John Baldoni's Blog

When she first came on the air – as the first female nightly news host – it made news, but not in a good way. “When I first went on the air, there was quite a bit of opposition, not from listeners, but from the managers of our stations, who were worried on behalf of the listeners. A woman’s voice is not authoritative enough, they said. Women will not be taken seriously. A woman cannot do news.”

 Fortunately, her boss, Bill Siemering, did not tell her this 11 years later. Otherwise, Susan Stamberg would not have become what many refer to as the “Founding Mother” of NPR News. Susan hosted the show for decades, shifting later to start the Sunday Morning News and later becoming a culture reporter until the year before she died at age 87.

 Terry Gross, herself an accomplished radio host, interviewed Stamberg several times, and in tribute to Stamberg, Fresh Air ran clips from these interviews. What comes through is a professional who was different from the norm in her early days.

 The art of interviewing

Stamberg graduated from Barnard with a degree in English. She played piano and sketched, and she lacked fundamental training in journalism. What she did have was a keen eye for observation, watching and listening to how those she interviewed acted and spoke. Doing so enabled her to get the story behind the story that she believed her listeners wanted to hear and how it could affect their own lives. 

 For example, when she interviewed John Erhlichman, who went to prison for his role in Watergate, she chose not to be confrontational; instead, she asked about his life. “At the end [of the interview], [he said] let me tell you something about Washington. In this town, there’s one king of the mountain, and everybody else in this town is out to shoot him off that mountain. That’s Washington. That was Watergate in a nutshell, you know? That was all the paranoia of the Nixon White House right there.”

 The power of connection

What we learn from Stamberg’s example is that when you communicate, you first must connect. Stamberg did that with her audiences over the decades because they felt that when she was on the air, they were getting an inside look at people and issues. You only achieve that connection by preparing in advance, putting your interviewee at ease, and then conversing in ways that allow them to say their piece. It is the reporter’s job to lay out the facts and for us to draw our own conclusions from what we see and hear.

 Final word

At the close of one interview with Terry Gross, Stamberg said, “Sure, but I never want to stop asking questions. That’s the real issue. It’s not so much the interviewing. I feel I am blessed that I found microphones in this world because I spend my life talking to people away from the microphone. It’s something that I do naturally as a person. Luckily enough, I found a place where they’ll pay me to do that.”

And luckily, too, NPR listeners were fortunate to have had Susan Stamberg’s questions – quizzical, probing, sometimes funny, and always fair – for these many years.

First posted on Forbes.com 10.26.2025

“Virtuous purpose is worth more than any other person’s conditional and unreliable respect. It is rooted in service and sacrifice, not entitlement.”

So writes David French, the New York Times columnist and political commentator. This statement is from a recent op-ed that noted his service as a military reservist who has served overseas.

Many veterans express such thoughts about purpose because the intensity of their experience was never sharper than when they were a cohesive unit going through an extreme situation such as combat. The virtue emerges from working for a greater goal beyond what an individual can achieve.

Acting with purpose

The challenge becomes, what do we do next? Not long ago, I interviewed sociologist Erin Cech, author of The Trouble with Passion. She argues that purpose is often overemphasized, and as a result, it leaves people disillusioned at work. Cech and many others believe that work itself need not provide purpose. Instead, what you do with the output of work – income, for example – enables purpose, living your life, and taking care of others.

Purpose can evolve. Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times, the author of Independence Day, a book about retirement, argues that when it comes to fulfillment, particularly later in life after work, simple things like walking your dog can offer purpose. It focuses on the day and gets one out of the house and into the fresh air.

David French’s coupling of the word purpose with “virtuous” harkens back to our Founding Fathers. As historian Tom Ricks writes in First Principles, “public virtue” was paramount. Living a life of virtue was a mark of integrity. So much so that some Founders said that if virtue prevailed, there would be no need for a constitutional government because people would do the right thing. Fortunately, more reasoned minds, notably George Washington realized that such aspirations were not feasible. The Constitution therefore created a system of governance rooted in principles of equality and justice. [Shamefully, Black enslaved peoples were ignored for the next century and more.]

Adding virtue

Virtuous purpose, as French writes, is rooted in sacrifice. It ennobles the individual because it serves the common good. Servicemen and women put their time, energy, and often personal safety into keeping the nation safe. Community volunteers at home devote their service to keeping disadvantaged populations, collectively and individually, from despair and disaster.

