Sunday, Oct. 16, is National Boss Day. Why does such a thing exist? Could it be that there are bosses out there who, unlike our own cruel and capricious overseer, are so beloved by their underlings that an entire day is set aside in their honor? Intrigued, we seized the opportunity of a rare respite between brow-beatings and Maoist self-criticism sessions to ask readers to find Portland's best boss.
We received a surprisingly enthusiastic response, and none more so than for Mike Wienick—referred to as "Big Dog" by many of his employees—the president of QualitySmith.com, a website that "connects homeowners with contractors." Nine of Wienick's 14-person marketing team in Northeast Portland wrote in to rave about their boss. Here are a few endorsements:
"A year and a half ago, the future of the company was unsure, and losing money daily. Mike was hired as the sole member of the marketing team and turned it around—we now have 14 employees and counting, and Mike has been promoted to the president of the company."
"We get to bring dogs in the office.... We get to play Halo, ride razor scooters, watch TV and have pizza parties. He also has a good heart and he makes work very enjoyable."
"One of the initial questions he had for me in my interview was "What is your stance on video games?"…. He also helped me pay to take some night classes, because he knew how much my learning would help the company. That's pretty damn sweet."
Well, weâre sold. Mike âBig Dogâ Wienick, we salute you.
Here are some other
beloved bosses who were nominated: Woody Adams from Underdog Sports
Leagues, Amy Schlager from AXA Advisors, Teri Lorenzen from Raphael
House, Daniel Boggs from InFocus, Sherri Griffin from Pastini Pastaria,
Dee Walsh from REACH Community Development, Robert Parsons from the
University Club of Portland, Steve Pishko from ADP, Jessica Stevens from
SEIU Oregon State Council, Jill Nelson from Ruby Receptionists, and Don
Spear from OpenSesame.com.
Headout Picks
THURSDAY OCT. 13
FRIDAY OCT. 14
SATURDAY OCT. 15
SUNDAY OCT. 16
WWeek 2015