Springfield Business Journal_2021-01-25

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 23 JAN 25-31, 2021 A s a business owner, it can be challeng- ing to get excited about the new year when COVID-19 is surging, political tensions are boiling over, and eco- nomic uncertainties are clouding our view of the future. And who knows what’s going to happen with toilet paper? Many businesses took a huge hit last year, and most by no fault of their own. Nevertheless, these are the cards we have been dealt, and we must play wisely to win. The main ingredients will be hard work and monumental personal sacrifice, which is just more of the same for the business owner. Sec- ondly, it’s going to take a different mindset. At the beginning of the shutdowns last year, like many other companies, we shifted to a defensive posture in order to protect the business and weath- er the storm, obviously not knowing where we were headed. We realized ear- ly on that even with pre- dictions of a short run and quick recovery, that the damage done to the econ- omy was impacting years not months. Coming out of war room meetings mid- summer, we decided to point all our efforts back on offensive. Our mindset needed to focus on how to win, not simply how to avoid losing. For us, that meant examining the needs of our custom- ers and creating innovation in our services to meet their needs. It also meant diversifying our client base to reach a new market to realize new revenue opportunities. It’s the difference between playing for the sake of obligation versus playing for the po- tential upside. At the height of the shutdown, we communicat- ed to our team that we were in this to win it, and we were not staying on defense the rest of the year. Our very survival, like any business, hinges on what we do today and how we respond to the challeng- es we face. It is not enough to rehash yesterday’s victo- ries and polish our trophies from the past. We need to think like winners and ad- just our game plan as need- ed. Playing to win is really about a mindset. When you play to win, you play with energy and excitement. You are aggressive and proactive. When you play to not lose, you are timid and stiff. You are not calling the plays; you are reacting. You are trying to hold your ground, not actively seeking to advance. When you play to win, you aggressively work to put points on the board. You are strategic and thoughtful. You trust your instincts and make bold moves. When you are playing to not lose, you are overly cautious. You often hold back and try not to make mistakes. And sadly, many who try to play it safe end up losing in the end because they stopped doing what made them successful in the first place. As mentioned before, the other piece is about hard work. There is no substitute for hard work and determination. There is a societal change go- ing on right now that says you don’t have to work hard to get to where you want to go. Don’t fall into this trap. When the rules of the game are followed consistently, everyone has an equal opportunity for success. Though we have equal opportunity, we are not guaranteed an equal outcome. Success demands hard work, long hours and a fierce determination to win. This is true in sports, business and any organi- zation that faces opposition. At the end of the day, you need to think like a winner. In our businesses, we have recalibrated our systems and processes. We have restructured exist- ing business plans and found new ways to become more efficient. We developed better ways to take care of our clients and expanded many of our ser- vice offerings. We have launched new entities. We haven’t gotten everything right and there is much more work to be done, but we are working hard, playing to win and leaving it all on the field. Donnie Brawner is the CEO of Paragon 360. He can be reached at dbrawner@paragon360.com. OPINION New year signals move to offense Send letters and comments to sbj@sbj.net Opinion piece on ‘white privilege’ off base Dear editor, You are certainly entitled to your opin- ion, but you are not entitled to a unique set of facts which fit your agenda. Reali- ty is truth. How was “white privilege” on dis- play during the D.C. riots on Jan. 6? How were the trespassers using “white priv- ilege”? The evidence is suggesting that they were able to breach the Capitol be- cause of incompetence by the Capitol Po- lice. And there is good reason to believe the FBI did not adequately alert and as- sist the police. You opine that if the tres- passers were of color there would have [been] many more fatalities. How did you derive that? A significant number of the Capitol Police are Black. Would they have gunned down fellow Blacks? If so, why? Did the unarmed woman (military veter- an) who was shot and killed by the police use her “white privilege”? Regardless, the breach of the Capitol was inexcusable and a travesty. Your most fantastical statements re- fer to the summer riots. You paint a pic- ture of benevolent, peaceful protestors met by “harsh resistance” and “some bad apples.” Your ideological biases, like the media, prevent you from understanding what you see. The riots were anything but peaceful, and the perpetrators were Black and white. Scores of businesses were burned and looted, police stations were burned and federal courthouses were attacked. People were murdered. In most cases, the police did little to prevent the mayhem, by order of the liberal may- ors and governors. As the Seattle may- or put it: It’s the “summer of love.” Are white thugs worse than Black thugs? You say “their history with the police is long and horrifying” referring to Black citizens. That is gross hyperbole. People could interpret it to mean that thousands of Blacks have been and are currently be- ing wantonly slaughtered. Instances of police brutality and misconduct in Amer- ica today are horrible but rare. Finally, why is such an editorial rele- vant in a business journal? The print and broadcast media are full of outlets eager to divide the country along race, i.e., N.Y. Times, WaPo, K.C. Star, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, et al. Business folks in southwest Missouri are too busy to have time to do penitence for the color of their skin. Stick to your knitting and report on the business environment. —Ron Neville, of Springfield Letter to the Editor Playing To Win GUEST COLUMN Donnie Brawner Success demands hard work, long hours and a fierce determination to win. 2101 W. Chesterfield Blvd., Ste. B105, Springfield, Mo. 65807 Phone: (417) 831-3238 · Fax: (417) 864-4901 www.sbj.net · sbj@sbj.net AUDITPENDING SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL (ISSN 1075-2803) is published weekly, by SBJ Publishing Inc., 2101 W. Chesterfield Blvd., Ste. B105, Springfield, Mo. 65807, phone (417) 831-3238, fax (417) 864-4901, email sbj@sbj.net. Copyright by SBJ Publishing Inc. 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use without permission of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Springfield, Mo. and additional mailing offices. Annual subscription rate is $89.00 for 52 issues. Single copy price is $2.00 plus tax and back issues are $3.00 each, plus tax and first- class postage. Advertising deadlines are 10 days prior to publication. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Springfield Business Journal, 2101 W. Chesterfield Blvd., Ste. B105, Springfield, Mo. 65807. Allow one week for new subscriptions and address changes to take effect.` PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: The records printed in Springfield Business Journal are duplicates or are taken from those filed for public record and do not necessarily affect the business or financial standing of the parties mentioned. Any explanation of these items would be published upon request. Under no circumstances will any judgment, decree or other matter of public record be knowingly withheld for publication by this newspaper. Every precaution is taken in compiling and printing all records of the courts, however, Springfield Business Journal assumes no liability for errors or omissions. Opinions expressed by contributing writers and columnists are their own and not necessarily the views of this newspaper. 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