Commentary
Commentary: Animal Attraction
We love our pets in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, Seattle boasts more pets than children. A recent survey ranking the 10 most dog-friendly metropolitan areas in the United States placed Portland first and Seattle third. To support this affinity for animals, the region boasts a thriving business ecosystem. Washington and Oregon are home to…
Commentary: Education Planner
As high unemployment continues, college students and their parents want to know what employers are looking for. While almost any business needs employees with specific skills market analysis or web development, for example students can be trained in those areas. What top employers look for when hiring new employees, according to a survey by the…
Editor’s Note: The Meaning of Excellence
The word excellence comes from the latin term excellere, meaning to stand out or be distinguished. But the idea of excellence goes back to ancient Greek mythology. Arete, the goddess of virtue and excellence, inspired heroes such as Heracles to avoid the quick path to personal glory and gold offered by Kakia, the goddess of…
Final Analysis: Flying South with Boeing
When a two-to-one majority of the local International Association of Machinists told The Boeing Co. what it could do with its take-it-or-else contract offer last November, the public handwringing was enough to make an orthopedic surgeon work weekends. How could the machinists be so selfish? How could they sell the future of the Puget Sound…
Editor’s Note: An Eye for Design
When i first came to seattle in 1989, I was struck by the regions natural beauty but puzzled by the general lack of interest in design. Although we had rich forest resources, few companies produced high-end wood products. While Microsoft was filled with brilliant engineers, it had an utter disregard for the look and ease…
Commentary: China is the land of opportunity
Last fall, at a meeting of the Chinese Communist Partys central committee, President Xi Jinping pledged a new stage of growth for China driven by deregulation, a reduction in areas of business requiring government approval and a greater emphasis on the domestic economy. Also in the works, Xi said, are tax and legal reform as…
CEO Adviser: Table manners
Did you know women leave more than $500,000 on the table during the course of their careers? Or that mens median retirement funds average in excess of $10,000 more than womens? If women are the bargain hunters and bill payers, why is this disparity happening? Its happening because women fail to negotiate. A recent study…
Bob Cratchit Lives! But not very well.
In the Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge repents for a lifetime of cruel, miserly behavior by making things right with his long-suffering employee, Bob Cratchit. If only the captains of American industry were required to see one of the countless productions of A Christmas Carol being staged across the nation this month,…
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…