Since moving to Seattle more than ten years ago, I came to realize that local leadership has often been derided as the "Seattle Process." Indeed, when you look at some of the recent articles on Crosscut, it's easy be dissatisfied with today's leadership in Seattle:
- http://crosscut.com/2011/10/28/history/21374/Mad-Men-were-all-the-leadership-in-1960s-Seattle-/
- http://crosscut.com/2011/10/17/mossback/21428/Can-Seattle-get-its-leadership-groove-back-/
Though it may be easy, I don't think it's really accurate. When looking at the big picture of problems facing the country, I am proud to see Seattle well represented in providing leadership.
The first example is Amazon. Recently hammered on Wall Street for missing their quarterly estimates, I think the article in The Business Insider is spot on:
The most pressing problems in the US economy right now are two-fold:
1. Near-record-high unemployment at the same time as near record-high profit margins
2. Income inequality that is now the highest since the late 1920s, just before the Great Depression
By balancing near-term profits with investing for the long-term, Amazon is helping to address these problems.
The second example is from Starbucks. Recognizing the need for jobs around the country, Starbucks is teaming up with the Opportunity Finance Network to get money into the hands of people creating work. More information can be found at http://www.createjobsforusa.org/
If those aren't examples of exemplary leadership, I don't know what is.
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