04
Nov
Oligopolies in plain sight
Categories: Employee Ownership, Opinions, Social commentary
A judge blocked the merger of two book publishing companies after the US regulators objected to the merger on the grounds of it being anti-competitive and harmful. While that’s...
Recent Posts
Oligopolies in plain sight
November 4, 2022 by Mike Mallaro
A judge blocked the merger of two book publishing companies after the US regulators objected to the merger on the grounds of it being anti-competitive and harmful. While that’s probably true, it strikes me like your kid eating two Big Macs, fries,...
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Is employee recognition worth the effort?
September 7, 2022 by Mike Mallaro
We recently moved my Dad out of the home he has lived in for nearly four decades. Declining cognitive abilities and frailties of age necessitated his move to assisted living. One of the traumas, and joys, of moving from home to assisted living...
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Unintended Consequences
May 13, 2022 by Mike Mallaro
A frightening nationwide shortage of baby formula (and enteral nutrition supplies) is creating disruption and anxiety among the many people who rely on these products. On the surface it is another in a series of supply chain issues that seem to be everywhere...
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Recharge Your Battery & Renew Your Soul @ Heartland
March 9, 2022 by Mike Mallaro
You belong at VGM’s Heartland Conference this summer (June 13-15, 2022) if you are involved in the HME industry. Get there.
Let’s face it, after two years of a pandemic, isolation, workforce disruptions, supply chain constraints...
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Celebrating ESOP Month
October 29, 2021 by Mike Mallaro
October is ESOP month. An ESOP is an employee stock ownership plan that gives workers equity ownership in the company in which they work. Our company, VGM Group, is a 100% ESOP, which means that all its stock is owned by our employees. There...
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The Finish Line
April 30, 2021 by Mike Mallaro
The sun is shining in Waterloo, Iowa. Sixty or seventy people are queued up at our Annex office getting their second dose of vaccine. A VGM mom, masked, her eight-week-old baby in tow. Baby knows no other world,...
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In Support of Happy, Healthy, and Safe Childhoods
April 23, 2021 by Mike Mallaro
We began this week with a group of 200+ employee-owners returning to our office. For many it was their first time back in the office in over a year. They were greeted by hundreds of blue pinwheels decorating our lawn, adding a celebratory...
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Healthcare consumption trends during the pandemic
March 12, 2021 by Mike Mallaro
The pandemic had a significant impact on healthcare businesses and healthcare consumption. With full 2020 data now reported, we can assess the trends and what they may indicate going forward:
For the full year of 2020, health insurers...
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Reality Check
March 1, 2021 by Mike Mallaro
The latest census information sounds alarm bells for Iowa. Iowa’s population declined again in the most recent annual data, due to people leaving our state. This marks nine of the past ten years where more US born Iowans moved out of...
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Value in Peaceful Reflection & Restfulness
November 30, 2020 by Mike Mallaro
I saw Van the other night. He pointed to me, smiled and yelled across the way, “lowering your handicap, Mikey?”
Van is Van G. Miller, founder of VGM and the man who preceded me as CEO of our company. He passed in 2015 –...
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Is employee recognition worth the effort?
September 7, 2022
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Is employee recognition worth the effort?
Recharge Your Battery & Renew Your Soul @ Heartland
March 9, 2022
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Recharge Your Battery & Renew Your Soul @ Heartland