Recent content from Lee Schafer
Schafer: How many jobs will robots eliminate?
Self-driving cars and other robotic technologies won't come for a while, a top McKinsey executive says. But until then, leaders in business and society need to figure out how millions of people's jobs will be affected.
Schafer: Did Irwin Jacobs improve the companies he targeted?
Lord only knows how many different businesses Irwin Jacobs touched during his career, but it was his high-profile public role as a takeover artist that…
Schafer: Insider was wrong person to fix Wells Fargo's biggest problem — its culture
It’s actually possible to feel a little sorry for Tim Sloan, the departed chief executive of Wells Fargo & Co. Like the time Tim Sloan’s…
Schafer: Have low investment returns become normal?
If the Fed is backing off rate hikes, big questions still loom, business columnist Lee Schafer writes. Among them: how will savers beat inflation? And what will happen when the next recession comes and there is little room to cut rates?
Schafer: Lyft's filings are a new milestone for asset-light businesses
There were few surprises in the filings of ride-sharing firm Lyft Inc. as it prepared to go public. Anybody paying attention already knew the company…
Schafer: With 'Great Gatsby Curve,' economist Krueger saw inequality kids face
His work in the Obama administration highlighted just how long the odds kids might face of lifting themselves into the upper classes are.
Schafer: Companies should be smarter about stock buybacks
When looking to confirm news of a stock buyback plan, a first scroll through recent news releases of Medtronic PLC turned up nothing. There was…
Schafer: As people live and work longer, is it time to rethink retirement?
Maybe it's time to dump the term full retirement age: A lot of hard-to-plan-for things can happen between the last day on the job and last day on earth.
Schafer: New-housing infrastructure fees stir up the suburbs
Deep in a report by the trade group Housing First Minnesota on fees cities collect on new housing is a little chart that shows how…
Schafer: Lessons about the power of being a 'headquarters economy'
Our governor and legislators might be a little busy now but by next session they should have read a new book called "Headquarters Economy" by business school Prof. Myles Shaver.
Schafer: Amazon's single-minded focus has allowed retailers like Target to outflank it
E-commerce giant's focus on delivery left a gap for those who knew customers.
Schafer: Tax avoidance might make financial sense, but is it fair?
It’s apparently not embarrassing any more to talk openly about tax avoidance. This term shows up in news articles, investment websites and in invitations to…
Schafer: Public subsidies for the Apples of the world are real puzzlers
While it's certainly possible to have missed some, a good-faith effort to find one built without any public subsidy came up empty.
Schafer: When a health system works together, outcomes improve
A HealthPartners senior leaders' meeting was a rare opportunity to see and hear how the managers think and talk to one another.
Schafer: In light of 2017 law, Minn. needs to take a look at its income tax
Perhaps it's time for at least a little concern that Minnesota, a state that gets more than half its general fund revenue from individual income taxes, has the kind of problem that has been brewing elsewhere.
Schafer: Otis-Magie Insurance Agency bought by industry innovator, Marsh & McLennan Agency
The recent acquisition of Otis-Magie Insurance Agency in Duluth by a firm called Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC was too small to be statewide news.…
Schafer: It's smart to get in on stock options with promising startups
Venture capitalist Rob Weber of Great North Labs really wants more Minnesotans to overcome their hesitancy and join promising young technology companies to get in…
Schafer: Bud Light's Super Bowl ad missed target market, upset farmers
For students of business, the whole episode seems baffling.
Schafer: The best spot to retire might not be the warmest
It turns out that Minnesota is a contender on lots of rankings of the healthiest states.
Schafer: TCF Financial-Chemical Financial merger comes down to one thing
What really matters now is cutting costs and becoming efficient enough to hang around as the industry consolidates.
Schafer: IT woes that haunt Walz also plague businesses everywhere
He lamented there's no real constituency championing more IT investments, at least until something goes wrong. But that's hardly unique to government.
Schafer: Shopko bankruptcy filing raises some questions
Shopko stores are being put out of business by competitors who are simply better at delivering what more consumers want.
Schafer: New normal highlighted by growth of logistics at C.H. Robinson Worldwide
For those of us who have marveled at how fast business processes seem to change and technology gets adopted, that pace is only going to accelerate.
Nomics co-founder Clay Collins sees future in cryptocurrency
What he believes in is the long-term business opportunity for the tools and infrastructure.
Schafer: Fed finding maximum employment hard to measure these days
The law requires Federal Reserve officials to do what they can to foster maximum employment, yet it’s becoming obvious they really won’t know when or…
Schafer: Was RBC's fight for a prominent Minneapolis building sign worth it?
