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Lloyd Chapman's Crusade on Government Contracting and Small Business
By Steve King
Small Business Labs
July 31, 2009
Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw said that “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
I’ve never met or talked to Lloyd Chapman, the founder (and I think the only employee) of the American Small Business League. Nor have I had any contact with his organization. But based on his TV appearances, online videos (available on the ASBL site) and blog posts, he strikes me as an unreasonable man.
Chapman is also a tireless and effective small business advocate focused on making sure small businesses get their mandated share of federal government procurement contracts.
Chapman and the ASBL is not the only folks working on this issue. Women Impacting Public Policy, through their Give Me 5 program, is working to see that women owned small businesses also get their mandated share of federal spending. As a side note, I think the WIPP folks are reasonable and creating progress, so I don't think Shaw was completely correct.
With the stimulus package starting to kick in, it is more important that ever that small business gets their fair share of government contacting money.
While I don’t agree with all of Chapman’s tactics or policy positions, he has raised the awareness of this issue and I think it is safe to say George Bernard Shaw (the only person to win the Nobel Prize and an Oscar) would be proud of him.
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