Opinion: For the Love of Business

“Do you love business?”

When Jack Stack asks you, it carries some weight.

It stopped me in my tracks. We just had an insightful conversation about entrepreneurism following his photo shoot for this 12 People You Need to Know publication.

The question was casually stated, but the purpose was direct. 

“No, not exactly,” I replied, walking him out of the office before the hustle and bustle of working hours.

“What do you love?” he continued.

“Theology,” I said, honestly.

Stack didn’t miss a beat: “You get to work that in?”

Man, was he persistent. And I knew I should listen and contemplate what Stack was getting at.

So I am. Good theology causes me to love people. And business is about people and their relationship to facts, sales, expenses, trends, production, services, etc.

So, maybe I love business more than I realize.

I think the point is in answering the question: What do you love?

Determining the love gives us our why.

Editing the profiles for the 10th annual class of 12 People You Need to Know, I think I saw some of the love and some of the why behind their professions and businesses.

• While Linda Sanders serves as warden of the Federal Medical Center for Prisoners, it appears she loves to lead. She likens the job to that as mayor of a small city. The campus is on 260 acres and has a budget exceeding $100 million for its 1,000 inmates and 650 employees.

• Mark Steiner loves to dream. Big dreams. The self-described “footloose, fancy-free guy” is dreaming of a $100 million company. 

• While Tim Klegg might love an over-the-top doughnut, he also loves ideas. Hurts Donut Co. might not be his last venture.

• Crystal Quade seems to love policy, because the soon-to-be freshman state representative says “that’s where the real change starts.”

• Rachael Jarosh must love global issues. I mean, she’s built a career around facilitating such things as clean water and philanthropy. Now with Enactus, she helps students use their business concepts to improve the standards of living for those in need across some 36 countries.

• John Martin loves the big screen and cuisine – so he’s melded the two in Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the largest of which is under renovations to open in 2017 in Springfield.

Then again, I don’t know for sure what each of the 12 loves.

I haven’t asked them. I do get to interview each during the monthly 12 People breakfast events. You can be sure I’ll return the question to Stack. Maybe the others, too.

What do you love?

I think the biggest part of that question is not the current answer. It’s the fact we have to give it thought.

Think about it: Do you love business? What do you love?

Springfield Business Journal Editorial Director Eric Olson can be reached at eolson@sbj.net.