Forbes & Spokane: What is the Deal?
by Jan Quintrall, President/CEO, BBB jquintrall@spokane.bbb.org
for the Spokesman Review, 1/08/12
The lists compiled by Forbes Magazine often seem to cast Spokane in a bad light. We were previously painted as a scam capitol, and now we rank at the bottom for job growth. Swell. But the BBB perspective is a bit different.
Scam Capitol?
Serving three states with distinctly different regulatory climates gives the BBB a unique view. Yes, the Inland Northwest has its share of big ugly scams. The recent Little Loan Shoppe issue, the Randocks diploma mill and the Railway Crossings salvage scam all garnered national attention, and yes, we have been known to jump on the pyramid scheme bandwagon in a big way. But are we really worse off than other cities? I am not so sure.
I know there are some random and widespread scams in Montana, many involving non-legitimate companies simply pretending to be there. And it’s an easy place to hide. In addition, we have seen shady business people flee Washington state for Idaho or Montana because the consumer protection focus in the other two states in substantially less.
Another consideration is whether or not Spokane scams are affecting Spokanites. Frankly, the offices of elected officials have an innate incentive to prioritize prosecuting the bad actors who victimize their voters. So if con artists are operating in Washington but their victims are from other states, they may get by with the scam for longer than if they were ripping off their neighbors. Trust me, scammers know that!
What else makes us attractive to con artists? All three states served by this BBB share a mystique that makes us unique—we are in the west where people are seen to be naturally trusting (or gullible). The perception is that we come from “honest pioneer stock”—after all there are people in the east who think we all still ride horses and cook over wood! Plus, many of us have a live-and-let-live mentality that can come back and bite us, especially when it comes to scammers. Turning a blind eye to a neighbor or competitor whom you know is involved in illegal or unethical activities is easier, but makes it easier for scammers too.
A final issue that could skew the statistics is that out here, our ponds are small. A diploma mill or bad payday lender in Los Angeles, New York or Houston is not going to attract the attention they do in Spokane or Missoula.
Lack of Job Growth?
Nope, Boeing is not going to open a huge manufacturing plant in Spokane. General Motors will not be sketching out a new assembly facility in Post Falls any time soon. And the headlines we see and the reports we hear center on big layoffs at Itron or Telect. But that is such a small part of what makes up the job pool in our area. You can count the large (over 200 person) employers on several sets of hands, but the small businesses? They are everywhere and that is what makes up Spokane’s job growth.
How many headlines have you seen about a small company increasing their workforce by 20% when they add two employees to their existing staff of eight? Zero. Did the media rush to interview the BBB as we tripled our work force over the last 10 years? Nope. And now that businesses are adding back staff one or three at a time, do they call a news conference or make a big public announcement? Of course not.
Measuring the growth of 12,000 small businesses is difficult. When we lay off two or three people we do not need to let anyone know, and when we hire them back it does not make news. Talk about under the radar. But if you look around at the new retail stores, used car lots, restaurants and start-up businesses you will see that the news is not as bad as it is painted. Can we attract large employers to this area? You bet. But they will be far fewer in number than the people hired by small businesses in the Inland Northwest.
Ah, list-makers. It isn’t only when I see lists of best places to retire, live or relocate and Spokane isn’t on them that I wonder what the list makers were thinking! But if everyone sought the same lifestyle, climate and surroundings, we’d all live in a very crowded place.
Previously published in the Spokane Spokesman-Review January 8, 2012
What should be different about the end of 2011?
by Jan Quintrall, President/CEO, BBB jquintrall@spokane.bbb.org
for the Spokesman Review, 1/2/11
December is always full of reflection for me. It is the time of year I mark achievements, regrets and hopes for the coming year. In December of 1998 I left my home, friends and family in Colorado to take on the leadership role at the BBB in Spokane, where I knew nobody. This year, I thought back to how amazed I was on arriving in the Inland Northwest: The way people kept their noses to the grindstone, spending too little time stepping back to set goals, look at the big picture or collaborate with others who had common business plans or missions. Training and planning were used so much less than in my previous environment that I wondered how progress ever happened here. It was like the woodsman who was so busy cutting trees that he never stopped to sharpen his saw or even see what improvements technology has brought to saws! Rather than buy a new one, he just kept hacking away with that dull outdated saw.
I still think as a community we do not focus enough on staff training and strategic goal setting or partnerships: As individuals we can be sure we make plans and focus on where we want to be.
New Year’s Resolutions are a common form of goal setting, but we often set ourselves up for failure when we make one. In most cases resolutions are empty promises made to yourself about habits to stop. They can be quite negative.
However, the end of a year, a project, a phase in life, a relationship or a career is still a great time to reflect about your next path and where you hope to go. So instead of making corrective resolutions, think about this question:
What do I want December of 2011 to look like and what would be different than how December 2010 looks? What do I need to do to get there?