There's a temptation to think of rooftop signs as similar to the brands all over sports stadiums.
Macalester grad fulfills childhood dream of advancing math in home country of Mexico
Now an entrepreneur and educator, Cuauhtemoc Cruz Herrera has already made a big difference. And way ahead of schedule.
Schafer: Sears chairman will be remembered as professional investor who didn't want to invest
It's a harsh world for retailers and maybe nothing would have worked, but Edward Lampert gave away the company's best chance.
Schafer: Stop blaming yourself for retirement savings shortfalls
Reading a few tweets from financial writer Helaine Olen was all it took for me to abandon a long-planned personal-finance column that was going to…
Venture capitalist says 'narrative has changed' on Twin Cities startup scene
Pessimists probably don’t succeed as venture capitalists, and Ryan Broshar seemed about as sunny as a person can be early on a Monday morning in…
Schafer: New tax on nonprofit salaries means less money going the mission
New tax on salaries was meant to level playing field, but it means less money going to the mission
How Sears Imported Autos is finding skilled technicians in tight labor market
Joshua Mills has been the Mercedes-Benz service director for Sears Imported Autos of Minnetonka for a couple of years, having previously worked as a master…
Scooter blight in the Twin Cities is a feature, not a bug of startups' business model
Research into the electric scooter business quickly turned up a piece by technology columnist Troy Dreier, writing for the Jersey Journal newspaper in New Jersey.…
Schafer: Xcel's pledge to be carbon-free by 2050 makes good business sense
What we have here might simply be a case of a big company going carbon-free to meet the rising expectations of its customers.
Schafer: Investor angst is up, even as the economy keeps rising
One "vulnerability" the Fed identified that got attention was excessive debt by businesses and consumers.
Medical records create a new software niche and opportunity
Health care systems have invested billions of dollars in their electronic record systems.
Schafer: Twin Cities investment in people (and not Amazon) is right move
The way the Amazon.com HQ2 fiasco turned out raised questions that leaders of lots of cities and states have to be thinking about.
Schafer: Lessons on giving from Thoreau and Zacchaeus
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." It's a quote so memorable that it…
Schafer: If you're like half of us and dislike job, here's possible path to retire early
FIRE, or "financial independence, retire early," is about willingly trading away material things for the flexibility to live without needing a paid job.
Lee Schafer: Minnesota, like others, was played by Amazon in HQ2 sweepstakes
Amid the flood of media coverage of the competition for the second headquarters project of Amazon.com were a couple of columns that saw real potential in the project for Minnesota, and they were written by me. What a sap.
Schafer: House-call startup finds new lease on life
A Twin Cities startup that provides health services through home visits is in its second insurance enrollment period.
Schafer: More Minnesota companies are feeling tariffs' bite
It's not just a management headache for big multinationals.
Schafer: CHS grew far beyond a simple business
CHS turned out to be in a whole extra business beyond making a profit on its members' crops.
Schafer: Mpls. investment firm tries to break spell of iPhones in our lives
Here's a possible lesson: If we want to be free of our smartphones, it seems, at least for a while it's going to be up to us.
Schafer: Tracking health spending by location gets tricky, but it's telling
Minnesota now tops the list of states in what's called healthy life expectancy, meaning not just still alive but generally healthy and free of disabling conditions.
Schafer: U economist has seen that investment in kids yields real economic returns
At least once a week the economist Art Rolnick gives a talk on the big economic returns from publicly funding early childhood education, or he…
Challenge getting his hourly work schedule inspired Thief River Falls native's $100M firm
When I Work is one of the state's highest-profile and high-potential software companies.
Schafer: Manova Global Summit called a success ... so far
Maybe one problem with the first Manova Summit was just unfamiliarity.
Schafer: Author takes analytical look at managing household money over a lifetime
"Manufacturing Wealth " is not an easy read. But for those who want to put some work into it, they will learn a great way to think about their finances.
Schafer: Rebirth of north Minneapolis funeral chapel grew into a community effort
Some of the support from Minneapolis and Hennepin County came in an unusual way.
Schafer: Rising costs are canceling out wage increases for most workers
The Trump administration insists wages are increasing. Many economists seem pretty sure that if so, the growth rate rounds to zero.
