Among the things that come with the territory of being a reasonably successful and visible person are requests for favors—from family and friends, your church and alma mater, political and community leaders, employees, clients, and business associates, people you’ve known your entire life and total strangers. The further you go and the more you achieve, the greater the requests, in both size and number. You’ll never be able to say yes to all of them—nor should you. But if you’re looking to follow my example, you won’t view these requests resentfully or as a burden; instead you’ll embrace them as a welcome privilege and opportunity to deliver value and make a positive impact. By uplifting others, we are all enriched and empowered.
I passionately believe that with success comes the opportunity, if not the obligation, to respond to the needs and enable the aspirations of others, ranging from family and friends to entire communities, the nation, and even the world. I am always stunned and disappointed by the attitudes of those who achieve wealth and status yet show little or no regard for others—and I am never surprised when their success ultimately proves to be unfulfilling or short-lived. When you reach the top of a mountain, you should not be extending a foot to kick others back, but offering a hand to help lift them up, just as you needed someone to assist you during your climb to the top—and will again, if you are to reach your future goals or maintain your current level of success.
Fortunately, most of us respond positively and enthusiastically to the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. We remember that others—the teachers who encouraged, the relatives who prayed, the mentors who advised, or friends who invested—did the same for us to help make our dreams and goals a reality. The truly successful business person constantly invests in others: helping that young person find a summer job or internship; making a key introduction on behalf of a promising new business owner; providing graduate school recommendations;
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making the much-needed investments of time, tithes, and talent to help others prosper. You need look no further for numerous examples than this issue of black enterprise, which features our 39th annual listing of the be 100s, the nation’s largest black-owned businesses.
Each of our 2011 be 100s Companies of the Year has a long track record of creating jobs, uplifting communities, and creating opportunities for other professionals and entrepreneurs. Bridgewater Interiors L.L.C., a $1.6 billion auto industry supplier and our Industrial/Service Company of the Year, now employs more than 1,400 people at four manufacturing facilities, after starting out with only one customer a little more than a decade ago. Led by CEO Ronald E. Hall, Bridgewater has survived the Great Recession and returned to profitability, bringing desperately needed economic activity to the Detroit area. The same can be said for Bob Ross Buick/GMC and Mercedes-Benz, based in Centerville, Ohio, and this year’s Auto Dealer of the Year. Since the death of CEO Norma J. Ross last April (husband and founder Bob Ross died in 1997), daughter and CEO Jenell Ross has overcome both personal loss and industry turmoil to continue the family business and maintain the Ross tradition of supporting nonprofit and community groups in the Dayton, Ohio, area, as well as organizations ranging from the NAACP to Central State University.
Both M.R. Beal & Co. in New York and Burrell Communications Group L.L.C. in Chicago, the 2011 Financial Services Company of the Year and Advertising Agency of the Year, respectively, have created professional and business opportunities for generations of professionals in their industries. Investment bank M.R. Beal can claim some of the most accomplished pros in its industry as alumni, including Suzanne Shank of Siebert Brandford Shank & Co. L.L.C., the 2010 Financial Services Company of the Year. And Burrell Communications is a living legacy of founder Tom Burrell, who, upon retiring, implemented a succession plan that passed ownership of his agency to two longtime employees, Fay Ferguson and McGhee Williams Osse, the agency’s co-CEOs.
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Examples of successful business leaders lifting as they climb don’t stop with our 2011 Companies of the Year. They can be found among the be 100s companies in every industry and across the country. For example, last month when James Reynolds, the CEO of be 100s investment bank Loop Capital Markets, learned that his elevation from an unpaid board member to chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority came with a $100,000 stipend, he came up with a plan to invest the money back into the community by creating a scholarship fund for children living in Chicago public housing. Reynolds also donated $25,000 of his own money to the fund.
Eddie C. Brown, CEO of Baltimore-based Brown Capital Management L.L.C., one of the be 100s asset managers, has made charitable contributions of more than $22 million to the arts, educational programs, and healthcare efforts through the Eddie C. and Sylvia Brown Family Foundation, which he and his wife created in 1996. Brown was inspired by a wealthy white woman in his hometown of Apopka, Florida, whom he called the “Magnificent, Mysterious Lady B.” in his autobiography and who paid for his college tuition throughout his four years at Howard University. The Browns’ philanthropy earned them spots on black enterprise’s 2005 lists of the 20 leading foundations and 15 top individual donors, respectively. And this year Brown is the recipient of our prestigious A.G. Gaston Lifetime Achievement Award at the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo hosted by Nationwide at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel May 22–25.
Check out our photo essay in this issue, featuring be 100s CEOs including Warren Thompson of Thompson Hospitality, G. Jean Davis of UNIBAR Services Inc., and others who understand the intrinsic connection between the success of their companies and the need to create opportunities for their hundreds of employees and their families.
You may not command a seven-figure income, and your business may not be of the size and scale of a be 100s company, but you can still do your part as a successful entrepreneur or business professional. Go out of your way to create at least one internship position—arranging for students to get credit toward their degree if you can’t pay them—at your small business. Get to know your employees well enough to know when to offer assistance, such as helping with expenses related to the death of an immediate family member, or providing recommendations for their children’s college applications. If you meet a promising job seeker that you’re not in a position to hire, make the extra calls and work your network to get him or her hired
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elsewhere. Take a good look at the community in which your business operates, and you’ll no doubt find unmet needs. Lead, use your influence, and work with others to help provide solutions and create opportunities. Set aside 1% or 2% of your annual profits or salary so that you can meet emergency requests from friends, family, associates, or the community at large. If you don’t have money, donate time (say, a day each month), or be prepared to donate your company’s goods, services, or expertise to a worthy cause. When requests for favors come—and believe me, they will—you’ll be prepared with ways to help.
The bottom line is this: Excelling in business goes hand in hand with excelling at creating opportunities, recognizing and meeting needs, and yes, doing favors—both large and small—for others. Any good entrepreneur can make money. The very best, including those leading our 2011 be 100s Companies of the Year, make a difference. I urge you to join me in honoring them at this year’s Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo. More important, I hope you’ll be inspired to follow their example.
