A Going Away Party For Ronald N. Langston
Regardless, of other measures President George W. Bush did place a good (most?) number of minorities in his cabinet and subsequent key positions in the Executive Branch of the government. One of the longest running appointees is Ronald N. Langston who is the National Director of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which is a part of the Department of Commerce. Knowing a presidential election was forthcoming and the incumbent would not be running, tale-tell departure signs have been evident. Still, a review and proper good-bye to Ronald N. Langston is due.
Overall, I would have grade Ronald Langston tenure heading the MBDA as an A. The fact that he came into the position in 2001 and remained until the end is worthy of praise. It is no easy feat for business people to enter into the federal government and make it work. The Washington, DC Beltway is littered with entrepreneurs who were accustomed to the business world, and then thought they were going to bring change to their appointed office. Most last a year or two. Others, who have an understanding of and experience in the government, typically are continually looking to upgrade their position. They last two to three years before moving to new, a better position. Seven years is a long run.
There are many who feel the MBDA should be absorbed into the SBA. In a Republican administration, a program cutting congress, Ronald Langston has kept the MBDA alive and thriving. Strategically and smartly, he has kept the MBDA prospering by knowing what it takes for a program to justify its existence. Fighting the fight in Congress alone is worth points.
The MBDA also developed a tight relationship with Dartmouth’s Tuck’s School of Business. This is a visionary and bold move, something that I have not seen in Washington. Usually there is such a spread the wealth mentality in the departments, that such a singular relationship is rare. Only Halliburton comes to mind, and that singular relationship was more due to the Halliburton and the Number 2 Man. In this relationship, Tuck was very often the entity that brought their own dollars to the table to execute help to MWDBE’s.
Ronald Langston with Tuck developed the Strategic Growth Initiative, which focused on assisting prospering minority owned businesses to grow into large businesses. That is focusing on businesses with $10 million or more in annual revenues and gives them the skills to compete into much larger companies. The downside is that it leaves many much smaller companies without support, and I am a holder of that criticism. Add to that the business development centers’, renamed business enterprise centers under the strategic growth initiative, inability to bring value to businesses that already reached $10-100 million in annual revenue. These are companies that already had top personnel and top-flight consultants. Annual contracts for business development centers only ran $150,000-300,000 per year with a slew of requirements including serving approximately one MWDBE per $1,000 received each year. Meaning a BDC which received $200,000 were required to sign somewhere in the vicinity of 200 businesses per year (somewhere on order of one per day), while being required to bring in $7-25 million in contracts and financing for these clients.
To the awarded business development center’s credit they made it work, or more accurately they made quota. That is why Ronald Langston’s grade remains high; at the end of the day he made numbers, stayed in the game (big kudos), and brought profile to an agency that could have been easily eliminated. Let me say it this way, if anyone else had been head of this agency, I doubt that the MBDA would still be in existence. Yes, the Strategic Growth Initiative was not a success as designed, but as far as leaving the MBDA better than he found it; the Strategic Growth Initiative was and is a rousing success. This is points just for buckling your chinstrap.
So, as he goes out, his successor will have huge shoes to fill. Really, I fear with a $700 billion dollar war AND a $700 billion dollar bailout, if the MBDA can stay in place. Even with a minority President, the MBDA is a hard sell without a Ronald Langston. Hope I am wrong. Regardless, none of that is due to the service of Ronald N. Langston, and to him I say huge thank you!
You may also enjoy The Truth About Business Grants.
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Comments
I heartily agree with the writer’s comments about Ronald Langston. As a business advisor with one of the enterprise centers, I have an inside point of view. I was able to see the impact he made and talk to the entrepreneurs he affected. I’ve spoken with him several times and introduced him to a couple business owners with >$10 million in revenue. I now own my own business (which I purchased - buying businesses to grow was something we advocated) and use the enterprise center as a cost-effective resource. Kudos to Mr. Langston. I wish him the best in his career as he continues in another role.
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