Q: I was at a lecture in which Walter Dods said that, to succeed in business, you have to follow your passion. I have been thinking about that for weeks and the things I am passionate about are surfing, beer…
Name: Tom Moffatt Age: “Older than Elvis” Job: Concert promoter and president, A Tom Moffatt Production Start: Born in South Lyon, Michigan, Moffatt came to UH in the early ‘50s “because I wanted to go as far away from where…
Name: Makani McDonald Age: 47 Job: Shaper/designer, Town and Country Surfboards Responsibilities: “I mainly design and shape surfboards and, with that, comes a lot of R&D with riders and equipment. The personal R&D is riding new variations of boards that you’ve…
When companies offer effective wellness programs, many of their employees become healthier, happier and more engaged. Here are before-and-after stories of four employees who signed up for wellness programs and turned their lives around. Does one of these "Before" stories sound like yours?
Q: In May, it will be four years and five jobs since I graduated from college and I’m still trying to map out a career. Is it better to be a specialist or a jack-of-all-trades? A: I posed this question…
Inspiration: Farmers told Vincent Kimura they needed an affordable way to protect their crops and increase their yields. Once he had an idea to address that problem, he teamed with Ryan Ozawa, Isar Mostafanezhad and Justin Hedani to create the…
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino When locals want to immortalize game animals from a hunt, they go to Gordon Lau Jr., owner of Oahu Taxidermy Service. “If they catch something really nice, they want to mount it,” says the former carpenter.…
Name: Hadley Andersen Job: Senior Science Educator, Bishop Museum Duties: Twice a day – at noon and 2:30 p.m. – Andersen dons a protective aluminized suit, enters a shielded “cage” and melts little pieces of volcanic rock, or cinder, in…
Eric Gleason President, NextEra Energy Hawaii President, NextEra Energy Transmission After a career in investment banking – interrupted by a couple of years backpacking around the world with his wife – Gleason has spent the last six years in the…
"Cosmic Kelly" Ferreira is an expert on kids. “Growing up on Maui, I was the oldest in a family of five, so I was more like a second mom to them,” she recalls. “And I was always an extrovert, not…
Most of them are Millennials, first-generation digital natives strutting their stuff and chiseling new entry points into a post-recession economy. Those who achieve social-media stardom get labelled as “digital talent,” which sounds so Hollywood, but signals their digital charisma and…
"My store got blasted on Yelp. What do I do now?" You and your staff can deliver great service and products, all with a smile, yet still get a bad review online. You can’t control what people say about you,…
For weeks, the astronomers, technicians and support staff working on Mauna Kea watched the protesters. Native Hawaiians and others opposed to the massive Thirty Meter Telescope gathered near the 9,000-foot mark, their encampment near Hale Pohaku, the small campus where…
There’s a new boss for our division and I fear I made a lousy first impression. Where do I go from here? Ch-ch-cha-changes. Ah, David Bowie, may he rest in peace. According to Aden Kirschner Nepom, of the Art of…
Saying no does not come easy in Hawaii, where we emphasize the Aloha spirit. But being selective about where to direct your energy, efforts and time is an important part of leadership. Executive coach Alison Zecha offers tips on when,…
There are many myths and misunderstandings about employment rules and regulations. Here’s our guide to workers’ rights and employers’ obligations, but please take note: We are not lawyers and this guide is no substitute for legal counsel. In many ways,…
Brian Kajiyama, an instructor in UH’s Department of Special Education, who has cerebral palsy, has an undeniable need for his trained service dog, Zeus. Such dogs get years of training so they can help their human partners, and Zeus can…
There are a million stories in the white-collar gig economy. Let me introduce you to one. Alison Chock has two jobs: One is in retail, where she works nights at a boutique. Her other job is more unpredictable. The work…
With the new year, many middle managers are setting their sights on the C-suite. The stable economy and low unemployment make for the right external conditions, but will you be up for the challenge? Executive recruiter Judy Bishop, founder of…
Batteries are old. In a sense, the last major development in battery technology was the invention of the lead-acid battery in 1859 by the French physicist Gaston Plante. Earlier batteries had short lives, quickly losing their charge as their electrodes…
A young Japanese couple experiences a dream Hawaii vacation. They start the day riding horses along a dusty mountain trail at Kualoa Ranch. Then they cruise down Kalakaua Avenue in a convertible, lounge on Waikiki Beach and end the day parasailing.…
Name: Timmy Chinn Job: Location Manager, Eye Productions/”Hawaii Five-0” Responsibilities: When you film a TV program in Hawaii, mainland winter scenes can be a challenge. Recently, Chinn and his crew had to find a house for a scene set in suburban…
My company has launched a wellness program, which leaves me with mixed feelings. I appreciate that the company cares about my health and I love the yoga class at lunchtime on Wednesdays, but there are also two other yoga classes,…
Savvy business experts offer advice to emerging designers on going global Talk about a left-brain, right-brain challenge. Local fashion entrepreneurs need to be innovative and continually create new looks that attract people’s attention. But, if their skills end there, they…