The purpose is how you define it. For leaders, it becomes the why from which vision and mission spring. So it must be communicated relentlessly. For individuals, it shapes our values. So harkening to the notion of virtue is a good start. Virtue may be as simple as the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

A higher purpose is often used about faith, but that does not mean that serving fellow men is of “lower purpose” or value—a higher purpose – whether based on religion or community — is living for the greater good. 

Reflecting on the nature of purpose is more than just an exercise in philosophy. Delving into the meaning of life for self and others is an exercise in shaping how you want to live. The challenge for each of us is to act purposefully. Now and in the future.

First posted on Forbes.com 5.17.2025

When Harry Kraemer stepped down as CEO of Baxter, Inc., he was unsure what he would do next. Dean Don Jacobs of Kellogg School of Management knew exactly what he wanted Harry to do—teach.

In 2006, a Kellogg student, Andrew Youn, decided to use his MBA to help the farmers of Kenya increase their crop yields. After meeting Andrew at his 5th class reunion in 2011, Harry partnered with Youn to create The One Acre Fund to assist the farmers in Kenya. The Fund now helps farmers in a total of nine countries in Sub-Sahara Africa, including Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

What Harry has done—as he documents in his newest book, Your Values-Based Legacy: Making a Difference at Every Phase of Life—is to use his values to create his legacy. As Harry illustrates, legacy is not just what you do upon retirement; it is a sum of contributions you make as you live your life.

Knowing Your Values

Values are the principles you hold dear. As Harry has said, values are not preferences; they are principles. Identifying them comes from many sources, but a critical source that works best for Harry is self-reflection, something he practices daily with simple questions about what you did that day and how you might do better the next.

Harry writes in his new book, “For years in my classes at Kellogg about becoming a values-based leader, I will ask the students whom they expect will deal with all these problems (poverty, hunger, injustice, etc.).” Responses from students are that someone else will. “And everybody refers to these people by the same name, ‘those guys,’ a gender-neutral term for people with money, power and influence.”

Harry’s response to his students and the audiences to whom he speaks is simple: “Guess what? We are those guys!” The problems facing the world do not belong to someone else; they belong to us because what harms some of us harms all of us—maybe not directly but indirectly through affecting global stability, the climate crisis and government spending.

Making A Difference

So what do we do about it? 

In his chapter about “those guys,” Harry offers a series of questions that illustrate how we, as individuals, can make a positive difference.

• What problems or challenges capture our attention – intellectually and emotionally?
• What skills, talents, and experiences do we have that could help others?
• Where in our community (local or global) do we feel drawn to make a difference?
• What organizations or individuals do we know who are doing something similar?
• And finally –the most important question of all: what’s holding us back?

While the questions are straightforward, acting on them is challenging. We—or should I say I—can think of many reasons why I don’t want to become involved: work, family, leisure time, or my favorite—it’s not really me. Can’t I just stroke a check?

Writing a check is a generous offer, and every nonprofit will welcome it, but funding is different from doing.

No Effort Is Too Small

What makes Your Values-Based Legacy so powerful are the many stories of individuals who have taken it upon themselves to become involved in tackling the problems that matter most to them. 

One example is One Hope, a small nonprofit founded by Steve Buss in Eugene, Oregon. As the book states, this foundation “engages local churches, businesses and organizations to work together to positively affect the Eugene/Springfield area, which has a population of 375,00.”

Scott’s wife Patti told Harry, “The significance of small for me is about never underestimating the small idea, the simple gesture.” There is a need for national and global philanthropy, but Patti says, “The act of kindness,  a word of encouragement – these are small things that can have a big impact.”

In short, we all need a helping hand at times, and in return, we can extend that helping hand to others.

It’s our legacy!

First posted on Forbes.com on 11.13.2024

Through the haze of history, we assume that Franklin Roosevelt, the only president to serve more than two terms, breezed into the White House in the election of 1932. Nothing could be further from the truth, not that Franklin as a young man, did not think such a thing was impossible. He modeled his career after his fifth cousin Theodore, also the beloved uncle of his wife, Eleanor.

