February 8, 2016

The Business Case for Sustainability

We need a new, expanded definition of sustainability. It’s no longer about just the environment. It’s about building corporate cultures, nurturing human capital, and improving the bottom line. The number one opportunity and challenge for today’s business owner is recruiting and retaining the very best people. Today’s businesses are people businesses, and rise and fall on their…

Read More

image:Matt Damon in the Martian
January 11, 2016

The Case for X-STEAM

First of all, it’s hard. Tell a bright young kid today who “wants to go into marketing or sales” that he or she needs to buck up and take a pre-calculus class and prepare for the worst. Second, we’re selling it wrong. STEM is an awkward, schmooshed-together acronym that does a disservice to its component disciplines…

Read More

Image: Hal Calbom
January 4, 2016

Why a Land Grant College Rules Pacific Northwest Clean Tech

The modest Wood Composites Lab on the WSU Pullman Campus cranks out the sustainable ceiling struts, reclaimed wallboard, and weatherproof decking on which we’ll all host our 21st Century tailgates and barbecues. It’s the opposite of an Ivory Tower: without a lot of fanfare, our land grant university continues to turn the mundane into the…

Read More

January 3, 2016

So Long Sam Johnson, Hello Hashtag Hal

Welcome to my new web site! www.halcalbom.com is a more straightforward statement of how I work, who I work with, and what I can do for a host of potential collaborators and partners. What this represents to you, I hope, is an emphasis on what’s essential in today’s noisy communications environment. As never before, successful…

Read More