History with a cutting edge┬áAfter an extensive search, Bing Thom Architects was chosen to re-envision the Arena TheaterÔÇÖs Washington DC home. The result is a striking structure that knits together past and present and points to the neighborhoodÔÇÖs bright future, as Keith Regan details.

Banking on lean times┬áThe Bank of Montreal goes back nearly 200 years, and now more than ever BMO Financial Group is heavily focused on ÔÇ£making money make senseÔÇØ for its customers, John OÔÇÖHanlon learns. No one needs reminding that ill winds are blowing through financial markets, and BMO has weathered economic cycles in the past. ÔÇ£We understand them, and we know how to manage through the downturns,ÔÇØ said BMOÔÇÖs president and CEO Bill Downe to industry analysts in September.

Performance excellence┬áMartin Ashcroft finds lean returning home to automotive through process improvements in a vehicle rental business. The business philosophy we now know as ÔÇ£leanÔÇØ has its roots in automotive manufacturing with Toyota. Many other industries have since seen its value, and the language of lean can now be heard in the corridors of healthcare facilities and financial institutions ÔÇö anywhere, in fact, where waste can be eliminated from processes.

20-20 vision┬áAurizon Mines is celebrating its 20th birthday in style. President and CEO David Hall describes to Gay Sutton how the company is progressing toward its aim of becoming an intermediate mining company. GoldÔÇöa precious metal that does not tarnish or corrupt. You only have to see the stunning 3,300-year-old face masks unearthed from the Egyptian desert to understand the power of its integrity and longevity.

A sense of place┬áArmour Group has grown steadily for more than 36 years with a business model that was way ahead of its time. Now it has brought environmental performance to a large office project with a first for Atlantic Canada, as Stuart McCrea explains to John OÔÇÖHanlon. Halifax, Nova Scotia, goes back 260 years, having been only recently established when Captain James Cook wintered there and carried out his first surveys. Accordingly, its history is as important to its residents as its future development.

The Ameristar Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado, is revamping its strategy to offer guests more amenities and new lodging options for more of a resort-like experience, Linda Seid Frembes reports Located 40 miles west of Denver, the town of Black Hawk, Colorado, is a former mining town that is now the stateÔÇÖs largest gambling destination. The small town is home to nearly a dozen casinos, all within an hourÔÇÖs drive of Denver International Airport.

Power play┬áAlstom Canada is taking on major projects in two essential global business sectors, maintaining AlstomÔÇÖs status as a worldwide specialist in energy and transport infrastructure. Jaclyn Beck reports. By 2015, the number of cities with over one million inhabitants will likely have climbed from 300 to 550. An estimated 350 million people will live in huge urban areas, each home to over ten million people.

Looking forward to recovery┬áIn an economic downturn, forward-looking executives introduce strategies for survival, but also prepare the business to lead during the recovery, says Rick Burris, Principal, Oliver Wight Americas. Stressful times create an environment of great risk but also of great opportunity. Economic downturns have always produced a winnowing out of weak businesses and ineffective executive teamsÔÇöbut they donÔÇÖt last forever.

Six sigma master black belt David Lengacher warns about a common oversight in change management programs. Managers must address beliefs and behavior, he says, not culture. Browse the business management section at your local bookstore and you will find many top selling management books proclaiming that all measures of performance should be directly traceable to the objectives of the organization. It is hard to argue with this, but it is often overemphasized to the degree that it can cause significant organizational side effects.

The Florida Department of Transportation is getting a rare glimpse into the world of vertical construction, thanks to its lynchpin role in the Miami Intermodal Center. Keith Regan details the lessons learned and how theyÔÇÖll pay off down the road. By any measure, the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) is an ambitious project. It has been in the planning stages in some form since the late 1980s, when county officials recognized that creating a smoother transition into and out of Miami International Airport could have enormous economic benefits.