If you’re a CEO, motivating yourself is a no-brainer. You lead the pack because your business is your passion, but your employees might be different story. How can you make them see the finish line, not just the next hurdle? SmartCEO asked local leaders how they’ve inspired their staffs to go the distance and then some.

To read more about employee motivation, check out the digital edition of Philadelphia SmartCEO’s December issue.

‘Tis the season to be giving, but some local businesses have been generous all year long. SmartCEO asked those corporate Santa Clauses to share their ideas about how and where they donate.

Read more about corporate giving in Baltimore SmartCEO’s December issue.

The Village at Odenton Station

For two years, it was nothing more than 10 acres of vacant space off Route 32, but in September, the Massachusetts-based Dolben Company finally began vertical construction on The Village at Odenton Station.

The Dolben Company has been an owner and operator of apartments in Anne Arundel County, Md., since 1982, starting its portfolio with Crofton Village Apartments, and since then adding notable projects like the Piney Orchard development in Odenton.

The Village will be the first development in Odenton’s new Town Center, a project 15 years in planning.

Read more in Washington SmartCEO’s November issue.

Foodies of Philly, take note: The Enterprise Center is out to find the next Bobby Flay or Stephen Starr with its latest project — The Center for Culinary Enterprises.

Scheduled to break ground this spring, this new culinary incubator will provide a business home and commercial cooking space to dozens of the city’s “informal entrepreneurs” struggling to run baking, catering or food-cart  businesses out of their homes.

Read more in Philadelphia SmartCEO’s November issue.

With seasoned professionals delaying retirement and bright young minds entering the workforce simultaneously, the age and experience gaps have never been larger – or trickier. For the first time ever, four generations are coming together in the workplace, each with different communication styles, motivations and feedback preferences. SmartCEO asked business leaders how they adjust their management styles to accomodate generational differences.

Read more about generational management in SmartCEO magazine’s digital edition.

The details are different, but all too often, the stories are the same. One company’s CEO is diagnosed with debilitating health problems and is forced into abrupt retirement. Another firms executive is killed in a terrible accident. Yet another business leader hits her 70th birthday and realizes she’s ready to retire, but the business can’t function without her.

The question is unpleasant but necessary: If you stepped down tomorrow, how would your business fare? SmartCEO asked local CEOs to share their advice on the success planning process.

Read more in SmartCEO magazine’s digital edition.

There is little universal agreement when it comes to healthcare reform, but there might be one consensus: Our country wouldn’t be in this mess if we were all a little healthier. In the past, care providers focused on reactive treatments to heal the ailments that patients developed, but recent years have marked the beginning of a shift toward preventive care, also known as “wellness.”

According to a 2010 Society of Human Resource Management Survey, 59 percent of employers are now offering wellness programs as part of employee healthcare coverage. Though their reasons for adding the programs range from employee demand to social responsibility, businesses are increasingly finding that healthy employees add to their bottom lines.

Read more in Philadelphia SmartCEO‘s October issue.

The premier issue of Philadelphia SmartCEO launched in September 2010.

Philadelphia became the third market where SmartCEO will educate, motivate and inspire CEOs to better their businesses, in addition to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Entrepreneur and former owner of the 76ers Pat Croce graced the cover ofPhiladelphia SmartCEO‘s premier issue this month. A story inside describes how this swashbuckling start-up expert went from a chiropractic practice owner to a basketball team’s savior to pirate aficionado.

Read Philadelphia SmartCEO‘s digital edition.

SmartCEO kicked off its Philly premier with a launch party at the Franklin Institute Sept. 16. Hundreds of Philadelphia’s finest business leaders and their guests enjoyed an evening of networking and learning about all SmartCEO has to offer.

See photos of Philadelphia SmartCEO’s launch party.

Hundreds gathered to celebrate the launch of Philadelphia SmartCEO at the Franklin Institute in Center City. Photo by Rachel Smith.

Philadelphia SmartCEO publisher Jaime Park poses with the magazine's first cover CEOs, Pat Croce and Tasty Baking Company's Charlie Pizzi. Photo by Rachel Smith.

"Science Giants" appeared in Baltimore SmartCEO and Washington SmartCEO September issues.

Why local bioscience companies deserve your attention

To some, they may look like geeks in lab coats, but local business leaders know better. With our tax dollars pouring into Maryland’s Bio 20/20 Initiative, the state’s more than 20,000 bioscience professionals have drawn national attention to their work developing and producing the world’s most advanced medical, pharmaceutical and environmental technologies. SmartCEO spoke with industry leaders to find out what makes Maryland’s biosciences the industry to watch.

Read more in SmartCEO’s September issue.

This article appeared in the September issue of Baltimore SmartCEO and Washington SmartCEO magazines.

by Rachel Cieri

Having trouble letting go? Try this advice to make it less painful.

Ever feel like your company’s progress moves in slow motion? Look up at the clock and realize you haven’t completed a single item on your to-do list all day? Add a task to your list and realize it’s in the triple digits? If the answer is yes, it might be time to get help. SmartCEO asked local productivity experts and CEO coaches for their advice on how to make your work day (and your employees’) more effective.

Read more in SmartCEO magazine’s September issue.