Commentary
Simple Health Solutions Are Often the Best and Cheapest
A year ago, life was bleak. Tendinitis in my elbow had forced me to quit yoga and squash, and typing was such a source of misery that I contemplated a career change. I tried everything. I went to a physical therapist, bought an ergonomic keyboard and mouse, and even tried a voice recognition system. (Hated…
A Good Story Makes For a Great Speech
Nobody wants to hear numbers, says Chris Elias, former president and CEO of PATH. Numbers are boring. But if you dont use any numbers when speaking to an audience, people wonder if you really know your subject. People are best able to remember numbers when a story is attached. Hes right. As a businessperson, youve…
Ask, Dont Tell: Nine Ways Power Questions Help Us Build Better Business Relationships
Attorney, Paradigm Counsel Hoboken, NJ (February 2012)Just a few years ago, globalization was in full swing, and the world seemed to be bursting with an infinite supply of business. All this bounty lulled us into taking our customers for granted, maintains Andrew Sobeluntil the economy tanked and shattered the illusion of endless prosperity. Suddenly, the…
Downtown Seattle Vibrant But Fragile, says Nordstrom CEO
The Downtown Seattle Association released a report today that has some good news about the state of the Seattle downtown area but also a great deal that is worrisome. I cant underscore enough how fragile the downtown area is, said Blake Nordstrom, CEO of Nordstrom, speaking at the Associations annual breakfast today, If a city…
Small Business Lending Jumps 20 percent in December
Small Business Lending Jumped 20 percent in December according to Reuters. Read Seattle Business magazine’s story on the rise in small business lending. https://www.seattlebusinessmag.com/article/funding-forecast-brightens Here is Reuter’s piece: CHICAGO – Borrowing by U.S. small businesses rose in December to the highest level in more than four years, pointing to continued strength in an important corner…
Do Weird Company Names Help or Hurt?
One of the perks of my job is getting to learn about new companies that are doing interesting things. And occasionally I end up wondering how some businesses came to be named. I mean, any idea what Zoomingo does? Or LootTap? MoonTango? MangoSpring? Vizua? BookieJar? Canappi? I had none until I looked them up. (And…
How Business Can Help Stop Diabetes
One of every five health care dollars is spent on caring for someone with diabetes. Employers bear a large portion of this burden through health care premiums that continue to rise. Although these numbers are daunting, in many cases, diabetes is a preventable disease. Working to prevent diabetes is our biggest opportunity to control health…
CEO Adviser: Who makes business sustainable?
The first decade of the 21st century taught us that the world is flat and fraught with peril. The new certainty is uncertainty. And theres so much that executives and entrepreneurs simply cant control as they seek to create value, accelerate growth and sustain high performance within their companies and throughout the global marketplace. One…
2012: Enter The Year of the Dragon
As I look to what 2012 has in store for us, I am wary of turning to economists. This dismal science did a terrible job of predicting events in 2011. Of course, who could have predicted the massive earthquake and nuclear disaster in Japan, the popular uprisings in the middle east and the near meltdown…
Keep the Minimum Wage High
You probably heard this one before: Having a job is the new raise. True enough. In this desultory economy, few workers are likely to barge into the bosss office demanding a raise and a company car. Theyre just happy to have a boss. But some jobholders in Washington state actually got a sweet pay hike…
Trade Secret
One in three jobs in Washington state is tied to trade. Youve probably heard that line before. Its one of the most quoted statistics about trade in Washington, and its usually linked to another popular phrase that Washington is the most trade-dependent state in the country. Heres the problem: The claim is no longer accurate….
John Levesque’s Final Analysis: Bonus edition
In a difficult economy, companies circle the wagons to protect their hoards of cash as the holidays approach, lest CEOs be guilted into yuletide largess by an awkward elevator encounter with Bob Cratchit. Business owners dread times like these as much as Tim Eyman dreads getting a real job. And so the once lavish Christmas…
It’s Time to be Bold
Three years ago, as our economy faced the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, it made sense for companies to cut back, to restructure. It made sense for the public sector to cut costs and aggressively seek new ways to boost efficiency. And, of course, consumers needed to cut their credit balances and banks…