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Recent Articles from Bernie Niemeier
Media matters
It’s hard to have a conversation about anything in the headlines, especially anything to do with technology or politics, without some blame being assigned to “the media,” as if there were one enormous unified communications cloud shaping all our collective thoughts. That would be enormous for certain, but the media is perhaps more consolidated than […]
It’s time to thrive
Here we are in December, approaching the end of 2021. Most business leaders would say with some certainty that this year was better than 2020 — and thankfully so. Yet, as much as we’d like to say that COVID times are behind us, the return of cold weather and the indoor season keeps things uncertain. […]
Higher values
About 30 years ago, I was a volunteer for a local group of marketing professionals that was launching its Marketer of the Year awards. Publicity was needed. Working in marketing at the local paper, the task fell to me to pitch the event to the newsroom. In those days, the news business was fairly balkanized; […]
Letter from the publisher: Big impact
It’s nearly impossible to overstate the positive role that Hampton Roads plays in Virginia’s economic health. The region doesn’t fit neatly into a single name, location or brand. Is it coastal, is it the beach or is it the Port of Virginia? Is its economy mostly maritime, mostly military, mostly manufacturing, mostly international trade, or […]
Magical thinking
Listening can be difficult; that’s often an early lesson learned and hopefully one paid better attention to as life goes on. I’ll admit that’s been the case for me. Listening is especially important in business. Customers, co-workers, suppliers and vendors all have points of view that are worthy of consideration. Listening is probably the most […]
Political Kool-Aid
Depending on who’s in charge in Dee Cee, plans alternate on what is best for the U.S. economy. The choices are seemingly reduced to tax cuts versus government spending, but things are rarely as they seem. More accurately, these choices are two different sides of the same dollar — or trillions of dollars to be […]
Hot time, summer in Virginia
Thus far, we’ve been spared from the heat wave that gripped Oregon, as well as the drought hitting California, not to mention western wildfires. But summer is still always a hot time here in Virginia. Looking back, it wasn’t until 1968 that the commonwealth passed liquor-by-the-drink legislation. In addition to slaking thirst during the hot […]
Making history (belatedly)
Virginia, sometimes better known for its history than anything else, is poised to make more of it this November. There will be two female candidates on this year’s ballot for lieutenant governor. It has been nearly three decades since Mary Sue Terry served as Virginia’s attorney general from 1986 to 1993. Heretofore, Terry has been […]
Are big tech firms more like nations?
Roughly two years ago, Facebook announced plans to lead a consortium of companies creating a new digital token currency called Libra. The partners were to include major payment processors Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Stripe, among others. However, strong opposition from financial regulators around the world led to its shelving. Fast-forward to 2021, as global acceptance […]
A supersized lesson
In late March, the shipping industry almost went sideways. In darkness and buffeted by sandstorm winds, the supersized 1,312-foot Ever Given container ship’s bow snagged a sandbar on a bank of the Suez Canal. Its stern drifted toward the other bank, leaving the ship diagonally blocking one of the world’s busiest waterways. For days, it […]
