What Was Meant for Harm: A 2026 Call for DBEs and MBEs to Strategize and Grow

Happy New Year.

If you are a DBE, ACDBE, or MBE, 2026 will not reward the passive. It will reward the
prepared. We are entering a new era, one where the rules are changing, the pressures are shifting, and the commitment of many institutions to diversity has been tested. In some rooms, it has been exposed. In other rooms, it has been quietly abandoned. And yet, here is the truth: we have been here before.

Our businesses have always had to win in environments that were not designed with us in mind.
That is precisely why this moment, right now, is an opportunity to retool, to be strategic, and to
become even more intentional about how we grow and compete.

This New Year should not only be a time for reflection. It should be a time for recalibration. A
recalibration of our thoughts, our posture, and our partnerships, because what was
intended to discourage us can become the very fuel that positions us to grow.

An Honest Assessment
Let’s start with a question that may be uncomfortable, but it is necessary. How much have you
benefited from the DBE program?
The DBE program has opened doors, created access, and forced systems to recognize business
owners who would otherwise have been ignored. But it has also, at times, created dependence. It has sometimes limited innovation. It has occasionally encouraged firms to lean on certification
rather than build the kind of operational excellence that outlasts certification.

The best DBEs have always understood the program for what it is: not a destination, but a tool.
Not the finish line, but a bridge.

Ask yourself honestly. Did certification grow my business, or did it only maintain my revenue?
Did I use the program to become more competitive, or did I become comfortable inside it? Did I
build relationships that survive policy shifts, or only relationships that survive compliance
requirements?

The future belongs to firms that can answer these questions without excuses and without fear.

Decision Makers Have Changed Since 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 changed America in ways that cannot be overstated. It altered the
legal landscape and forced the nation to confront discrimination in workplaces, public
accommodations, and institutions.

But the people making decisions today are not the same people who made decisions in 1964.
Some are more enlightened. Some are more indifferent. Some are openly resistant. Many are
simply responding to the political and economic incentives of the moment. In other words, the
moral argument alone is no longer enough to move institutions. The environment is too political,
too competitive, and too transactional.

That means the strategy for 2026 cannot rely on outrage alone. In 2026, your best defense is
leverage. Leverage is built through performance, partnerships, positioning, political awareness,
market intelligence, and above all, profitability and excellence. When your business becomes
essential, the environment has to adjust to you.

And this is where a principle I learned years ago becomes more relevant than ever. Bishop James W.E. Dixon, Pastor of Community of Faith Church in Houston and President of the Houston Branch of the NAACP, often says something that has stayed with me and shaped how I approach growth and leadership: Exposure expands expectations. That message matters because you cannot win in a changed marketplace if you keep showing up in the same spaces.

If you want to grow, you have to force yourself into new rooms. You have to be uncomfortable
long enough to see the new fabric of decision-makers shaping your industry. Many of us keep
networking in the same circles, attending the same events, and talking to the same people. That
may feel safe, but it limits what we can see and access. Exposure expands expectations because it changes what you believe is possible, and it puts you in proximity to the people who control opportunity.

That is why it is critical for MBEs and DBEs to diversify where we show up. Organizations like
the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA), the American Contract
Compliance Association (ACCA), the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), the
National Urban League, the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), the
Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC), the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., and even
mainstream associations like the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), ACI-NA,
and local chambers all hold access points to decision-makers.

Some of these organizations are led by people who look like us and share our experience. Many
are not. But even in organizations that are not “run by us,” decision-makers who share similar
values and understand our challenges are often sitting at the table, serving on boards, and
participating in committees. The only way to find them is to show up. And exposure does not have to be limited to trade organizations. It can include civic groups, industry advisory boards, procurement councils, economic development boards, fundraising events, local government committees, and policy coalitions. The goal is to strategically expand your reach and build relationships that outlive any administration, any rule change, and any
political shift.

In 2026, the firms that rise will not just be certified. They will be connected. They will be
known. They will be trusted. And they will be positioned. Exposure may expand expectations, but it does not necessarily erase obstacles. As we step into these new rooms, we must also acknowledge the challenges that still exist.

Challenges Will Still Exist
Part of the discrimination MBEs and DBEs face isn’t just attitude, it’s infrastructure. We still
don’t have fair access to bonding, financing, insurance, and real project controls, and without
those tools you can’t scale, you can’t compete for prime work, and you can’t build wealth at the
same rate as everyone else. Sixty-two years after the Civil Rights Act, we are still behind, not
because we lack skill, but because the system still controls who gets capital, who gets trusted,
and who gets “qualified” on paper. Microaggressions and systemic discrimination are so normal
in this country that they have become part of the air we breathe. They show up in every contract, every handshake, every “we’ll get back to you,” and every time we are expected to be grateful for crumbs.

But this reality is not a reason to surrender. It is a reason to recalibrate. This moment calls for a
shift in how we think and how we move.

Thought Realignment
If you are serious about growth in 2026, this is not the season for business as usual. This is the
season to recalibrate how you think, how you position, and how you build. The landscape is
shifting, and the firms that succeed will be the ones that adapt early, move intentionally, and stop relying on systems that were never designed to fully include them.

A thought realignment starts with clarity. Certification is not the strategy. It is a tool. The real
strategy is building a business that can compete, scale, and sustain itself regardless of political
cycles. That requires discipline, planning, and the willingness to strengthen areas that the system has historically made harder for us to access.

Support businesses and organizations that support your values and stop begging institutions that only tolerate you. Support public officials who support your business and stop giving your
loyalty away for free. Most of us do not have unlimited money to donate to every campaign, but
we do have influence when we move as a unit. Public officials must adapt, listen, and respond to
organized business communities, not just donors.

And let me be clear: we need to clean house in our chambers and trade associations too. The
days of a few board members getting all the favor, all the contracts, and all the access while
everyone else pays dues and stays quiet are over. These organizations exist to serve the
membership, not to build personal pipelines for insiders. If they are not fighting for broad access, transparency, and results, then they need to be challenged, reformed, or replaced. In 2026, survival isn’t the goal. Ownership is. Power is. And progress will only come when we stop
playing small and start holding everybody accountable.

Progress Requires the Courage to Evolve
Some people see the changing political climate and think it means the end. I see something
different. I see a moment that forces us to refine.

This country has always contained both progress and resistance. There have always been forces pushing equity forward and forces working quietly to pull it back. But this is where the DBE and MBE community must think deeply. What if this moment is not a signal to retreat, but a signal to mature? What if the future requires not only certification, but sophistication? Not only
opportunity, but ownership? Not only access, but strategy?

Turn What Was Meant for Harm Into Advantage
There is a principle many of us were raised on, and it remains true now. What evil men designed
for bad can be used for good. The systems that once excluded us forced us to become resilient.
The barriers that were meant to crush us forced us to build skills. The policies that were created
to minimize us forced us to learn how power works.

So, the question becomes: how can I take full advantage of what evil men designed for bad?
You do it by building a business that cannot be ignored. You do it by becoming technically
excellent. You do it by mastering your industry. You do it by being so prepared that political
shifts cannot erase your progress.
You do it by turning resistance into fuel.

A New Year’s Charge
I want to challenge every DBE and MBE reading this. In 2026, do not simply survive. Strategize.
Do not wait for the system to be fair. Build so strong that the unfair system still has to make
room for you.

Recalibrate. Reposition. Reinforce.
Because the truth is, you were not built for comfort. You were built for victory.
Happy New Year. Let’s get to work.

J. Goodwille Pierre, Esq.
Founder of Success In Business ®
Donate at www.successinbusiness.com