John Hope Bryant

Honoring the Life and Legacy of the late Secretary Ron Brown

I commend and thank the White House and the Obama Administration for recognizing my late friend, Secretary Ron Brown, on the anniversary of his passing, along with 34 other nobel, dedicated Americans who gave their lives for public service.

Read the White House article in full here.

 

Guest Op-Ed: Hope for First-time Entrepreneurs

By Shane J. Lopez

Adapted from Making Hope Happen (due out March 5, 2013)

One Friday night in 1978 my mom stopped by our favorite restaurant, Joe’s Drive-In, to pick up fried chicken and sides. As usual, the chicken was delicious. So we were all surprised when my brother, sister, and I got a gut-wrenching, dehydrating case of food poisoning. My dad called Sonny, the owner of the drive-in, to tell him about the bad food (which both Sonny and the health department said was a first). Sonny invited my dad over for an apology and a few beers. He told my dad that he was ready to sell Joe’s and open up a new business. Dad saw this as a chance to be his own boss and leave oilfield construction. That’s how we came to own a low-slung cinderblock building and a few recipes.

Most businesses in America are similar to Joe’s. They are what economists call lifestyle businesses. These restaurants, retailers, and service companies are built to provide a sustainable living for a family or two and wage-work for maybe a dozen employees. Hope is vital to the day-to-day operations. Every month you have fixed expenses to cover. Anything left over is for your family. Every month you come up with new ways to make ends meet.

The Secret Weapon That Will Save U.S. Entrepreneurship

January's Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey has me more frightened than ever about America’s future.

I already knew that our GDP was stalling, if not falling. The Department of Commerce reported recently that GDP declined in the fourth quarter of last year, at an annualized rate of 0.1%. Meanwhile a minimum GDP of 2.5% is required just to tread water economically, in my view, though I think we really need GDP growth of about 4.5% to get the economy humming again.

And I already knew that unemployment was stuck at right around 8%; when you add in those who are “underemployed,” according to Gallup data, it jumps to 17%. These figures tell the story of what was a prosperous and stable democracy that’s now going nowhere.

But the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey reveals the biggest nightmare metric of all: 30% of small-business owners are worried they may not be in business in 12 months. I am also worried because new business startups have fallen below 400,000 per year, and the country needs a bare minimum of 1 million new startups annually, in my estimate, to keep the economy running. We cannot, on top of this, have existing companies going out of business.

These findings are so alarming because the total number of U.S. employees within small businesses is significantly larger than in big business. The fact is, new business startups mean everything to America, because without them, our GDP cannot grow and unemployment will continue to rise. The miracle of economic life in the United States begins with one business starting up -- that moment of conception, if you will.

Read the rest of the story here.

 

 

 

Guest Op-Ed: Let’s Give Dignity A Chance: Two observations and five takeaways | Operation HOPE Blog

by Lutfey Siddiqi

Atlanta, GA – December 7, 2012

Global Financial what Summit??

This was the most oft-repeated reaction to the event held on the 15th of November 2012 in Atlanta Georgia – the Global Financial Dignity Summit. 

Hosted by two larger-than-life personalities straddling two generations, John Hope Bryant and Ambassador Andrew Young, this conference was headlined by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and proved to be an innovative and impactful gathering of business, social and political stakeholders focused on economic development.

My wife Deborah and I had travelled the furthest to be there, at the invitation of John who is a fellow member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader community.

John Hope Bryant exudes a blend of energy and eloquence that gives him the stage-presence of an Obama with the sensitivity of a Bill Clinton. Together with the understated Professor from Finland Pekka Himanen and the telegenic Crown Prince HRH Haakon of Norway, John founded the Global Dignity movement in 2006. Internationally active and with the hands-on involvement of all three, this movement is based on the premise that every human being has the right to lead a dignified life and as a corollary, the right to access resources to fulfill one’s potential.

Specially designed “dignity sessions” are held in underprivileged schools to affirm self-worth and confidence not only in the way that individuals carry themselves but also in the way that they relate to each other, often in the presence of conflict.

