Commentary
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…
Seattle’s Economic Transformation As Seen By a Harvard Economist
Check out this piece in the New York Times.Nothing new here, but good to get the Ivy League perspective By EDWARD L. GLAESER Seattle has used high-rise construction and good public transportation to support growth and bolster its economy. As the 2010 Census rolls out, much of the attention of news organizations is focused on…
How Do You Compare With Todays Market Leaders?
By Tim Tasker, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP How do todays entrepreneurs build an exceptional enterprise? Its no easy task, considering the economic challenges, competition and risks in the market but confronting these challenges is what it takes to build the household names of tomorrow. At Ernst & Young, weve developed a framework of business…
Our National Obsession with China
This is not the first time weve been obsessed about another country and what its doing to the American economy. For decades, the focus of that national obsession was the Soviet Union because of its military might, its designs on expanding the misery of communism and its technological achievements that for a time eclipsed our…