We take our customers seriously. That’s message number one today. Message number two is a bit of sound advice for all business leaders: Admit when you’ve been wrong in business decisions, particularly with personnel. Say it straight out, “I was wrong,” and move on.
As I was advised once upon a time about admitting mistakes: If you have to bow, bow low.
A little background. At an annual forum for Business Press readers and advertisers a couple of years ago, someone pointed out that the media business is changing at warp speed. The once dominant empire of print is now challenged by – and intertwined with – the online worlds of digital and social media.
The observation was followed by a question: What steps was the Business Press taking to grow and meet the new demands – what, in fact, was the company’s management succession plan?
Confident as I was and still am about our leadership team, it was obvious to me what my interrogator was really asking: “How are you old white guys going to keep up?”
It was a valid question. At the time, we did have lots of old white guys running the place. They are still here, and they include some of the most experienced and capable media professionals in Fort Worth. Editor Bob Francis, associate editor Paul Harral and news editor Bill Thompson have been covering Fort Worth and mentoring young reporters here for decades – and that’s in addition to doing the same in other states and cities at various times along the way.
But today, almost 65 percent of the Business Press workforce is female. The average age of our female employees is 33.
Our day-to-day operations are now run by a woman, Cindy Hames, who joined us Feb. 19 as senior vice president and general manager. Let’s just say she is under 50. Better yet, she’s smart, energetic and highly qualified to run our small media company.
We now have employees in news and in marketing who are in their 20s and are helping shape our future and drive our decisions.
Even though we use Facebook more than in the past, that once innovative platform is now primarily a venue for those 50 years old and above. The new game in news and communication is being played at Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn – and we are using all of those.
Hames was born in Dallas, raised in the mid-cities, and graduated from Howard Payne University in Brownwood. Her husband, J.R., is the city planner in Roanoke. They have two children, Ryan, about to attend Texas A&M, and Grayden, an outdoors-loving teenager.
For many years Cindy worked in marketing at Camp Fire and then was director of marketing and communications for a multimillion-dollar international media and publishing organization operating in seven countries.
In between was a stint running the advertising department at the Business Press, which ended abruptly one day when she announced that she was “outta here!” Her reasons were varied, but in a nutshell: She didn’t like the way I ran the joint.
Begging her to stay would have been a good idea.
I made a mistake and subsequently had the chance to tell her so. She understands forgiveness.
So, too, does Anjie Hamilton, who rejoined us Feb. 27 as our business manager. Admitting to her that I was wrong in letting her get away a few years ago, I asked her to return. All heart and dedication to our business and her friends here, she said she’d be at work the next day. Her husband, Shevoyd, is a senior account executive in advertising and has worked with me for over 30 years in many jobs, once living thousands of miles away from home for over a year to help me in a new venture,
So here’s my plan for change and growth: Bring on the ladies, hire young, and admit when you are wrong – and bring back good, loyal former employees who once decided the boss was an idiot but are willing to give him a second chance.
The future is now.
Richard Connor is president and publisher of the Fort Worth Business Press. Contact him at rconnor@bizpress.net