of a downtown Minneapolis parking lot to the global…
Schafer: I couldn't finish my annual financial review, so I started thinking bigger
Earlier this year I took my annual financial planning and year-in-review tasks off the to-do list.The only real goal left after about the Fourth of…
Schafer: What's behind the big decision Bob Dylan just made
Universal Music Group's recent announcement that it acquired the song catalog of Bob Dylan was light on details, like how much it paid, and…
Schafer: America has a dropout problem, and I'm not talking about schools
About 4 million fewer Americans are in the workforce now than at the start of the year.This is not about unemployment. About 19 million…
Schafer: Two Minnesota retail giants pay their workers when it counts most
Of 13 big retailers reviewed by research staff of the Washington, D.C. -based Brookings Institution, Best Buy was the top giver of additional compensation to front-line workers.
Schafer: Election revealed an economic paradox: Those doing well voted for change
What was already a very divided country remains one. And one of the biggest dividing lines is economic.
Schafer: Why the well-off should be thankful for good fortune
In the past 30 years, the share of wealth held by the bottom half of American households has been cut in half to less than 2%.
Schafer: Why Dollar General's store in downtown Minneapolis could be a good thing
Dollar General might have taken the place of Walmart as a retailer thought to both serve its customers well yet make communities worse. For those…
Schafer: Industry leader says e-commerce changes at retailers is here to stay
The pandemic has brought at least five years of progress in the transition to shopping online in eight or nine months — or maybe it’s…
Schafer: We all have COVID fatigue, yet there's reason for optimism
It doesn’t seem easy to tell the difference between COVID fatigue and depression. What constitutes the real differences is best left to the pros, but…
Schafer: You are on your own financially in America, voters said once again
Those looking for a clear-cut election decision must have been disappointed last week, with more divided government both in Washington and here in Minnesota. Yet…
At a moment of great need, how wide should charities and foundations open their wallets?
Philanthropy is another industry, if you could call it one, debating what to do now when doing business as usual just has to be wrong.…