Schafer: Lessons from the crisis still relevant a decade later
The single best explanation for why we had a terrifying financial crisis 10 years ago goes back to how easy it seems to be to…
Schafer: Crow Wing Power co-op should look after members, not insider executives
The idea is that co-op members are well-equipped to look out for themselves, but Crow Wings is putting that to the test.
![Paul Aasen, president of the Minnesota Safety Council, said, “The workplace culture … [is] definitely heavily influenced by the organization’s i](http://stmedia.stimg.co/ows_153627452448815.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Minnesota Safety Council's Paul Aasen has good, bad news
Focusing on workplace safety can pay off by lowering costs.
Schafer: Income stagnation is a big factor in housing crisis
Housing costs more than it used to for most of us, and our incomes haven't kept up.
Schafer: Talking bank failures and 'Hamilton' at the fair with Neel Kashkari
Part of the fun of going every year to the Minnesota State Fair is seeing what’s new — and this year that included Federal Reserve…
Schafer: Founders of St. Cloud startup build tech portfolio on the prairie
They don't suggest it's a lot easier to build a successful technology company in a college town more than an hour's drive from downtown Minneapolis and half a world away from Silicon Valley. They just doubt it's any harder.
Schafer: Ford case defined role of business
Sen. Elizabeth Warren hopes to see a new legal charter adopted by big American businesses. The Massachusetts Democrat’s idea being to kill the notion that…
Schafer: How Minneapolis' top tech watcher views the Tesla and Musk drama
After talking to Gene Munster, it's clear he's remaining as professional as possible when sharing his thoughts on a potential transaction that was disclosed in the wackiest possible way.
Schafer: Key to apartment development is yield, and it's slim these days
If public officials don't take the time to really get it, odds seem high that the problem of not enough lower-cost housing gets worse in the Twin Cities.
Schafer: Commuting cost can drive home-buying decisions
Home buyers have long known about this trade-off between cheaper houses and longer commutes, sometimes called the drive-until-you-qualify strategy. Buying cheaply enough to get approved for a mortgage loan means looking in neighborhoods that are probably much farther out from the city center. But commuting with a car isn't cheap.
Schafer: Cheap, short-term health plans are a cure worse than the disease
The Minnesota Council of Health Plans hasn't taken a position on a new policy initiative out of Washington because its members apparently can't all agree.
Schafer: Immigration and immigrants are a positive force in Worthington
If you're in favor of economic growth, welcoming immigrants is one good way to get that.
Schafer: Answering the phone on the first ring is more than a courtesy at Stearns Bank
The Stearns Bank equipment finance operation in Albany, Minn., has a much bigger front desk than anyone could expect.It only takes one person to greet…
Schafer: Municipal fees a barrier to more affordable housing in suburbs
Another column in an occasional series on the future of housing. Realtor Kathy Samson knew exactly how a parcel of 6.3 acres in the northwest…
Schafer: Issues behind Supervalu sale built over decades
That just isn't Supervalu's fault. It was, however, Supervalu's problem.
The company never quite met the challenge.
Schafer: CEOs are doing just fine thanks to corporate tax cuts
Top executives are doing just fine, thanks to corporate tax cuts.
Schafer: Main Street Meter can tell us when there's no room left to grow
The current economic expansion is about a year away from setting a record as the longest in American history.
Schafer: Online businesses turn to old-school offline marketing
Maybe it shouldn't have been surprising that the world's leading e-commerce company plans to distribute paper catalogs and is going after new customers with direct mail.
Schafer: Bed-in-a-box concept lowers prices, but is it adding value?
For those determined to figure out what to buy without any help, good luck.
Schafer: Adidas deal with Timberwolves' Derrick Rose a bet that didn't quite play out
Co-branding with a bench player in an NBA backwater obviously isn't what anyone at Adidas had in mind when locking up the endorsement rights to Rose back in 2012 — a contract that has been regularly reported as worth about $190 million.
Schafer: Market forces, regulation have worked against more affordable housing
If the question is how to make more affordable housing units available, a Minneapolis Fed official's answer is not that complicated.
Schafer: Minnesota soybean farmers have a problem, but how big?
Thanks to an escalating trade dispute between the United States and China, Minnesota-grown soybeans are about to get a lot more expensive for Chinese buyers.
Schafer: Want affordable housing? Do you have 40 years?
Third in an occasional series on the future of housing. Here’s an old real estate joke you maybe haven’t heard before: Know how to create…
Schafer: Defining the Mayo Clinic could cost it millions in lawsuit
While it's obvious the Mayo Clinic is a health care provider, it's not at all obvious that this is the best way to describe it.
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