What interrupted his path was being stricken by polio in 1921. The disease rendered him unable to walk for the remainder of his life. Historian Jonathan Darman argues in his new book, Becoming FDR: The Personal Crisis that Made a President, that polio changed his outlook forever. It happened in two ways. First, it made him sympathetic to the underprivileged, particularly fellow polio sufferers. Two, it fueled the dictum Franklin’s father had taught him: “Help all who are suffering. Man is dear to man.” This notion challenged FDR to focus on what government could do for the people. As a result, the patrician became a populist.

Keep a close eye

Elected governor of New York in 1928, Roosevelt did not keep himself locked in Albany; he roamed the backwater byways on inspection tours of state-run facilities. He would go from facility to facility, meeting with administrators. While they would meet with him, Eleanor would do the physical inspections. She was peering into kitchens, clinics, and dormitories to see if what the administrators reported was accurate. Eleanor became Franklin’s legs since he was primarily confined to a wheelchair. [Roosevelt did manage a kind of upright “walk” with his heavy leg braces, but the effort was never unaided and always exhausting.]

The idea of inspections is akin to the kaizen philosophy that employs Gemba, visiting the place where value is added. For senior leaders, meeting with people where they work is essential. I recall working with a senior automotive executive who conducted his weekly staff meetings on the factory floor. It was noisy and sometimes hot in summer and cold in winter, but it sent a message to one, and all that supervision began with the concept of working where the work was being done.

Hold your cards close

We learn that Franklin’s heart was opened by the suffering he had endured, and he was determined to do what he could to improve a lot of others. The lesson for managers is that people need to see you out and about. Roosevelt did not let his disability weaken his ability to meet and mingle with others. He has driven around in an open-top vehicle where people could see him, hear him, and after his speeches, come and speak to him. He listened. 

Darman notes that Roosevelt regarded himself as flexible. He quotes Roosevelt as saying to prior to being sworn in as president and as the Great Depression was worsening, “Let’s concentrate on one thing. Save the people and the nation, an if we have to change our minds twice every day to accomplish that end, we should do it.”

Roosevelt used his bon vivant air to encourage people to speak up and share their truths with him. Knowing where the boss stands may not be desirable but for a president pushed and pulled in multiple directions, a measure of ambiguity may be acceptable. It can indicate that you are open to differing ideas before making a final decision.

Note: Another book about Franklin Roosevelt’s illness is The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency by James Tobin

First posted on Forbes.com 10.23.2024

Picture this. Your company is going down due to the misbehavior of some of your employees. Your stock price is plummeting, and your customers are angry. Along comes an executive who turns around your company, pulling it out of the proverbial ditch. Even better, he turns the bottom line up, the stock price climbs, and customers love you. All over again.

So, how would you reward this executive, this white knight who has rallied the employees of your company and brought the enterprise back into good graces?

Well, if you are the Australian national cricket board, you fire him!

This story is what happened to Justin Langer, coach of the Australian men’s national cricket team. After helping to rebuild the program after a scandal (cheating in a South Africa Test match), he assembles a team and tutors them on winning. And they soar, beating England in the Test Match to win The Ashes, the most significant event in international cricket (outside the Indian sub-continent).

Picking up the pieces

Along the way, however, Langer seems to have alienated the players. To be blunt, he was “old school,” and they chafed under his rigidity. Respect, yes. Love, no.

Langer’s firing after beating England again in 2021 came from their former captain being fired for a sexting scandal. Enter a newbie captain, Pat Cummins. A proven performer in Test cricket as a fast bowler, Cummins is just 31, young to be captaining the national team.

So how does he do it? Not by himself. And that’s the theme of The Test, Season Two (Amazon Prime). Season 1, as a commentator put it, was about rebuilding. The new season focuses on what Cummins can do and how he will lead his team.

Test Cricket is an international competition. The eyes of your country are on you; consider it a mini-Olympics. Surviving and performing under scrutiny is essential. Some good players wilt under pressure. Others rise to the occasion and establish a legacy enshrined in trophies, wallboards, and, most importantly, the hearts of cricket fans. 

As the four-part second series unfolds, we peek at the players’ lives, on and off the pitch. Watching them, you get a feel for Cummins’s leadership style.

Address the issues. Cummins opens his first team meeting by opening the floor to players who want to express their views on the change in management. None do, not because they are intimidated but because they have already made their opinions known to management, and the change was made.