The Global Financial Dignity Summit sought to apply this overarching framework to our current economic challenge – hence the unusual title.

Read the complete article below:

Let’s Give Dignity A Chance: Two observations and five takeaways | Operation HOPE Blog.

Making Dumb Sexy: Gangster Drug Dealers Openly Advertise on Craigslist

When people ask me what do I mean by the statement, "...we have made dumb sexy in this generation. We have dumbed down, and celebrated it..," this unfortunately is an excellent example.  This article, shared with compliments of Your Black World and Natasha Foreman, MBA, is unfortunately a great example of increasingly what this generation -- my generation -- is getting completely wrong.

It appears that we increasingly celebrate the stupid, ignore the good, and throw our hands up with respect to the bad, as if there is 'nothing we can do.'  Well, there is something we can do, and it begins with calling it like we see it.  If society continues to allow this sort of blatant and arrogant 'base' behavior, of the worst human elements, go unchecked, then it is the beginning of the end to what we call a civilized society.

In many ways, this is not so different from the years-long, much celebrated BE STUPID advertising campaign that was heavily promoted by Diesel Jeans.  They even installed permanent signs on the outside of their most prominent stores -- and yet we (the collective we) did nothing. Where were the letters of outrage from parents and community leaders alike?  I for one wrote something about it at the time.  I can tell you this, if the company had installed the same signs, and promoted the same advertising campaign in say China, or some hard-working developing country where parents literally spend every dime they have to finance their children's education -- they would have gotten nothing back but blank stares.  Somehow, we have come to accept this irrational behavior as "okay." Well, it is not. 

Our urban, inner-city and underserved communities have increasingly been overrun with what I call "thug culture," and we must take our communities back!  Quoting my friend and 5MK co-chair Quincy Jones, "It takes 20 years to change a culture."  Well, I would suggest that "in the last 20 years we have made dumb sexy. We have dumbed down and celebrated it, and now we must make smart sexy again."

Read the complete, ridiculous article, below.

 

There are several doomsday theorists who have predicted that America’s economic downward spiral will be paired with an increase in overt criminality. There is no way to know yet whether that prediction is true, but we do know that criminals are becoming bolder as money for police and investigative agencies is reduced.

A recent sting by the New York Police Department and the city’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor revealed a bustling business for drug dealers who now openly advertise on Craigslist.

The complete article linked here.

 

A Message from the Director of Global Dignity, on GLOBAL DIGNITY DAY 2012

Turn up your speakers and let's get started! http://youtu.be/Ftl1fhFnYu0

As you know, today is Global Dignity Day around the world, and it is gearing up to be the best one yet.  I have had the privilege of managing this project for the last 3 years.  What started off as an initiative in 11 countries with about 2,000 students, has now grown to include 52 countries and 250,000 students this year alone!  Amazing!  

Yesterday, I joined a middle school in LA that has been teamed up with a school in Pakistan for a Dignity Project, and held out first skype session between the two classes.  Inspiring all by itself.

In addition to talking about what dignity means to them, which were the same answers from both classes of students, they also asked about culture.  What is the weather like?  What kind of food do you eat   What do you do after school?  Again, the answers were very similar...it is hot....we like spicy food....we do homework and play video games after school.  We are all the same.  And we are all in this together.

Thank you world, and new world leaders in the making, for all that you do. 

Shannon Campbell

Managing Director

HOPE Global Initiatives

Operation HOPE

 

Baltimore Sun Op-Ed: Unleashing Invention In Our Schools

Unleashing invention in our schools

What if millions of kids were given the tools to become entrepreneurs?

October 03, 2012|By Jim Clifton and John Hope Bryant

Everyone knows that the United States is in a terrible business slump, and there's no shortage of opinions about it and solutions for it — but there hasn't been much in the way of notable improvement. So we have been looking deeply into the science of human nature to find an answer and a solution, and here is what we know: There are 6 million small businesses, about 100,000 midsized companies, and fewer than 1,000 really big businesses in the United States. In total, they generate right at 100 million real, full-time jobs and just over $15 trillion in sales and production. That is "America's Company," and it has stopped growing.

