Is 2012 the last great year to preserve your family business?
Filed on 18. Jun, 2012 in Contributors
by Stephanie Hathaway Partner, Moss Adams LLP If you’re a business owner, you’re probably so involved in operating your business that it’s hard to find time to focus on your own financial and estate planning. In 2012, business owners and others with accumulated wealth have a unique opportunity to preserve their assets for the benefit of family [...]
The danger of not knowing what you don’t know
Filed on 12. Jun, 2012 in Contributors
By Mike Cook Management Developer Kimberly Davis is a good friend. She is also one of the most creative people I know working in leadership development. Her work allows leaders to find their authentic voices, something we all yearn for, especially at work. She sent me the following story about her son and I wanted to share [...]
Considering a short sale? Why now may be the time
Filed on 08. Jun, 2012 in Contributors
By Kira Bravo Tax Manager, Moss Adams LLP With housing prices still depressed, many people are considering doing something they never thought they would: Sell their home for less than what they still owe on their mortgage. This is what’s known as a short sale, and while it can get you out from under an unwanted mortgage, it [...]
Freedom At Any Cost: Local hair stylist makes most of opportunity
Filed on 31. May, 2012 in Contributors
By Justin Berg Contributing Writer Imagine growing up in war-torn Vietnam, surrounded by violence and uncertainty. One day, you bid your family farewell, squeeze onto an old wooden boat with a faulty engine and 186 other people, and set sail to God knows where. That was the reality for local businesswoman Quynh Nguyen (pronounced “Kwenn Gwinn”), then [...]
Would you want your child to be a whistle-blower?
Filed on 29. May, 2012 in Contributors
By Mike Cook Management Developer “A little integrity is better than any career.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist (1803-1882) We’d probably all like to think that those classes we have our employees attend on business ethics truly reflect our senior leadership’s commitment to ethics and doing business in an ethical, not just legal fashion. Here’s [...]
What “The Dude” can teach us about employee engagement
Filed on 15. May, 2012 in Contributors
By Mike Cook Management Developer What with springtime clearly upon us here in the Northwest the time feels right for a visit from an old friend—“The Dude”, “El Duderino”, “His Dudeness.” Of course, there is only one man who answers to all these titles and he is Jeffrey Lebowski, the central character of the [...]
Why the Lorax loves forestry
Filed on 25. Apr, 2012 in Contributors
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By Todd Myers Washington Policy Center “From outside in the fields came a sickening smack of an axe on a tree. Then we heard the tree fall. The very last Truffula tree of them all.” –From The Lorax, Dr. Seuss This spring, a motion picture version of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax hit the big screen with a [...]
Managing in the middle: The truths of trust
Filed on 24. Apr, 2012 in Contributors
By Mike Cook Management Developer Can you imagine being a manager and not trusting people? I don’t necessarily mean specific people, I mean people in general. Unfortunately, I think many managers are unconscious of their biases inthis regard, having “handy stories” justifying behavior that might otherwise be considered paranoid. I think you know the stories I [...]
Viewpoint: Now biomass is the environment’s enemy?
Filed on 16. Apr, 2012 in Contributors
By Don C. Brunell, President Association of Washington Business When environmental organizations pushed Washington voters to approve their renewable energy Initiative 937, they touted biomass energy — incinerated wood waste — as one of their preferred alternatives to fossil fuel. They reasoned that biomass energy plants would help clear forests of flammable wood debris from dead [...]
Viewpoint: Six lines your boss should never cross
Filed on 10. Apr, 2012 in Contributors
By Allison & Taylor, professional reference checkers Special contribution to the Bellingham Business Journal Most working adults have experienced an uncomfortable situation at work; that’s the reality of interpersonal relationships in a professional setting. However, while no work situation is perfect in every respect, your workplace should be more positive than negative, and never [...]
