Commentary
Letters to the Editor
ETHAN STOWELLThank you to Ronald Holden for writing the piece about Ethan Stowell [February 2015]. I think this is one of the best articles written about Ethans success and love for the restaurant business.Angela Dunleavy StowellCo-owner and CFO Ethan Stowell RestaurantsSeattle EXECUTIVE EXCELLENCE AWARDSCongratulations, Seattle Business, on an excellent event! You have developed a CEO-level…
Editor’s Note: Earning Respect
A couple of months ago, I wrote that as much as I appreciated the convenience and value of Amazons many services, I and others in the region would feel better about the company if we had the sense that Amazon was out to make the world a better place, whether through more civic engagement or…
Commentary: Encouraging Investments
Washington broke ground on the Grand Coulee Dam in 1935, paving the way for the states industrial boom across aerospace, agriculture, timber, retail and more. Eighty years later, the dam is now the nations largest hydroelectric facility, generating 21 billion kilowatt-hours annually five times the output of the Hoover Dam. Businesses and residents across the…
CEO Adviser: The Future of Work Must Be Romantic, Says Architecture Giant NBBJ’s Chief Marketing Officer
In tomorrows workplace, we should expect radical changes. While structure will matter much less, culture and intrinsic motivation will mean more than ever. Modern workplaces increasingly resemble living rooms and social clubs. We spend most of our waking hours at work, so employers want us to feel at home. These changes are caused by shifting…
Virgin on Business: In Line vs. Online
Long after every other corner of retailing has been overrun by the online shopping crowd, and all other brick-and-mortar outlets have become cobweb-and-dust repositories, grocery stores will endure. Not that the point-and-click types, led by some local players, arent trying to do those in as well. The supposed allure to consumers of swapping the experience…
Final Analysis: Charity Works
The author of the following words is lost to history, but the message is eternal. Be careful of your thoughts, for your thoughts become your words;Be careful of your words, for your words become your deeds;Be careful of your deeds, for your deeds become your habits;Be careful of your habits, for your habits become your…
Letters to the Editor
JUST SAY NO!leslie helms editors note column about Amazon in the February issue compels me to respond. Your attempt to demonstrate inequality by comparing Amazon to Costco is at best a stretch. Costco is able to satisfy your organic palate because the company is subsidizing your purchases and mine. With over 72 million members who…
Editor’s Note: Addressing the Health Care Anomaly
One of the biggest burdens on business is the rising complexity and cost of health care. Every new advance in health care seems to come at a higher price. Its the tax that keeps on growing. Fortunately, there is an antidote to the disease: transparency. Today, too many decisions are made in the absence of…
Commentary: Profit Statement
The great cultural organizations of our city are all nonprofits. But they are very much part of the business ecology of the city and make immense contributions to our community, both in direct financial terms and also by helping to create the kind of city that people want to live and work in. The 1998…
Letters: The Future is Now
Predictions for 2015 The push for more personal cloud technologies will lead to a shift toward services and away from devices.David WagstaffVice president and chief architect, Bsquare CorporationBellevue Achievement rates for low-income students wont get better without intervention from foundations, nonprofits, schools and governments working together.Deidre McCormackExecutive director, Summer SearchSeattle We will see the data…
Virgin on Business: Let the Game Begin!
Are you ready for another round of What Does Boeing Want This Time to Stay Here? Youre not? You dont feel like playing? Too bad. So sorry. Its already started. That collective, audible groan you just heard was from workers, labor union leaders, politicians, government officials, suppliers, taxpayers in other words, just about everyone whose…
Final Analysis: Tunnel Visions
It would appear that the splendid boondoggle officially known as the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel has become the latest shining example of a city and state outkicking their coverage. In December, after officials said the tunnel probably wouldnt be completed until August 2017, a story at Crosscut.com inadvertently reported the year as 2107. While…
Editor’s Note: The Amazon Tug-of-War
I recently bought a powerful fluorescent light bulb on Amazon.com to help fight off the darkness of this long Northwest winter. It gives off the light of a 150-watt bulb but uses one-third the energy, or so I am told. Unfortunately, the bulb was too big for my light fixtures. When I let Amazon know,…