Commentary
Final Analysis: Code Talkers
Ever hear a guy tell another guy he throws like a girl? Runs like a girl? For male competitors in this rough-and-tumble world, its one of the earliest insults we encounter. And, I suppose, one of the earliest motivators. Not a particularly positive one, but popular and effective, at least when I was a kid….
Letters to the Editor
NORTHWEST PROFILESBill Virgin wrote an accurate article that reflects Pemcos status, some of our thinking and whats important to us [April 2014]. I enjoyed our dialogue and his ability to weave it into a story.STAN MCNAUGHTONCEO, PemcoSeattle THE BUZZ ON FACEBOOKPosted by Finagraph: Fantastic article from Seattle Business magazine on how Finagraph is like Carfax…
Editor’s Note: The Choice Is Obvious
The University of Washington may be one of our states most important institutions. It brings in $1.5 billion a year in research money and produces technology to fuel our economy. Yet it has had weak leadership since 2002, when Richard McCormick was pressured to resign as president after having an affair with a subordinate. McCormicks…
Commentary: The Pacific Northwest Is Booming
The stock market, the private capital markets and the mergers-and-acquisitions markets have all been suggesting a more vibrant economy is on the way and, last year, the economy began to catch up with them. By the fourth quarter of 2014, unemployment in the United States had fallen to 5.8 percent, making 2014 the best year…
CEO Adviser: Eastern Exposure
Historically, marketing ideas and trends have traveled west across the Pacific. In this digital era, things may be changing. With mobile marketing, its time to see whats traveleing from the Far East to the West. This wouldnt be the first time we could see the future by looking to Asia. I recall seeing a presentation…
Virgin on Business: Tension Headache
However the Udub-Wazzu fracas over a medical school in Eastern Washington plays out, the contretemps can be credited with one achievement already: It has put to final rest the notion that the Cascade Curtain has been torn down and were all just one united and happy Evergreen State. Not that the cause was showing much…
Final Analysis: Java Jive
If a starbucks barista handed me a cup with the words Race Together written on the side, I would assume she was challenging me to a 100-yard dash. Basically, Im 12 years old, so when anyone wants to race me, its game on! Imagine my surprise to learn Race Together was supposed to get me…
Letters to the Editor
MORE ON AMAZONI appreciated your Editors Note in the February issue. As shoppers, I think it is important that we look a little deeper than the price to determine where we spend our dollars. I, too, am a very satisfied Costco shopper, except when it comes to their packaging. I understand their desire to prevent…
Editor’s Note: Housing Authority
After conference board economist Ken Goldstein gave his annual economic forecast to a packed audience at a Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce gathering earlier this year, he was asked what changes he had seen in Seattle during the past 10 years he had been making the trip from New York. Theres a lot more panhandling,…
Commentary: Angel Investors
What do Facebook, Google, Amazon, Twitter and Starbucks have in common? They owe their existence today to angels private investors willing to invest at the highest risk point in the companys development. All startups require money to develop products and services before they begin making the products or providing the services. The more successful these…
CEO Adviser: Giving vs. Getting
I work with a lot of leaders and one common refrain I hear in virtually every industry is this: I dont know how to get buy-in from my team. Does this remark sound familiar? Maybe its a new policy youd like to initiate, or maybe its a great new idea that you read about here…
Virgin on Business: How Will It End?
Boeing ended 2014 with a record backlog of orders for commercial jets. The housing market in King County ended the year with strong gains in pending and closing sales and median prices. The states biotech community had several companies launch initial public offerings of stock; more IPOs from Washington companies are expected in 2015. Those…
Final Analysis: Seattle’s Growing Pains
One of my favorite Yogi Berra-isms is: Nobody goes there anymore. Its too crowded. Friends who live in the suburbs often view Seattle through this foggy lens. They love the city for its beauty, its attractions, its vibrancy and they stay away because getting in and out of downtown can be about as appealing as…