Opinion: SBJ list changes add to credibility

It is her job to collect and compile the information for SBJ's weekly listings and the annual Book of Lists. She then checks them – but not just twice.

We've been making changes to the lists, not only in the way they're formatted, now through Colorado-based DataJoe, but also in that ranking information is now absolutely required for a company to make it onto a list.

We've always used some sort of ranking information, such as employee numbers, revenues or assets, but if a company – particularly a very large one – didn't give us the numbers we wanted for ranking, our practice was to allow them a spot – unranked – at the bottom of the list. It was our way of not ignoring "the white elephant in the corner," so to speak.

That has changed. Effective with the lists in our Aug. 21 real estate issue, we instituted the requirement that companies be willing to put their numbers forward to be considered for the list. In that issue, the residential real estate firms and commercial real estate firms were ranked by gross sales for the previous year. We've requested that information in the past, but it wasn't the ranking criteria. Companies had been ranked by the number of sales agents.

On the Aug. 21 real estate lists, there are some heavy hitters missing, including Carol Jones, Realtors and Gregg Stancer Realty. No one would argue that these companies are not extremely active in area real estate. But for whatever reason, they’re among the companies that chose not to tell us their gross sales for 2005.

We are changing the ranking criteria for some of our lists in order to add credibility to our lists. We want them to be a source of information far above and beyond what one can find in the telephone directory or in an online database. Thus, we are making sure that our ranking criteria is the most relevant number we can ask for in painting an accurate picture of an industry or a sector.

There are still some instances when a company will decline to answer questions on their questionnaires, so some columns will say "WND," which means would not disclose. Sometimes, they can't answer – if we ask for the name of a key team member such as the general manager, and that position is open, the company's listing will say "N/A" for not available.

From here on out, though, there won't be lists with "WND" in the ranking criteria column. In the past, that has been frustrating, leading to lists that end up with multiple unranked entries, and companies that supplied very little for their listings beyond name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and Web address. Now, known companies that don't provide ranking information will be mentioned in a footnote.

There are some footnote issues with DataJoe, the program Embree uses to input data for the creation of the lists, but she is working with the program's creators to ensure that we will be able to do this.

As long as we're on footnotes, I'd like to again draw attention to the statement that appears at the bottom of the list: “Springfield Business Journal relies on the individual businesses to be truthful and accurate in their representation of information listed.”

We can't control whether companies are honest with us, but Embree stays plenty busy doing what she can to make sure that they are. If there's a way to check the information through the state licensing boards, the Securities and Exchange Commission or Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., she does it. But given that many companies we list are private enterprises, we don't have access to their facts and figures beyond what they're willing to share with us. When our data is questioned, Embree will go back to the company and recheck the information as often as needed. But it still boils down to accountability on the part of participating companies.

These lists are designed to be an informative tool for doing business in the Ozarks. 2007 will bring some new lists to the lineup. If you have questions about our listings, old or new, give us a call at (417) 831-3238, or e-mail Embree at jembree@sbj.net.

Maria Hoover is Springfield Business Journal Features Editor. She can be reached at mhoover@sbj.net.