Customer Service Lessons
Pacific Pump and Power’s motto is: “We say what we are going to do, we do what we said we would do, and we check to make sure that we did it.” Jeremy Leonard, CEO of the Hawaii-based company that…
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Ask SmallBiz: Collecting your debts and solving a cash-flow issue
Q. A lot of customers are long overdue on paying me. I’m reluctant to take them to court, but I’m forced to borrow to pay my employees and bills. What do you suggest? A. Many small businesses face the same problems.…
5 Steps to Saving on Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Bob Dove, president of Hawaii Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company (HEMIC), offers these ways to save on the premiums for workers’ compensation insurance. 1. Run a safe operation This is by far the most important step. “Prevent the accidents before they…
This is a Tourist Spot?!
When Mitch D’Olier left Honolulu’s Victoria Ward Co. to lead Kaneohe Ranch, the largest landowner in Kailua, on Windward Oahu, he thought he would see few tourists on the job. “When I was at Victoria Ward, about 30 percent of…
Innovation: Do-It-Yourself Sustainability
Susanne Friend wants Hawaii to take back its food supply. “Over the last 50 or 60 years, we’ve let our food supply be taken over by agro-businesses with massive transportation lines,” Friend says. In response, she and her husband, Tim…
Editor's Note: Everyone’s Problem
Education may not seem like a cover story for a business magazine, but I’m convinced that the biggest economic crisis facing Hawaii is our public schools. I’m not alone: A Hawaii Business survey of business leaders in December found a…
Talk Story - Chatt Wright
After 39 years at HPU’s helm, Wright steps down in June 2011 even as he’s helping launch a $100 million expansion at the Windward campus. Though he’s retiring just short of his 70th birthday, he still plans to fundraise for…
The Billion Dollar Gamble
What a difference a billion dollars makes. Until recently, the state treasury – officially, the Treasury Management Branch of the Financial Administration Division of the Department of Budget and Finance – has operated in relative obscurity. With its staff of…
Pick a Color, But Not Just Any Color
Colors are all around us, but most people rarely think about how colors subtly influence our decisions. “Color Professor” Jill Morton, who has been studying color psychology since 1988 and has advised clients such as Tylenol and Xerox through her…
Advice from the top: Rose Tseng
Rose Tseng Tseng retires this summer after 12 years as chancellor at the University of Hawaii-Hilo. Father’s best advice: When I was trying to decide whether I should take the dean’s job at San Jose State University when I was…
CEOs and EOs Need ‘Me Time’
By midafternoon every workday, Hank Wuh is ready for a break. For the CEO of Cellular Bioengineering Inc., that means 45 minutes swimming off Diamond Head. “I need it,” Wuh says simply. This down time — “me time” — recharges…
Rainforest in the City
When the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association began turning a cow pasture into a station to test new crops and species for reforestation back in 1918, its members probably didn’t realize they were also sowing seeds for a modern Honolulu rain…