Shine a light on others. Season 2 is packed with stories of individual excellence. Older players are excelling for one final time, and younger players are finding their groove. The players support each other, and much dialogue exists about that support.

Respect the game. In the first Test, the players learn that two cricketers of international renown have died on the same day. The effect on the players is sobering. These are players they knew from boyhood. Their depth of feeling is a recognition that Test cricket is more than a game; it’s a legacy, and current players must do their part to uphold it.

Confront the demons. Playing on the Indian sub-continent, first in Pakistan and next in Sri Lanka, is difficult. Pitch conditions are different and Pakistani and Sri Lankan players are highly skilled and playing before a home crowd. Due to security concerns, the players must be isolated in their hotels, albeit luxury ones. It becomes a bonding experience as players spend so much time together.

Build for the future. The Australian national cricket team is back on solid footing. What the future will bring is uncertain, but the team, as does its captain Pat Cummins, seems upbeat.

Cricket has yet to catch on here in the States or in Europe — and may never do so — but the example of the coaches and players who play the game offer lessons for anyone who works in a time, on a pitch, or in an office.

First posted on Forbes.com on 6.21.2023

“Under the spotlights, they invariably give off the air of people who are there because they desperately want to be there… despite the fact that they’ve been playing stadiums since the early 80s.”

So wrote Alexis Petridis of The Guardian about the opening of Bruce Springsteen’s tour in the UK in May 2023. He added, “As if it’s their solitary chance to grab the limelight rather than a nightly occurrence… It’s infectious.”

Be professional

Another word for that kind of performance is professionalism. The great entertainers – musicians, singers, actors, comedians – lay it all out. They do not sit on their laurels. They make every performance special. And in an era when ego is too often celebrated over talent, Springsteen is a testament to what it means to put your audience first.

Extending the bar band analogy further, we feel that Springsteen and his E-Street bandmates take nothing for granted. Yes, they are acclaimed and wealthy, but like those bands toiling on stages of bars, they are likely to be struck by a beer bottle as often as they receive a standing ovation. It is work. Hard work.

So often, we can become complacent in what we do and how we do it. We may even take things for granted, especially our colleagues. That reaction is very human, but it is something that leaders must guard against. A leader is always in the spotlight; all eyes are on them. 

Some takeaways

So they need to act the part. And here’s how.

Know the mic is always on. Choose your words carefully. 

Invite people on stage with you. Share your story with others. Bring them into your world.

Get off stage and listen, listen, listen. Make it a point to visit people where they work. Go to their workstations. If they work virtually, make time to connect one-on-one. And if you have an office, make it a habit of meeting folks for breakfast or lunch. And listen while you chew. 

Most importantly, understand that the spotlight shines brightest when the heat is on. Stay cool, radiate calm, and speak slowly and calmly when times get tough.

A final thought

The best leaders – as with entertainers – make it look effortless. It never is, of course. But no one wants to hear how hard you work when you are at the top. Show people what you do, but never complain and never brag. It’s your job.

In his memoir Born to Run, Springsteen wrote, “People don’t come to rock shows to learn something. They come to be reminded of something they already know and feel deep down in their gut. That’s when the world is at its best, when we are at our best, when life feels fullest, one and one equals three.”

And that’s the job of a leader. It brings people together to see the vision, work the vision, and feel the values. When this happens, people feel they belong to something greater than themselves.

First posted on Forbes.com 10.01.2024

People like flexibility in their work schedules, but the flexibility to one organization or person may need to be more flexible to another organization or individual.

How we work together in the work environment that has evolved since the pandemic is the subject of a new book, Culture Shock, by Jim Clifton and Jim Harter, both executives with the Gallup Organization. 

Just the facts

Research contained in Culture Shock – and summarized in media materials — states:

·      Globally, eight in 10 employees are not engaged or are actively disengaged at work; in the U.S., it’s seven in 10.

·      90% of U.S. employees with desk and office jobs aren’t longing for the old workplace to return, and nearly 40% of employees say they would change jobs for an option to work full or part-time from a flexible location.

·      70% of the variance in team engagement is determined by just the manager.

·      75% of employees who reported receiving meaningful feedback in the past week were fully engaged regardless of how many days they worked in the office.

