Commentary
Editor’s Note: Counting Our Blessings
December can be a mixed blessing. There are the family gatherings that can be warm but also contentious. There is the anticipation of the holidays but also impending end-of-year deadlines. There are festive holiday lights but also lengthening nights and the sad knowledge that we wont be seeing much of the sun again for months….
CEO Adviser: Helping Seattle Rep plan for its next act
As management and technology consultants, were used to helping clients solve tricky business problems. Most often, we find ourselves working with financial services institutions, health care companies and manufacturers on growing and transforming their operations and ultimately changing the way they do business. Our latest project with Seattle Repertory Theatre offered a change of scenery…
Final Analysis: Talkin Turkey
Memo to: Puffington Host Editorial staff From: The publisher Regarding: Butterball 2013XL As you know, we were scooped by every newspaper, TV station, radio deejay, blogger and neighborhood gossip when Apple announced the new iPhone 5S in September. We cannot allow this to happen again. I mean, what in the name of Miley Cyrus is…
Commentary: The New Competitive Edge
The Puget Sound region has long been a global hub of innovation at the forefront of change. Pioneers in aircraft, computer technology, software, renewable energy, coffee, online retailing, even grunge rock the Seattle area seems to have an outsize impact on the course of human evolution. Whats next? How do we keep our edge in…
CEO Adviser: Making Beautiful Music
Imagine an orchestra with no conductor. Without someone determining what instruments participate and when they engage, its just noise. That same scenario plays out today for many brands with the customer experiences they generate. Instead of instruments, they have departments, agencies, campaigns, products and projects. Each one doing its own thingyet they all come together…
Virgin on Business: The Big Easy
As big-city mayoral gigs go, Seattles is one of the cushiest. Unlike New York and Chicago, the mayor of Seattle is not responsible for the city school system, thus freeing him from that slough of dysfunction (although Seattle mayors, apparently feeling they dont have enough to do, keep making noises about adding that collection of…
Making an Impression: Ten skills you need to land a STEM job.
While Washington state is number one in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) job opportunities, our students arent always making the grade to fill these positions. Its more important than ever that Washington students get a strong foundation in STEM education as well as other critical skills that will help them land these jobs. Here…
Please, Mr. Post Man: What’s Bezos saying?
If you like how the media cover the media and who doesnt enjoy journalists talking about journalism? you can appreciate how coverage of The Washington Posts purchase by one Jeffrey P. Bezos should easily win the Bloviator Award for much ado about a guy going out to get a paper. Weeks after the purchase was…
Editor’s Note: Dont Let the Good Times Roll You
Our states economy is looking up. After five years in the doldrums, Washingtons total employment numbers are finally returning close to pre-recession levels. With new workers continuing to move into the state, the unemployment rate for June stood at 6.9 percent, far above the 4.6 percent rate before the recession, but dramatically better than the…
Building a corporate art collection can create a winning culture
Its no surprise that many businesses think corporate art collections are a waste of money. Art seldom makes much sense as an investment. But original art can add a rich dimension to the work environment. It can be one of the building blocks of a company culture, influencing everything from the spirits of employees to…
Was the collapse of Washington Mutual as unremarkable as it seems today?
Five years is not just a convenient round-number anniversary date. It also provides a resting point for perspective on and assessment of events of the recent pastfar enough removed from the actual occurrence to allow the dust to settle and emotions to cool, still fresh enough in memory for people to retrieve their fi rsthand…
On sustainable economies and living wages
At Seattle Business magazine, we offer perspective on the major trends shaping our regional economy. Last month, we examined the challenges facing our ports in the face of changing trade patterns and growing competition. This month, we take a close look at three very different issues and trends having a major impact on our region….
Stories Work. More Business Leaders Should Use Them
Attorney, Paradigm Counsel The Boldt Company builds mammoth construction projects: power plants, hospitals, educational and industrial complexes. But before Boldt can build, it must win bids. In the past, its bid team, working in the time-honored way, pit Bolts numbers against its competitors numbers. Their win rate was one in ten. With some coaching, the…