Did you ever have that nagging feeling in the back of your
head?

That part of you that tells you what you really need to be doing
and continues to ask you why you AREN’T doing it.

Well, starting my own business was a lot like that.

It started with a small voice that kept me up until 2am with
visions of how the workplace could be if I got out there and
helped.

There really is no point to complaining about a system or a
process if you are not willing and able to help change it. And
that’s what I set out to do in 2002.

The dream was so big, I had no idea how to go about starting,
but knew I had to start. The drive was so big, I had to trust my
intuition to continue to fuel it and guide it, for I had no idea
where I was going, I just kept seeing the positive outcome.

The first thing I noticed was there was a serious disconnect in  
our hiring practices. It was obvious that the best employees
were not getting the jobs and the best companies were losing
out on top talent.

And, I realized in the still of the night if it continued, not only
would Portland be in trouble, and not be able to competently
compete in the marketplace, but over time, the entire country
would suffer.

That was the haunting, nagging voice in my head that kept
telling me to get out there and fix it as best I could. The
problem was simple and it was two fold.

Employers were not selecting their talent carefully, and when
they did hit on a good hire, they had no idea how to keep
them. They thought the selling of the job stopped right after
the wet signature hit the paper on the job offer. Show him the
cube and let’s get on with our lives.

On the other side of the coin are the employees. Employees
didn't know how to go about finding a good organization for
their skill sets, and usually didn’t know how to choose a
company culture over just taking another job.

A feeling started to spread among all people that went to work
each morning. Is this all there is? Interview after interview
that I conducted showed me that people didn't move from one
company to another for monetary gain. They were chasing a
feeling. They told me that they wanted to feel valued. They
went to work but we weren't happy. And, the feeling grew...

See where I’m going with this? We have two parties that can't
even find each other. Employers that refuse to change or
even see that there is a problem in their organizations, and
good employees unable to find the right company culture for
them. And in the meantime, we are pumping out inferior
products due to the lack of talent. It bothered me. It bothered
me enough to go out, put one foot in front of the other to
change the system we call hiring for the good of the whole.

So, here I am. Welcome to my biggest and grandest dream.
Elizabeth Lions