Oregon Business

Contributed Blogs

While still struggling with 9% unemployment, the powers that be in the great state of Oregon have done a remarkable job ignoring the obvious concerning job creation. Due to abundant rainfall and a mild climate Oregon is still one of the best places on planet earth to grow trees.

Contributed Blogs

For every big-city food cart vendor using Twitter to advertise lunch specials and bring in hungry workers, there’s a befuddled entrepreneur dutifully Twittering or Facebooking away to no useful effect — or worse, getting sucked into Farmville and forgetting to mind the store.

The Latest

Okay, so Otak is no Stumptown. Actually, Otak is twice as big as Stumptown, and while it may not have a fanatic customer base among hipsters, it does have 300 employees with deep expertise in how to make cities work better. So when a foreign company buys a majority stake in Otak, it’s a big deal for Oregon.

Ben Jacklet

Earlier this year, Powell’s Books made national headlines by eliminating 31 jobs in Portland, stirring up familiar questions about the future of independent booksellers in the age of e-readers and smart phones. But a quick study of the latest numbers from Oregon’s top private companies shows that Powell’s actually survived the recession in a stronger position than many of its peers.

On the Scene

At the second annual Multnomah Food Summit, Tom Osdoba posed a question to a group of nonprofit workers and food growers: We don't always buy the absolute cheapest house, car or clothing we can find, so why do we buy the cheapest food?

The Latest

After only five years, Felicia Thornton, CEO of Knowledge Universe/U.S. Operations, has resigned for personal reasons. Knowledge Universe, which has its headquarters in Portland, is one of Oregon’s largest employers.

Ben Jacklet

The news that Google is launching a new coupon service in Portland isn't news.

It is PR.

Contributed Blogs

This is, by almost any measure, the worst economic recession since the great depression. The recession has hit Oregon public schools particularly hard, given their dependence on the state's general fund and the general fund's dependence on income taxes. Because of the volatile nature of education funding in the state, the Education Stability Fund (ESF) was created to help cushion the blow to schools from economic downturns.

On the Scene

In other states, being part of the 100 Best Green Companies would be a cakewalk. But in Oregon it takes a lot more to be top ranked since it's almost a requirement to use sustainable practices if you want to do business here.

Contributed Blogs

Economic uncertainty is only one significant issue facing the telecom industry now, but it intertwines with the technological changes and social changes that are causing so much turmoil in the industry. Once the path for consumer and business spending is defined, the other changes affecting the industry will fall into clearer focus.

On the Scene

The 140 Characters Conference NW focuses on the changing ways people are communicating now thanks to social media. A wide variety of speakers, from business and nonprofit leaders to government officials, spoke on the way social media helps them engage a wider audience and connect with people in ways never before possible.

The Latest

Oregon Business magazine has won 12 awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, including first place in the General Excellence category.

Contributed Blogs

How do leaders become leaders? By attracting or creating followers. (As Steve Balzac likes to say, “A leader without followers is just a guy taking a walk.”) How can you reliably build a following?  You do it by being a follower — by following a set of values, and modeling followership to others.

Ben Jacklet

Greg Cole and his growing team at Windward Performance recently sawed a hole in the wall of one of the seven hangars they occupy at Bend Municipal Airport to make room for their newest project: a non-motorized glider designed to soar to 90,000 feet above sea level. That would set a new world record for manned, wing borne, sustained level flight.

The Latest

Last year drought in the Klamath basin delayed irrigation flows until mid-May.  The water shortage meant millions of dollars lost from unplanted crops and rough economic ripples through an already beleaguered community. But irrigation started on time this year, and that has the area hoping for job creation.

Contributed Blogs

Creating evidence to bolster a wage and hour lawsuit has never been easier. Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor launched its free iPhone and iPad app designed to help employees who want to keep their own time records — just in case.

On the Scene

A company's engagement can not only advance its business, but can also provide a good work environment and improve the community-at-large. The Center for Companies That Care 2011 Symposium focused on just that, by honoring Pacific Northwest and national companies as well as providing tips and case studies on just how engagement works and why it is so important to any business.

The Latest

An anticipated increase in attendance this summer could bring a change in tide for the beleaguered Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport and other struggling Oregon attractions that have struggled through the weakened economy.

Contributed Blogs

The great business breakthrough of the 20th century may be Lean (and Six Sigma) — techniques that cut waste and can dramatically boost productivity. Yet many firms can’t make Lean work for them.

On the Scene

About 160 business leaders and Oregon State University students and faculty members gathered in Portland to hear about the role of innovation in business from prominent CEOs representing the core industries of Oregon.