Commentary
CEO Adviser: A Bankers View
As a banking lifer, I have spent most of my career in the private sector helping Washingtonians achieve their financial goals. But, in 2013, my career track took a detour, and my business skills were tapped in a new way as CEO of the Washington Department of Revenue. Im now back in banking, sharing with…
Virgin on Business: Branch Banking Isn’t Dead Yet
Novus ordo seclorum the new order of the age. It says so right on our money, and in the conventional wisdom of technological progress. When that new order arrives, the old ways of doing things, like being ruled as a colony, are supposed to retreat into obsolescence and obscurity, sometimes gradually, other times quickly and…
Letters to the Editor
AFFORDABLE CARE ACTThe article Doubt of the Benefit by Patrick Marshall [May 2015] is outstanding. Seattle Business took the time to really understand the complex nature of employee benefits and where they come from and what is at stake with the Affordable Care Act. Congratulations on leading the way on the topic while the other…
Final Analysis: Power from the People
What constitutes a great company to work For? Don't ask the Mariners.
What makes a company a great one to work for? Its the people. Sure, the free lunches and the Friday beer parties are nice. And who wouldnt want unlimited vacation time and fully paid health insurance for the whole family? Still, if you dont have the right people, youre toast. Take the Seattle Mariners. Please….
Editor’s Note: Getting It Right
Nearly 120 years ago, the klondike gold rush ushered in an era of prosperity that transformed Seattle. A town damaged by the fire of 1889 and then the financial panic of 1893 found new life as a supplier to the thousands of prospectors. New wealth, new residents and transformative projects such as the Lake Washington…
Commentary: Building Consumer Trust in a Changing Online World
Working for Starwave Corporation during the early stages of the commercial internet in the 1990s, I wrote one of the first privacy policies for the popular ESPNet SportsZone online service. The site had rapidly gained an international audience. We gathered in a conference room with chips and soda to celebrate our first million hit day….
CEO Adviser: Read the State Constitution
Washingtons constitution, which is far wordier and more unwieldy than its big brother, the United States Constitution, contains some features that business executives and investors ought to know. Reflecting the populist movements mistrust of both government and corporations, it contains provisions that are designed to create a trustworthy, transparent government while also limiting the power…
Virgin on Business: Boatbuilding with ‘Vigor’
There was a maritime industry around these parts long before anyone thought of such concepts as distinct industries. Building boats and doing stuff with them catching fish, getting around was a basic part of life, and remained so after more boats showed up bearing settlers, who proceeded to build even more boats, for fishing, trade…
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…