We found two reasons for it. One, business leaders aren't in a "growth" state of mind. No matter the size of the company, they have lost their will to dream it and build it. Second, the country is seriously short on start-ups. We need a minimum of 2 million start-up companies per year to keep our economy and jobs pumping, but we are running at a measly 400,000 a year. This is a game-over moment. Nothing fixes the United States' economic problems unless the number of start-ups booms to new highs.

We cannot buy, tax or legislate our way to a sudden, world-changing boom of start-ups. But we can mentor and intern our way to one. The future of our economy is to be found in our youth, because the spirit of free enterprise that builds companies, jobs and economies is most likely to be found there.

Read the complete Baltimore Sun Op-Ed here, and share with your communities.  Start the national discussion on the role of hope in the lives of our kids.

 

From Chairman Jim Clifton -- Candidates: What’s Your Plan to Save the Company Called America?

Monday, September 24, 2012

Candidates: What’s Your Plan to Save the Company Called America?
A question for President Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, and everyone else running for office this year: How are you going to jump-start sales of the company called America?

We hear everyone talking about cutting spending and raising taxes. That’s fine and necessary, but how are you going to ignite the almighty GDP? If you don’t, America will go broke during your generation of leadership, regardless of how you manage the federal budget. There will be no money for spending programs and no wealth to be taxed. The entire country will soon look like Stockton, California.

Think of America as one huge company that contains 6 million small businesses, about 100,000 mid-sized businesses, and only 1,000 big enterprises. All of its assets combined generate about 100 million real full-time jobs and just over $15 trillion in sales and production. The problem is that the growth of America the company is stalled.

We’re just not hearing enough from candidates about what they’re going to do to get this major enterprise surging again. Well, here are things that the candidates should address:

Business leaders of all shapes and sizes aren’t in a “growth” state of mind. They’ve lost their will to “dream it, build it," as the great ad man Roy Spence put it. Leaders must make it the top priority to foster an environment that instills confidence in businesspeople; that encourages them to prosper, succeed, and gain new customers. Jobs follow customers, and if businesspeople are in a growth state of mind, there’s no end to the number of customers they’ll create. Just look at Apple -- up the street from my apartment here in Georgetown last week, you couldn’t see the end of the line gathered at the Apple store at 6:30 a.m. to buy the latest iPhone.

America the company is seriously short on start-ups. In my estimate, the country needs a minimum of 2 million start-ups per year to keep its economy and jobs pumping -- and it’s now running at a measly 400,000 start-ups annually. If this pace keeps up, it’s game over. Leaders must aim all of their policies, strategies, regulations, etc., at promoting and fostering an explosion of small business.

Leaders -- especially those in Washington -- must realize that the solutions to America the company’s stalled growth won’t come from national government, but at the local level. Economic booms originate in the souls of individuals and great cities. Strong leadership teams already exist within many cities, in governments, and among local business and philanthropists. Just about every city has leaders working on numerous business-building initiatives. The feat is to get all of these local forces to pull in the same direction, toward a city’s economic growth. Sales in America will only be revived one city at a time.

Create the future generations of entrepreneurs for America the company. There are more than 75 million kids in K-12 in the U.S., with nearly 50 million in grades 5 through 12. When Gallup and Operation Hope researchers asked kids in middle and high school if they wanted to start their own business, a whopping 45% said yes. When the same group was asked if they believed they would “invent something that changes the world,” an astounding 42% said yes. Gallup and Operation Hope found huge amounts of economic start-up energy in our kids -- enough, in my view, for America to re-win the world’s markets. But the country is blowing it, because only 5% of the kids surveyed said they were interning with a local business or being mentored. Imagine if that number jumped to 25%. These kids would get the guidance, encouragement, and motivation to ignite entrepreneurial energy for decades to come.

