If you're not an attorney in Indiana, it's likely you've never heard of The Indianapolis Bar Association’s Bar Leader Series program. But don't let that take away from its importance. The Bar Leader Series is designed to connect young, energized lawyers with leaders in Central Indiana in order to help them grow into future leaders themselves.

I'm honored to say I recently participated and graduated from this program.

The concept of sustainability is virtually unavoidable in today’s world. Less open space, fewer natural resources, more mouths to feed, and a number of state and federal regulations to navigate. But even under these circumstances, Bio Town Ag, Inc. (BTA) is finding ways to improve the way we produce food, fuel, and fiber, all while revolutionizing sustainability in agriculture.

BTA is a multigenerational farm located in Reynolds, IN, a rural community, where farming is a way of life. BTA's farm operations consist of cattle and hog production, which also doubles as a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Its cattle and hog production, combined with the neighboring row crops, are a microcosm of the area's agricultural interests and resources.

At Gutwein Law, we understand navigating tax credits can be difficult. So, we've put together a list of tax credits for Midwestern states to help you get started. Today's post? I'll walk you through our firm's home state, Indiana.

Now, more than ever, startup organizations are popping up and even moving to the Heartland. But what is it about the Midwest that has these startups trading the opportunity to sit beachside for flatland and grass? In other words, how are cities like Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Madison luring new businesses to their respective states?

The Midwest is outgrowing the “Flyover Country” nickname, and it isn’t by accident. The lower costs, abundance of talent, and business-friendly policies found in the Midwest region all favor startup organizations. In fact, Forbes recently ranked the Best States for Business in 2016, and seven of the top fifteen are Midwest states. You read that right: half of the top fifteen states for business are located in the Midwest.

Our friends at M25 Group recently dug into this with their assessment of the best startup cities in the Midwest.

Still don’t believe it? Here are a few more reasons:

At Gutwein Law, we live by the idea of continuous learning and improvement. In fact, it's one of our five core criteria when evaluating potential employees to join our team. We feel it's not only beneficial to ourselves, but we hope it ultimately impacts our clients and others around us in a positive way. So, in addition to attending CLE's, volunteering for speaking engagements, mentoring, judging panels, and holding internal cross-training sessions, we read. A lot.

One of my latest and more valuable reads is a book by Brett Bartholomew called Conscious Coaching: The Art & Science of Building Buy-In. If you're not familiar with the title, Conscious Coaching provides insight on how to be a better leader, not only in sport, but in the workplace and in life in general. Although it was originally intended for strength and conditioning coaches, the principles and lessons throughout can be applied to leaders in any framework. The book details four components of the coaching compass: buy-in, relationships, social intelligence, and time. In a nutshell, Bartholomew brings a more balanced approach to coaching that involves science and art.