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OurView: Will AI spell lights out for white-collar workers?
Perhaps the greatest symbol of tech companies’ uncanny valley visions or the AI-powered future are dark factories — also called lights-out factories, these AI-managed manufacturing plants are so fully automated that machines perform their work in full or near darkness 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without breaks —[...]
The People Paradox: Why ‘Soft’ Skills Deliver the Hardest Numbers
Honestly, this job would be a breeze if it weren’t for the people part.” A regional sales director said that after recounting missed targets, two resignations and a turf war between product and marketing. The room laughed — tired laughter, the kind that comes when you recognize a hard truth. Plans obey Gantt charts; pe[...]
The Mailroom: America needs immigrants
I appreciate your column in the July issue of Virginia Business on the value of immigrants (“Your friends and neighbors”). I’ve been sounding the benefits of immigrants for years since working in the nonprofit sector helping immigrants and refugees in the 1990s. In addition to the factors and data you cite, I find it[...]
Virginia’s universities at risk if checks and balances fail
The Virginia Supreme Court will soon decide a case that goes to the heart of how we govern our public universities.
Virginia’s chance to legalize marijuana right
As Virginia lawmakers craft the licensing framework for a regulated adult-use cannabis market, there are many lessons to be learned from other jurisdictions.
The Mailroom: No excuses for illegal immigration
I was disappointed to see that your July column about illegals had a strong liberal slant. The term “undocumented” is liberal speak for illegal entry. It’s crime. We have a legitimate entry vehicle that includes green cards and visa programs in addition to normal immigration. There is no excuse for endorsing illegal ac[...]
The Manager Multiplier: How Engagement Turns Into Margin
You don’t need a billion-dollar strategy to boost your bottom line. You need a manager who gets it. Here’s the math: move a team from meh to energized, and you’ll see profits rise 23%, sales climb 18%, quality jump 14%. No new software. No flashy rebrand. Just people doing their best work. Yet most executives [[...]
George Mason President Gregory Washington deserves to stay
George Mason faculty say President Gregory Washington has led the university to new heights and warn against politically motivated efforts to oust him.
OurView: Our name is United S., and we’re addicted to undocumented labor
Amid all the recent protests, debates and debacles regarding illegal immigration and the second Trump administration’s heavy-handed response to it, one truth seems to be getting lost: America is reliant on undocumented workers. In its October 2024 study, “Mass Deportation: Devastating Costs to America, Its Budget and Eco[...]
OurView: Nothing new under the sun in Virginia politics
In late April, GOP lieutenant governor candidate John Reid posted a highly atypical campaign video on X. His political enemies within the party, Reid alleged, were staging a “coordinated character assassination attempt to force [him as] the first openly gay candidate off the Republican statewide ticket.” Gov. Glenn Youngkin,[...]
Bad managers drive away talent
When you manage people, you don’t just oversee productivity — you hold careers, livelihoods and psychological well-being in your hands. The data doesn’t lie, and neither do the millions who’ve weighed in on what constitutes leadership worth following. Fact: 69% of U.S. workers would rather clean toilets at a [...]
Let us honor Virginia’s military through educational opportunities
Today, we write to call on our leaders to continue investing in pathways that serve military families, keep them in Virginia, and strengthen Virginia’s economic future. The Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program — or VMSDEP — provides in-state tuition waivers to the spouses and children of service me[...]