“What’s happened is we’re seeing separation or some more distance between employee and employer,” Jim Harter told me in an interview. “People are feeling more distant from their employer.” And when there is this distance, employees also “start to become psychologically separated from the customer. And they’re even telling us now that they feel less responsible for the quality of service customers receive.”

“The manager needs to lead the team and having a discussion about the kind of work they’re trying to get done and really filter those decisions through three criteria,” says Harter. The first is how we work either individually or collaboratively. The second is how to schedule and maintain a cadence of in-person meetings that complement how people want to work. The third factor is how to maximize customer value via interactions. Especially those that occur at the office. 

There is another factor, says Harter working together and having fun. That kind of socialization builds cohesion and ultimately improves team performance. “I think that’s something people often forget.”

Additionally, according to data contained in Culture Shock, “among workers in the U.S., there is a dead-even tie between work-life splitters (who prefer strict hours) and work-life blenders (who might get work done on an evening or weekend). Both can be highly engaged and productive but leaders must identify which is which to prevent burnout.”

Burnout from working remotely may seem counterintuitive. After all, many employees want to avoid commuting and like to be near their children. As Jim Harter told me in an interview, the reason is that work times are not defined. When employees come and go at will, schedules are nonexistent. Cooperation and collaboration are less likely to occur. Therefore, says Harter, management must do a better job of setting schedules that make sense to both businesses and employees. 

“Anyone in a leadership position — whether it’s a frontline manager, a middle manager, or upper management — needs to set the example. People are more likely to come in if they know their manager will be there. If they don’t, it seems like an empty request to them. 

Need for development

A good example is observed, but it can also be taught. Harter believes that when you train managers to be attuned to the needs of their employees, they will be more responsive to their needs. Listening to them is always necessary. Building psychological safety into the workplace – whatever physical form it takes builds upon a sense of respect.

One aspect of instilling and nurturing a more robust culture is peer coaching. It is essential when managers can share their ideas with colleagues in ways that enable them to be open and feel listened to. Peer-to-peer coaching and learning can be virtual, and its results can play out in all work environments.

The pandemic caused a great upheaval in how we work. The challenge now is to learn to work differently in ways that fulfill the needs of the organization, its customers, and its employees. When such changes occur, engagement, retention, and productivity improve.

To watch the full interview with Jim Harter, please click here.

First posted on SmartBrief.com 6.09.2023

When it comes to this topic, many of us say, “Yeah, whenever,” and plunge back into whatever we are doing.

The topic is not death or taxes. It is retirement, a goal that many aspire to but many more dread, often for financial or health reasons. However, retirement is a reality. Teresa Amabile, professor emerita at Harvard Business School, has been studying it for the past decade or so. The result is Retiring: Creating a Life That Works for You. Along with four other colleagues*, Professor Amabile explores the psychological aspects of retirement, a less well-explored topic.

 As she told me in a recent interview, “I wanted to find out what the experience of retiring was really like psychologically and what happens with relationships in our lives when we retire and what happens with our life structure, the way we live our days and our weeks and our months and our years. That’s got to change drastically. How do people manage those challenges?”

 4-step plan

Essential to planning for retirement are four things to consider

 Alignment, as Amabile says, is a “line between their self that is their most important identities, priorities, current needs, their most important values as they are right now in their life, not as they were at the peak of their career, maybe 20 years earlier, but as they are now alignment between that and their current life structure.”

 The second A is awareness: “You need to really have some insight into yourself and insight into your life structure and its dynamics and how it’s affecting you,” says Amabile. Self-awareness is essential to making the right choices for yourself and as a couple.

 Agency is the third A. It is the ability to determine for yourself how you will live. If you have worked your entire life, what else will you do? What hobbies can you explore – or re-explore? Do you want to be active in your community? How will you and your spouse fulfill your desires and expectations?

 Four is adaptability, which is the ability to roll with the punches. Few things ever go as planned, and so in retirement, you need to make plans for how you will flex when things go unexpectedly, either due to finances, health or community issues.

 Cutting “the cord”

Disengagement from work is different for different people. There is no “magic bullet.” As Amabile says, “The detaching from work can be very tricky, especially for high level leaders in organizations. Because of that strong identification, there’s a loss of professional identity that people fear. There’s also the loss of professional relationships where we may have worked with people for decades. They may have become close friends of ours, people with whom we shared a lot, people with whom we spent a lot of our time, a lot of our waking hours and the relationships with subordinates are valued if only because they give us this daily sense of respect.”

