The bad news in newspapers and on TV is enough to send all of us into a group depression. Instead, let’s be bold and daring and focus on something more positive, like regional business successes.
Look at your organization and ask, “What have we done well?” You’ll be surprised at what you find — modest revenue growth, job creation, new product development.
And when you quit listening to the partisan hype from both sides, blow away the storm clouds that have hung over Stark County since last year’s presidential election and take a good, hard look at what business leaders are doing, you’ll realize things aren’t as bad as they seem.
Without question, the loss of jobs at Hoover and Timken was a major blow to the community’s labor, economic and tax base. And as such, they pose a serious challenge to overcome. But those are only two companies out of tens of thousands, and many of the rest have stories worth hearing.
Smart Business is proud to join the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce as a sponsor of its annual Business Excellence Awards of Greater Canton. Together, we’re helping focus attention on the best this area has to offer rather than dwell on the worst.
It’s easy to talk about the bad things. They get our blood boiling, bring out our passion, create a rallying cry and, to be honest, “Hoover cuts 1,000 jobs; community doomed,” is a more salacious headline than “XYZ Co. sales rise 10 percent; 18 jobs added.”
But that’s the point.
In a quick-hit, ratings-ruthless, 24-hour news cycle, we’ve been reduced to junkies scrambling to latch on to the latest tragedy and watch it dissected from every angle until it is bled dry.
We don’t have to accept it. It’s just as important to make success part of our regular regional discussion. And whether it sells newspapers, garners TV viewers or gets the mob mobilized becomes irrelevant when you cast away the façade and recognize success is achieved one job, one percentage point growth and one dollar at a time.
It’s up to you — and us — to create that buzz and make the public dialogue meaningful. If we don’t, we’ll remain a nation of zombies, letting others dictate what’s worth our attention.
