Brad Jackson with Director RJ McHatton
I drove downtown Seattle to interview Brad Jackson of Two Degrees for the Puget Sound Business Journal video about the “Best Workplaces in Washington.” Two Degrees was a finalist for the award this year. Two Degrees is located in the Exchange Building where once there was the Pacific Northwest Stock Exchange. The Exchange Building is a 22 story concrete building in an Art Deco style. According to Wikipedia it was once the second tallest concrete building in the United States. It reminds me of the tall buildings they used in the old Dragnet series or black and white Noir films showing the Courthouses of LA. I went up the elevator to the Two Degrees offices and was immediately surprised by the hustle and bustle. I met with Brad Jackson. He is someone you will never forget. He and I sat down in a small office and I started recording the interview. We talked about his background and the history of the company. Brad once worked with Price Waterhouse and has a strong background in accounting. He said that he found that his strengths pulled him more into relationships and consulting. Brad talked about the special culture they have at Two Degrees. He said everything was about the Culture and nurturing the culture. He said that everyone is focused on the clients and how they can help their clients get better. Brad is almost hypnotic in his focused passion and pride about his team. He impressed me as someone who looks at life and situations from 30,000 feet, looking down and trying to figure out ways to make everything better. Brad talked about how his company had become one of the fastest growing companies in America. He talked about how he set incredible personal and team goals and how they achieved them every time. Brad talked at length about how important his team and the positive creative workplace environment was to the success of the organization. Brad talked about the Core Values of his team. He talked about their vision for the future. He talked about some of the unique and creative ways they have nurtured their culture. He told about lavish annual company retreats and a special inhouse film festival where employees went out and made their own films for their internal film festival, all in the name of creative team building. I feel very lucky to have been exposed to Brad and his team. They have sparked many new ideas and inspiration on how I can be a better leader for my team. Thanks Brad.