Economic Memo: The real business world

I wonder sometimes what people really think about the business world.

There is a new television reality show being promoted these days called "The Apprentice." A group of 16 business hopefuls vie for the chance to run one of millionaire Donald Trump's divisions. Each week one of them hears those awful words "you're fired," or so go the promos.

The promos also are interesting because even the brief glimpse you get of the candidates of both genders indicates they are a group of narcissistic bobbleheads who are far from what I believe is the real world of business.

I suppose we have no one to blame but ourselves. We hear with depressing frequency about CEOs with inflated salaries — Richard Grasso of the New York Stock Exchange is the most recent example. They often have the overblown egos to match the most self-important sports star. Too many apparently think ethics are for someone else. They walk away from failure with multimillion-dollar pension plans that put them in a league all their own.

Looking for reality in the business world? Check in with Steve Barger, the president of Northwest Cascade, a Puyallup company that operates Honey Bucket portable toilets as part of its business. I talked with Barger several times while working on a story about how Honey Bucket rentals could be used as an economic indicator.

Barger runs a $40 million a year enterprise that is far, far from Donald Trump and the "reality" of television. It began as a company servicing septic tanks but grew to be the area's largest supplier of portable restrooms, plus other divisions in construction, industrial plumbing and environmental wastewater solutions.

Barger says people often giggle when he tells them what his company does.

"But you've got to be tough about it," he says. " You hold your head high. You're making money. You're good at what you do. You're the quality leader. You're the one that gets invited to do the Olympics. Go ahead and laugh, but we're real good at what we do."

Can you imagine Donald Trump saying that?

Barger runs an open company. He has no door on his office. Paychecks, including his own, are on the counter on Fridays so that everyone can see what everyone else is making. There aren't any secrets.

The big salaries are "disgusting," Barger says. "You shouldn't mind letting people know what you make. If you think it's outrageous, it probably is."

Northwest Cascade also puts the worker ahead of the boardroom. "My job as president is different, not more important," he says. The company meets regularly with employees to hear what they have to say about the business. Spouses also are invited to the meetings "and we often get some great ideas from them," Barger says.

An open company. Values its employees. Listens to them. Prides itself on quality. Handles the difficult jobs. Puts the customer first. Gee, what radical concepts. Sure different from what I see coming on that "reality" show.

The view of what is real and what is not real in business is important as the Legislature begins its 2004 session. The Legislature, at least collectively, often has an unreal impression of what business is all about.

It tends to see business as a problem, an institution that needs to be watched, controlled, regulated, monitored, lest it go off and damage the lives of people who live in the state. Businesses are not angelic, by any means. Some will take advantage of lax rules and regulations.

But more often than not business is like Northwest Cascade, Steve Barger and the 400 people who work there. Maybe it is just cleaning toilets, but as Barger says, "You feel good about it because you're the best."

The Legislature has a chance to build on what it did last year when it proved that it could respond to business. Legislators now need to build on that and prove to people like Steve Barger that they care as much about him as they care about Boeing.

Last week, Gov. Gary Locke said Washington went from having "zero chance" at landing the Boeing 7E7 to winning one of America's largest new manufacturing projects. Locke urged legislators to keep pedal-to-the-metal with efforts to improve the state's business climate.

Things like $74 million in business tax incentives for high-tech research and development and for manufacturing plants in rural areas. The tax breaks are set to expire this year.

Some critics say the beneficiaries don't need the tax giveaway and that relatively few new jobs are created. Locke said Washington needs to be competitive with other states, and that he'll require accountability and new job-creation by recipients.

Most businesses, the good ones at least, live and die by accountability. The market every day demands it of them.

Accountability is a two-way street in this case. It's time for the Legislature to be accountable to the most important constituent in the state: Business.

Stephen H. Dunphy's columns appear Tuesdays-Fridays and Sundays. Phone: 206-464-2365. Fax: 206-382-8879. E-mail: sdunphy@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists