The Super Bowl is a cash cow: CBS sold out 30-second ad spots for a staggering $7 million each, with slots booked months in advance. And that was before knowing Taylor Swift would be in attendance. But is it a boom or bust for the local economy?

With an estimated 150,000 visitors spending money on food, beverages, hotel accommodations and game-related merchandise, Sunday’s event is expected to bring an additional $500 million to Las Vegas, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But some economists argue that the actual economic impact of hosting a Super Bowl is significantly lower because cities shoulder costs like construction, transportation, and security. Some cities have seen financial losses post-Super Bowl.

Either way, local businesses must rise to the challenge of an abnormal surge in foot traffic. Peter Guzman, the president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce, Nevada, underscored the importance of strategic preparation.

“This can be done with forecasting technology, inventory control technology and by simply understanding the numbers of their business,” Guzman told b. “I would suggest carefully analyzing all of the numbers that will be available after the Super Bowl game. These numbers will tell a story for future Super Bowls and future events.”

Grandternity leave: A new benefit for older workers

Coaching: It works even better than experts assumed

Under covers: From CIA officer to pajama company CEO

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The average age of a first-time grandparent is 50, according to AARP. More than one-third of the U.S. workforce is over the age of 50. If you do the math, that’s a lot of grannies and pawpaws in the office.

As a result, “Grandternity Leave” was born. It’s a policy that allows workers to take time off to bond with or help care for their young grandchildren. This is in addition to normal PTO; unlike maternity or paternity leave, it’s only for a couple days or weeks, not months.

Although grandternity leave is still uncommon, companies that have found success with it include Cisco, Mercer, and HireVue. Some HR professionals cite its promise for retaining — and competing for — senior talent.

In the ever-evolving landscape of work-life balance, companies are recognizing that employees have different needs in various life stages. Grandternity leave acknowledges the vital role grandparents play while providing the opportunity to be actively present during the crucial early weeks or months of a grandchild’s life.

Skeptics might roll their eyes — parental leave isn’t federally guaranteed in the U.S., so why give extra time to parents’ parents?

But as family dynamics change, more seniors are living with and financially supporting their adult children. Plus, offering grandternity leave could signal your commitment to fostering an innovative workplace that acknowledges and celebrates the diverse roles of your employees, prioritizing both their professional and personal fulfillment.

Today’s workplace is anywhere and everywhere, but your team still needs to collaborate and provide your customers with exceptional service. Zoom connects your business to employees and customers here, there, and everywhere.

More than just a video conference platform, Zoom offers complete business communications systems with top notch features like voice over internet protocol (VoIP), contact center support, and virtual customer service agents. Zoom doesn’t just support your business’s communications, it helps bring them to the next level.

Ready to upgrade how you stay in touch with employees, customers, and partners? Sign up free for Zoom today.

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Dr. Steven Rogelberg is a chancellor’s professor at UNC Charlotte, former president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and author of Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings.

Coaching has firmly established its presence in the domains of sports and business. For the latter, it’s usually timebound: four to eight sessions are quite common, but different models exist. The goal is a tailored journey in personal development, aiming to improve one’s decision-making and performance through dialogue and counsel.

The question is, does it work?

A recent meta study attempted to answer this by analyzing data collected across 37 previous studies. Impressively, these were all randomized, controlled trials — meaning they each had an experimental group (being coached) and a control group (not being coached).

The findings were notable:

• Coaching clearly was associated with key self-reported outcomes (e.g., well-being) and objective outcomes (e.g., performance). “This estimate is just below what is usually found for psychotherapy,” the researchers concluded.
• Regarding frequency, “the number of sessions does not matter much” between four and eight, as coaches will pace themselves accordingly.
• A “significant effect” occurred no matter whether the coach was an internal company mentor or an outside certified expert.

Ideally, employers would consider providing a coach to employees as investment in their success. But when that isn’t the case, you can take coaching into your own hands: there are financially reasonable coaching services you can find to support your professional journey. Alternatively, you could ask a trusted peer.

We benefit from coaching. We benefit from meaningful conversations about our strengths, growth areas, challenges, and obstacles at work. We benefit from an external party’s different, unique perspective when they’re dedicated to helping us reach new heights on our professional journey.

• 1811: The modern steamboat was patented by Robert Fulton. 
• 1846: Wilhelm Maybach, chief designer of the first Mercedes vehicle, was born. 
• 1964: 73 million Americans tuned in to watch the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. Almost 60 years later, one of their songs hit a billion Spotify streams.
• 1969: The Boeing 747 flew for the first time. Although the original jumbo jet has been retired for commercial travel, it remains the airplane of choice for Air Force One. 
• 2010: Walter Frederick Morrison, creator of the Frisbee, passed away. His invention has sold an estimated 300 million units.

(Source: Petite Plume)

Illinois-based entrepreneur Emily Hikade currently helms luxury sleepwear brand Petite Plume, but the early part of her career was hardly a snooze. That’s because, Hikade told People, she was a counterterrorism case officer for the CIA. (The agency neither confirmed nor denied her tenure to the magazine.)

According to Hikade, her days at the CIA regularly consisted of monitoring assets for explosive vests — and though the job was exhilarating, it came with a level of risk that Hikade was increasingly uncomfortable with as she toggled work with mothering her four sons. She set her sights on a career more focused on sweet dreams than nightmare scenarios.

Petite Plume began as a side hustle for Hikade while stationed in East Africa … by the time royal Prince George was spotted in Petite Plume jammies, it was her main endeavor. Celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow and Anderson Cooper have been rumored to stay comfy in her PJs, and she has plans to open a brick-and-mortar location in New York City this year.

Written by Antonio Ferme, Skye Schooley, Ali Saleh, and Tess Barker. Comic by John McNamee.