You can do this exercise for your business, lifestyle, family, or volunteer work. It is sometimes easier to think about what you want the results to look like and then work backward. But before you begin crafting your vision of the future:
- Keep it simple. Don’t get so caught up in the planning that you create more moving parts than you’ll ever be able to manage. For example, if you want to get organized, start with one area of your life, one room in your home, one department in your office or just how you manage email, not your entire life!
- Limit your changes to a few key items. The enormous list of seven huge projects ensures that you will feel too overwhelmed to even begin moving to your future vision. It is like eating an elephant without the “one bite at a time” strategy.
- Know what you can and can’t control. We are so dependent on others that you need to ensure your vision falls into areas you can influence and control. So if you want 2011 to have fewer pointless, time-wasting meetings, know that you will not have the ability to manage other people’s problem meetings. Instead you might want to set the example, hoping others see how effective your meeting leadership is and follow suit.
- Be realistic in the largeness of your vision. I doubt there are many among us who would not want December of 2011 to be more tolerant and collaborative than this year, but what can you change? Are you going to solve the Middle East issue? I hope someone does, but don’t set yourself up for failure by thinking too big.
Think about what you’d like to change in the next 12 months and then consider what you need to do each month to bring about that change. Whether you want to lose 20 pounds, create higher staff satisfaction, save more money, reduce your credit card debt or finish a data quality control project, take planned solid steps each month of 2011. It will make achieving your goal a whole lot easier than trying to make a big change in January and then trying to sustain it. Nobody crosses this finish line in one step.
Disruptive behavior needs to be confronted
by Jan Quintrall, President/CEO, BBB jquintrall@spokane.bbb.org
for the Spokesman Review, 1/2/11
The topic was fascinating and timely. The speaker was the CEO of a large multinational company with holdings in Montana. His slides showed the care the company took of the land before, during and after the mining operations, a subject every Montanan cares deeply about –balancing natural resource extraction with keeping Montana beautiful. The audience was full of legislators, business leaders, government representatives and citizens. The CEO was an engaging speaker with a receptive audience. Then why were there a handful of individuals who decided their private conversation was more important? Clueless came to mind but maybe they did not understand how disruptive and disrespectful the behavior was? That it was difficult to hear the presentation because they were being so noisy? Or did they just not care?
This is only one of the recent occasions on which I have witnessed such behavior. And frankly I am sick of it! When did people become so disrespectful and selfish? At what point in someone’s mind does the need to have a side conversation become more important that the rest of the audience or simply paying attention?
As I considered writing on this subject I decided to take time to watch the disrupters and those around them, and discovered a couple of interesting things:
- Age and gender are no indicators. The disrupters are men, women, young and old.
- Those around them, while obviously annoyed, do not confront the disrupters and ask them to be quiet.
I originally had the misconception that most of the disrupters were young and female, and I was wrong. I really am not sure why I had such a theory, but after observing in half a dozen settings, I found that anyone can be and often is a disruptor.
Those annoyed will roll their eyes at their neighbors, sharing that look of “why don’t they shut up,” and often glare at the talkers but not once did I see someone actually tap them on the shoulders or in any other fashion make a direct appeal for a bit of maturity. Are we afraid of the reaction? Afraid of causing a scene? Fearful of being punched in the nose? I am not sure, but we are not confronting them, we just endure and our agitation grows.
Count me in the non-confronters. Oh, I will shoot dirty looks with the best of them, but to actually tap someone on the shoulder and ask them to take the conversation to the hall or shut up, not me! So when I decided to spend my column space on rudeness, I decided I would experiment with confrontation before I sat at my keyboard. As always, I hate to raise a problem without a solution. So I confronted!
The first occasion was a retirement party with a section of formal presentations. The disruptors were there and I actually held my finger to my mouth and did the universally understood “SHSSS” action to someone next to me. Nope, I did not get punched in the nose, but I did have to do it twice before the individual understood I did not want to listen to them disrupt. WHEW! I survived!
The next opportunity came during the BBB staff retreat at the Spokane Club. We had two awesome facilitators and experienced the best retreat ever, but there were a few individuals who had so much to say to each other that they became disruptors. I saw another staff person confront one of them early in the day, and then I confronted another pair later. The message was, “We will not allow you to disrupt our experience. We are taking control.” Yes, it was a safe and known environment, but we took control and set the standards of behavior. It sure felt good.
If we sit by and let rude, disruptive people affect our experience, how will they ever know they are out of line? They won’t, unfortunately, and they will continue ruining concerts, presentations and other gatherings. Kindly asking them to take it to the hall or wait until a break is easy and not confrontational. Just be firm but kind, and most of them will get the message.