Commentary
Dudes with ‘Tudes
Illustration by Chad Crowe Welcome to this months meeting of the Executive Improvement, Enrichment and Investment Organization. The mission of the EIEIO has always been to show corporate leaders how to reach the summit in their careers and in their personal lives. We are incredibly fortunate to have Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and Seattle Mariners…
Building the Dream Team
When John Kueber was appointed associate publisher of Seattle Business three years ago, the magazine was struggling to find its way. The University of Washingtoneducated entrepreneur, who has launched and sold four companies, was soon promoted to publisher, and he moved quickly to put the magazine on solid ground. Even as he took on additional…
Reaching New Heights
Two years ago, Seattle office space company Apex Facility Resources was experiencing growth but not achieving the level of profitability it expected for the time and money being invested. This situation is not uncommon. Many companies with growth spurts lack the infrastructure to support that growth. Apex CEO Marlaine McCauley knew something was broken, but…
Revitalizing Seattle
Welcome, readers, to another edition of Modest Proposals, an irregular feature of Seattle Business magazine in which we offer bold, visionary, forward-looking solutions to the pressing problems of the day here in the Jet City. Today, we tackle the ongoing question: Seattle: Ready for Self-Governance? As you may have read, Seattles current mayor, Mike McGinn,…
Ten Things CEOs Should Know
Ten Things CEOs Should Know By Mark R. Anderson CEOs get the weight of the whole company on their shoulders. Although everyone speaks of team effort, it is the CEOs face that is the companys face, and, more important, it is the CEOs brain that leads company strategy. For this, they are paid way too…
The Beauty of Outsourcing
In order to save on labor costs, companies have been outsourcing jobs and entire production facilities to other countries for decades. Boeing, for example, contracts with dozens of foreign firms to design and build major sections of its airplanes (then those businesses apparently subcontract the work to nearby toymakers). Boeing finishes the assembly (i.e., painting)…
Learning To Sell Globally
This year, the United States is on track to import nearly $600 billion more in goods and services than it exports. About half of that trade deficit will be with China. To pay for our profiligacy, we are racking up debts to foreign governments and businesses. And we are effectively exporting jobs that are sorely…
Security and Integrity and PrivacyOh, My!
Few things are worse for a financial institution, data center or company that stores a significant amount of personal information than a breach of security. Negative headlines abound, customers get spooked and the company has to scramble to fix the data leak and reassure customers they wont become victims of identity theft. In an attempt…
Seattle Business Columnist Wins National Journalism Award
The columns included in the entry were published in the February (“Not Getting It”), May (“Say WA, Again?”) and September (“Burning the Compact”) issues. Virgin also won a Best In Business award for columns he wrote for The News Tribune in Tacoma; his columns appear each Sunday.
Going Global
Regardless of the industry, companies of all sizes and longevity have been hit by the current state of the United States economy. As a hedge against the sluggish American market, there is another strategy to pursue. Seattle business leaders must begin to think differently about the global marketseeing it as an opportunity rather than a…
Building Buzz
Countless businessesbig and smallfail to grasp what brand really means to their bottom line. Brand is more than a logo. Its your personality, reputation and the core promise you make to customers. Successful business owners craft a clear brand strategy before spending a dime on marketing or other operational decisions. If youve ever been frustrated…
Gateway to What?
The Port of Seattle marks its 100th anniversary this year, and what is remarkable about that milestone is not how much things have changed during the intervening decades, but how much remains the same. OK, the website devoted to the ports centennial (www.portseattle100.org)that, well grant you, is new. The Port of Seattle probably didnt post…
The Great Japanese Earthquake’s Economic Impact May be Negative in the Short Term But Positive LongTerm
With all the emphasis on China’s growth, few realize the extent to which we continue to depend on Japanese companies for many of our critical electronic and mechanical components. Japanese robotic companies, for example, have an overwhelming share of the world market. There are many critical niches in which Japanese companies control 90 percent of…