Biz tips: Dealing with Difficult People

Virtually every one of my clients over the years has brought up the subject of dealing with difficult people.  There’s no escaping the fact that they come into everyone’s life at one time or another.   Sometimes they come in the form of an unhappy or hard-to-get-along-with client, customer, or co-worker.  Sometimes they’re a person … Read more

On the road with Kate Brown

Dogged by questions of leadership and a shaky relationship with business, the governor goes on tour to find out what employers want — and share her vision of a prosperous Oregon.

Kristin Quinlan on leadership: “Everything has to do with the spirit”

As Certified Languages International grew in recent years, chief executive Kristin Quinlan shuddered at the thought her company could bear any resemblance to her first introduction to corporate culture. “It was do as I say because we’re going to have meetings for the sake of having meetings because this is what we do, and you’ll … Read more

Mark King on leadership

Mark King can remember an era when corporate leadership looked much different than it does today.

Carol Duncan on leadership: “Building success together”

Carol Duncan walks down a hallway leading from her office to the General Sheet Metal factory floor. One side of the hallway is plastered with hundreds of yellow Post-it notes. Employees are encouraged to post suggestions on the wall, and they run a gamut: more back stops for new press; new pinning machine spotter; new … Read more

Charles Wilhoite on Meyer Memorial Trust and transparent leadership

Charles Wilhoite spends his weekday working hours  — and often some on the weekend — as managing director for Willamette Management Associates, the financial advisory firm. But Wilhoite may be better known to Portland-area residents for his service on more than a dozen boards of directors. Those volunteer experiences have helped form his approach to … Read more