Ronald Richard
“I think people hear the word entrepreneurship, and they think it’s got to be a new, from-scratch start-up, but there is enormous ability to be an entrepreneur in an existing large organization, whether it’s government, a non-profit or a for-profit organization,” according to Ronald B. Richard, president of The Cleveland Foundation.
Richard was a panelist on March 2 at a Baldwin-Wallace College program entitled “Beyond the Quiet Crisis Through Growth and Innovation.” The program was part of the College’s Coleman Series on Entrepreneurship, funded by a grant from the Coleman Foundation.
Other panelists were Louis G. Joseph, president and chief executive officer of the Brewer-Garrett Company; Robert J. Joyce, chairman and chief executive officer of the Westfield Group; and C. Allen McCann, president of Premier Medical Supplies Inc.
Peter Rea, chairman of the school’s Business Administration Division, moderated the panel discussion.
Panelists said that one individual can make a difference, particularly in an organization where risk and new ideas are encouraged.
Robert Joyce
“Entrepreneurship is about having a positive outlook and a mindset that you can succeed and are willing to take risks – and about being willing to build a team around you that is willing to take that risk with you,” according to Joyce, whose company, the Westfield Group, is a diversified insurance and financial services company based in Medina.
Joyce urged company leaders to be open to others’ ideas. “If you’re a pretty good listener, there are some pretty good ideas out there,” he said.
Joseph spoke about leadership, saying that each person has the ability to lead in some way. An organization’s culture comes from its leaders and, ultimately, from its CEO, he said.
“You start and stop with personal integrity,” Joseph said. “We hear so many stories about CEOs and the deeds they do. I think you can be beyond reproach. Being that example is important.”
Louis Joseph
Joseph’s company, Brewer-Garrett, is an engineering / mechanical design / build and service firm. He said he strives to foster a culture where innovation is encouraged.
“You need to have the positive attitude,” Joseph said. “That attitude will disseminate throughout your organization.
McCann provided the perspective of the head of a family-owned business; his company, Premier Medical Supplies, distributes home medical equipment and supplies hospitals, labs and other health-related facilities.
“As a small-business owner, I would say the key is to have the ability to see the forest through the trees . . . and not get caught up in managing your business from a day-to-day perspective only,” McCann said. “Entrepreneurship demands forward thinking. You have to have a longer-term strategic approach and look to the future.”
Allen McCann
McCann also said that often, all of the energy in a small business comes from its owner or president.
When that is the case, he said, “you really miss out on a lot that your employees have to offer.”
The panelists agreed that the state of Ohio should do more to foster business growth, innovation and entrepreneurship. Joyce recommended making tax structures more favorable to business, but Richard advised against cutting taxes, saying that would lead to cuts in higher education funding.
“The state has to give more money to universities, but it also has to hold universities accountable to rapidly transfer their technology and have it commercialized,” Richard said.
He said he wants to see Ohio target two or three industries that could be “the future of this state” and focus resources there.
Other lectures in the Coleman Series included:
• Entrepreneurs in Law & Medicine
• Science & Entrepreneurship
• Art & Entrepreneurship
• Global & Non-Profit Entrepreneurship
The goal of the lecture series has been to encourage students and community members to identify their passions, to understand the need for entrepreneur competence and character and to inform the broader community about entrepreneur resources at B-W. The series was made possible by a grant from the Coleman Foundation, based in Illinois. Since 1981, the foundation has invested $25 million in the promotion of, and education for, entrepreneurship in the Midwest. Baldwin-Wallace won a $20,000 grant for its plan to involve both business and liberal-arts faculty in fostering character and citizenship in business and entrepreneurship, and in addressing the question: “How can worthy people add worth?”
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