Grant Otto on what 1,000 feet underwater can teach us about career purpose and the power of “waiting.” “The biggest ‘career moves’ don’t start with a resume; they start with curiosity.” I recently sat down with Grant Otto, a marine scientist and researcher specializing in marine robotics. If that sounds like a job from a movie, that’s because it almost is, complete with stories of underwater ROVs getting tangled 1,000 feet down and “wet storage” missions to recover equipment worth more than a house. But Grant didn’t come on Outside Insights just to talk about […]
In his latest interview with WDEL’s Peter MacArthur, Placers President Chris Burkhard offers a grounded perspective on the current employment landscape. While February’s loss of 92,000 jobs nationally (following a gain of 130,000 in January) may seem alarming, Chris suggests the market is simply “normalizing.” Key Insights for Delaware Business Leaders: The 5.2% Threshold: Delaware’s unemployment has reached 5.2%. While not a crisis, it marks the end of the labor shortage era where workers held all the leverage. Doing More with Less: CEOs are increasingly turning to technology and automation to maintain productivity without the overhead of massive […]
Leaders spend a lot of time thinking about strategy, hiring, and growth. But culture is often shaped by something much smaller: the expectations we reinforce every day. Over the course of my career, I’ve sat through more bad meetings than I care to count. Meetings with no agenda. Too many people in the room. Zoom moments where someone inevitably says, “You’re on mute.” Conversations that run long, go nowhere, and end without clarity about what was decided or who owns the next step. Technology has made note-taking easier. AI can summarize meetings and capture action items. […]
A conversation with community banker Marc Pelletier on trust, credit, and how entrepreneurs can walk into the bank with confidence I’ve met many people over the years who have helped shape my business, but today’s guest holds a special place in my story. On this episode of Outside Insights, I sat down with Marc Pelletier, my first banker and an old friend. Marc took a chance on me when I was a young entrepreneur, and I can tell you firsthand: having the right banker early in your journey matters more than most people realize. Marc […]
The Placers 500, the race to our critical number, and how we win by putting people first Every year at Placers, we choose a theme that’s more than a phrase on a slide or a poster on a wall. It becomes a lens, a story, and a way to see our work, our people, and ourselves more clearly. A good theme doesn’t just organize goals; it gives them a heartbeat. If I put on my coaching hat for a moment, here’s why leadership teams do this in the first place: because spreadsheets and business plans are hard […]
