By Jeffrey B. Shapiro, Esq.

Are you protecting your business’s most valuable information? Losing control of it could give your competitors exactly what they need to take your customers and profits. In New York, trade secrets are the lifeblood of many businesses, whether you run a manufacturing company, a professional services firm, or a growing start-up. They can include client lists, pricing models, proprietary processes, source code, or strategic plans. The risk often becomes real when a trusted employee leaves. Imagine a sales director who copies your client database before resigning. With access to pricing structures, purchasing histories, and decision-maker contacts, they could quickly undermine years of relationship-building. This is why drafting enforceable agreements to protect this information can mean the difference between staying ahead of your competitors and watching them profit from your hard work.

The case of AdMarketplace Inc. v. Salzman¹  shows how an employer’s ability to protect vital business information often depends on how effectively its restrictive agreements are drafted. AdMarketplace Inc., an online advertising company, sued two former employees and their new employer, a direct competitor, alleging they had taken confidential client data, solicited employees and customers, and attempted to access its password-protected database after leaving. Both employees had signed non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreements, and one reaffirmed those obligations in a separation agreement. When the defendants moved to dismiss, the court drew a sharp line between overbroad non-compete provisions, which it refused to enforce, and narrowly tailored protections for confidential information and client relationships, which it upheld.

Restrictive agreements can be powerful when drafted correctly. They define what counts as “Confidential Information,” limit how it can be used, and outline the consequences for violating those terms. In AdMarketplace Inc., the employer’s NDA barred disclosure of client data and solicitation of clients or employees after departure. The court struck down an overly broad non-compete clause but enforced the confidentiality and non-solicitation provisions because they were focused on protecting legitimate business interests, trade secrets and customer goodwill. The first takeaway for business owners is that while New York courts often reject non-competes², they will enforce agreements that specifically protect confidential information. 

By Michael Cruz

All leaders wonder how they can get more from their people. The basics are not hard. The execution is.

First, leaders need to have a vision for their business. How they will serve their customers. They need to help everyone do the first thing first. In short, they need to help set priorities. People who work in companies need to know what to do – when you are not watching!

To achieve your priorities, you need the right people. You need strong players. That means that you must hire for the right traits. Traits include soft skills like the ability to make good decisions. Sell the customer the right products. Determine what you think success is. Then train and coach people to get there. Remove bad employees. Toxic ones. The ones who bring the rest of your team down. Getting rid of toxic people saves employees and customers too! 

Third, you want to motivate your people. Building well-oiled teams is key. Help them build relationships. Use assessments to help people communicate more efficiently. Reinforce the idea of sticking to priorities. Teach, teach and then teach some more. You are their coach. It is most important to get people to communicate transparently. They need to feel free to share honesty in a productive way. 

Workplace culture is the prevailing atmosphere and shared values that define an organization. It shapes the way employees interact with each other and with clients. This influences both productivity and job satisfaction. In examining your workplace culture, several aspects should be addressed: attention to detail, customer service priorities, employee autonomy, and teamwork.

Attention to Detail

By Reg Harnish, CEO of
OrbitalFire Cybersecurity

By now, most small business owners and leaders understand that cybersecurity is a must-have, not a nice-to-have. Ransomware, email scams, compliance requirements and customer questionnaires are no longer reserved for big corporations; they’re the new reality for smaller businesses in our own communities.

But when it comes to accountability, there’s still a lot of confusion about who’s actually in charge of managing and improving your company’s security.

If you’re like many small businesses, you probably have a part-time IT person or are working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP)—a third-party IT company that handles things like computer updates, hardware support, networking, and maybe even managing your cloud applications.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Your MSP is not your cybersecurity provider. And they were never meant to be.

The IT vs. Cybersecurity Divide

It’s easy to lump IT and cybersecurity together. After all, they both deal with technology and data. But they are not the same and treating them like they are can be a costly mistake.

Think of it like this: your accounting software runs on technology, but you wouldn’t ask your IT provider to do your taxes. 

By Natali Cobb

As we approach six years since the COVID-19 pandemic started, people are starting to notice the long-term impacts, and continuous aftershocks of this historical inflection point. About a year after the world shut down, people began to call this phenomenon “this generation’s 9/11”. Although I was just two years old when our country suffered the aforementioned tragedy on September 11th, I knew exactly what they meant. An event so impactful that history begins to be separated into timelines of ‘pre’ and ‘post’ event. We can draw many similarities between the post-9/11 and post-Covid worlds—heightened awareness of safety, generational rise in anxiety, shifting personal priorities, changes in travel, and cultural and workplace shifts. As a commercial interior designer, that last point is crucial to understand how people need to work and exist in this new world. 

Human centric design revolves around just that—human beings. It explores the needs, comforts, and well-being of humans in the built environment, and aims to create spaces that increase productivity, foster connections, and improve health and wellbeing. We as people spend an average of 90% of our time indoors, yet it has only been in recent years that the health of the spaces we exist in has really been considered. We are seeing more and more companies push for employees to return to the office, but are being met with resistance. People have become accustomed to working in their homes, with limited peer interactions except through virtual conferencing platforms like Zoom or Teams. Employees in the post-pandemic world crave comfort and flexibility in their workplace, and they are demanding more from an office than just a desk and wi-fi. 

Pre-pandemic offices prioritized efficiency of space over individual needs, but offices lined with cubicles are becoming a thing of the past. Some people thrive in buzz and collaboration, and others require quiet focus, and both can be true in the modern office. Flexibility in employees’ work environments has become critical to productivity—in Gensler’s 2024 Workplace Survey, employees who have a choice in where they work reported 14% higher productivity. This might include spaces like quiet zones, collaboration hubs, social lounges, and wellness rooms. Creating comfort in the workplace boosts creativity, reduces stress, and encourages employees to spend more time in the office.