America the company won’t be revived simply by cutting spending and raising taxes. Leaders need a plan for fostering long-term confidence and growth -- city-by-city, business-by-business, and kid-by-kid. In fact, it would be great if, in the remaining weeks between now and November, we heard less sniping and budgetary accounting, and more about how leaders plan to help the company called America to “dream it, build it.”

Read more about Jim Clifton’s strategies for jump-starting America’s growth in his book, The Coming Jobs War.

Read original article here.


John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE, Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass) the only African-American bestselling business author in the U.S., and is chairman of the Subcommittee for the Under-Served and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, for President Barack Obama. Mr. Bryant is the co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index, the only national research poll on youth financial dignity and youth economic energy in the U.S. He is also a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum. Mr. Bryant serves on the board of directors of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, an NYSE Euronext publicly traded company, and a division of $54 billion Ares Capital.

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Black Economic Power, And What It Is Not

The State of the African-American Consumer Report said that African-American buying power is approaching $1 trillion, which would make us one of the largest nations in the world if we were a country. Specifically, the report notes that black buying power has increased from $957.3 billion in 2010 to an expected $1.1 trillion by 2015. Although this data from the State of the African-American Consumer Report reflects a positive growth in blacks' disposable income, the growing failure of blacks to do significant business with other blacks casts a dark shadow over the news (source: Victoria Advocate.com).

Money circulates zero to one time within the black community, compared to the more than six times it circulates in the Latino community, nine times in the Asian community and unlimited amount of times within the white community, according to the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth.

And so, I am sitting here in Washington, D.C. at a "Making of Modern Atlanta" session, hosted by Congressman John Lewis and the Andrew Young Foundation, and I noticed myself become frustrated. Why? Because the man who made countless black millionaires in Atlanta, legitimately I might add, the late Mayor Maynard Jackson, literally could not find a quality job after he left office. Companies of all races and places, but specifically African-Americans who became wealthy as a result of Mayor Jackson's visionary economic leadership, should have been the first to offer the former mayor not only a quality job, if he wanted one, but a board seat and (company) equity too.

Going forward, we simply must learn to be less selfish. If cannot afford to be focused on the 'me,' we must be focused on the 'we.' We cannot simply look out for ourselves, leaving everyone else on their own. Based on the above numbers and statistics, the wealthiest black population on the planet --- African-Americans --- are not so much building wealth for future generations, but burning through cash in this one.

Onward and with HOPE

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE, Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass) the only African-American bestselling business author in the U.S., and is chairman of the Subcommittee for the Under-Served and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, for President Barack Obama. Mr. Bryant is the co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index, the only national research poll on youth financial dignity and youth economic energy in the U.S. He is also a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum. Mr. Bryant serves on the board of directors of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, an NYSE Euronext publicly traded company, and a division of $54 billion Ares Capital.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

SPECIAL FROM THE FORUM BLOG: From Davos to Dalian: We Are All Global Citizens

 

                 

 

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies. 

The first day I met Professor Klaus Shwab, the founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum, I was in a school in inner-city Detroit, Michigan, teaching a financial dignity course, and he was in his Forum office in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing world leaders together to advance his vision of creating a better world.  On this international call we shared his then new vision for something world changing; something that would later go on to become known as the Forum of Young Global leaders. 

Today, YGL is a vision made real with over 900 YGL’s from around the world, and from right here in China too, making a difference in our world.

Professor Schwab and I may have come from very different cultures and backgrounds, and now we were communicating across two very different continents, but the language we used on that call was in fact universal.  The values needed to lift any society, and to create a sustainable world, are in fact universal.  I did not realize it then, but on this day we were global citizens.   He knew it, and I was about to learn the power of it. This is but one of the powerful things at the World Economic Forum does quietly, yet powerfully for all who attend.

READ THE COMPLETE STORY HERE. The World Economic Forum Blog

 

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), and a Member of the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for President Barack Obama.  Mr. Bryant is a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum.