Trusted trio share business insights

Three of the country's most trusted small-business minds shared a stage today at the Springfield Cardinals training facility for a discussion about their careers.

SRC Holdings Corp. CEO and open-book management guru Jack Stack brought to town colleagues Bo Burlingham and Norm Brodsky for a lunch seminar, part of the three-day Missouri Literary Festival that kicked off this morning. All three have published business books and written columns for Inc. magazine.

With posters of their books - "The Great Game of Business," "Small Giants" and "The Knack" - as the backdrop, the trio encouraged the nearly 50 audience members, which spanned from veteran business owners to college students, to find a job they love, avoid over-thinking their work and develop sensible ways to act differently than the competition.

When taking questions from the audience, the businessmen addressed the common small-business trap of being too small to operate as a large company and too large to think small, what the panel referred to as corporate "no man's land."

"When you're tapped out of your credit cards, you're tapped out of your bank loans ... you can't take it to another level," Stack said. "Bo figures that maybe 60 percent of small businesses spend time in no man's land. They can't get out."

Wood Re New owner Stan Krempges asked for advice in taking national his company, which has blossomed from a $30,000 startup to a regional franchisor.

"Never (attempt growth) if it would jeopardize the foundation of your business," Brodsky told Krempges. "The second thing, and Jack does it perfectly ... is develop talent within. Take those people and start a new division, to go outside of where you are now. But don't jeopardize what you have."

Burlingham advised business owners to operate "from human scale to financial scale."

"If you say you want to grow, the first question you ask is why," he said. "It's not because you have to do it; it's got to be because you want to do it. But understand what it's going to take and how your business is going to change."

Following the discussion, the co-authors signed copies of their books and took pictures with attendees.

Literary seminars, including a talk by poet laureate Billy Collins, run through Oct. 4 at Hammons Field and the Creamery Arts Center.