2017 Men of the Year: Brian McDonough

Motivating Factors

Family: I have been married for 30 wonderful years to my high school sweetheart Keli, and we have two fine young men as sons: Matt and Drew.
Advice for other men: Lose the phone when you are in the presence of those whose lives matter the most to you.

KY3 Inc. Vice President and General Manager Brian McDonough says the little things are the most important. He likes to quote professional and motivational speaker, Larry Winget, to prove his point.

“Very few take care of the little stuff,” Winget says. “That is why very few end up rich, happy and healthy, with great relationships. They take care of the big things and let the little things slide.”

In McDonough’s words: “I constantly look for the little things we can be doing better,” he says of the three TV stations he oversees: KY3, KSPR and The Ozarks CW.

That philosophy is what led him to foster KY3’s successes over the last six years, taking the TV station to new heights – 190 employees and more than $35 million in revenue –  and dramatically improving all key metrics within the company.

“We launched two new TV stations in Antenna TV and Cozi TV, we launched news on The Ozarks CW, and launched several new digital products including the Ozarks Sports Zone, KY3 and KSPR weather apps, the Branson Fun Guide and our Lake of the Ozarks app,” McDonough says.

The work toward improvement has not gone unnoticed.

The team was named United Way’s 2015 Corporate Humanitarian of the Year, the inaugural 2015 Missouri Broadcast Association Station of the Year and received 11 regional Edward R. Murrow awards, one national Edward R. Murrow for Best Newscast in 2013, 12 Regional Emmy Awards and 86 MBA awards.

Former KY3 owner Todd Schurz once told McDonough he thought KY3’s growth was done. McDonough says Schurz would be stunned and pleased with the tremendous growth the station had experienced, but for him, it’s simply all in a day’s work.

“Making our home a better place is the cornerstone of everything that we do,” McDonough says. “Our newscasts keep the nearly 1 million people in southwest Missouri informed on the issues that impact them.”

In addition, the Springfield-based stations recently created three annual campaigns promoting volunteerism, Ozarks water and keeping families safe. The campaign featured station employees and community leaders who shared tales of their own volunteerism, each giving their own call to action. McDonough believes the volunteer campaign has made a substantial impact.

“Our partner agencies have seen significant, double-digit increases in volunteer hours,” he says. “I allow (my employees) to dream and then chase dreams. I believe in them and their ability to run our operation.

“I believe the answers to our business challenges and opportunities are out there, and more times than not, our employees are the ones who can create the workable solution. As leaders, we must listen to them.”

McDonough understands everyone can and will make mistakes, but he works hard to remain even-keeled, adding he asks everyone, including himself, to own their mistakes, apologize, make them right and learn how to preclude them from happening again.

Giving people the benefit of the doubt may be one more key to success in McDonough’s playbook.

“One of the biggest compliments I have ever received by one of my co-workers,” McDonough says, “is when she said to me, ‘The difference between you and other bosses I have worked for is that your initial reaction isn’t why we can’t do it, but rather, why shouldn’t we do it.’”