 Re-inventing your purpose

In his book Independence Day: What I Learned about Retirement from Some Who Have Done and Some Who Never Will, Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times writes that some folks thrive in retirement while others do not. The challenge—health and finances permitting—is to live your purpose, renew your life spark, and find something that motivates you. For some, it is continuing to work. For others, it is volunteerism. For all of us, it is to feel connected to family, friends and community.

Amabile and her colleagues call this search for purpose “identity bridging.” She explained, “One important thing that we saw people doing is what we call identity bridging. And that is finding some piece of that pre-retirement identity that was very important to you and figuring out a way to bridge that identity or part of it into your retirement life.” The need to remain relevant – to maintain your sense of self – capabilities and awareness – as you move to another chapter of your life.

The obvious target audience for this book is people who are retired or on the verge of retirement. But, as Amabile told me, “Many younger colleagues of mine have said it’s been very useful for them in thinking about helping their parents, and very young people early in [their] careers do need to be thinking about these retirement issues. It’s way more than saving with that 401k.”

Yes, retirement is the “r-word.” Prepare for it, and you will turn that “r-word” into  “re-engagement” – engaging in what gives you contentment and joy.

*Co-authors of Retiring, along with Professor Amabile, are Lotte Bailyn, Marcy Crary, Douglas T. Hall, and Kathy E. Kram.

Note: To watch the full interview with Professor Teresa Amabile, click here.

First posted on SmartBrief.com 1.08.2025

One of the hardest things for senior leaders to solicit is bad news from the ranks. Mike Ullman, one-time CEO of JCPenney, made it a point at that company to listen to “the most independent, disrespectful people I could think of.”

As Ullman explained in a talk at the Greenwich Leadership Forum about this experience, he said, “You’re on your best behavior the first day. ‘Yes, sir, no, sir.’ Whatever. The second day, you start telling me what’s really going on.” That kind of input, as Ullman realized, was the frank talk senior management needed to hear. 

No whitewashing. Just the truth as employees saw it. What makes this anecdote telling is that Ullman—who passed away recently and whose obituary appeared in the Wall Street Journal—was looking for trouble, or as he put it, “independent, disrespectful people.”

Getting more hands on deck

At first glance, with all senior leaders facing problems, they want to avoid hearing about them and search for them. Yet the best CEOs I know are those who do precisely that. When Alan Mulally was CEO of Ford Motor Company, he held weekly business review meetings with all senior leaders. Such meetings aimed to identify where things were going well and where they weren’t. And if things were problematic, he would ask fellow team members for ideas and solicit their help for one another. Doing this ensured that everyone had a shared stake in the outcome.

It’s easier said than done. Leaders need to make it safe for employees to speak up, especially when things are not going according to plan. If employees feel their voices will be heard and there will be no repercussions from speaking out, they will be motivated to tell the truth. If they fear for their jobs, they will remain silent, and problems will worsen and often increase.

Getting out of the bubble

Sometimes aides shield their boss from unwelcome news. Lt. General H.R. McMaster recounts this exact situation in his new book, At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House. In April 2017, as McMaster was being interviewed to become National Security advisor, he said, “Lyndon Johnson’s advisors told him what he wanted to hear instead of what he needed to know to make wise decisions. As a result, the United States went to war in Vietnam without a sound strategy.” 

McMaster added, “Many Johnson administration advisors knew better, but they went along because they were afraid of losing influence with the president.” (McMaster based this anecdote on the themes of his book, Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam.)

No excuses

Just because aides are not forthcoming does not excuse the person in charge from seeking out the real story. Relying too much and too often on the same inner circle is a recipe for groupthink, which leads to myopic decision-making.

One key aspect of leaders who make it safe for their employees is their sense of humility. As Howard Schultz, the founding CEO of Starbucks, told the Wall Street Journal, Ullman was “steeped in humility” and served as a mentor to Schultz. 

“Treat failure as a learning opportunity and encourage your team to do the same,” says Alan Mulally. When a leader includes themselves in the learning, then it makes it easier to learn from mistakes and find ways to improve. Doing so makes it possible in as Mulally says, to “create a culture of accountability and responsibility.”

It is never easy to get people to open up, but when managers make the effort—by being honest, humble and caring themselves—the truth will come out. 

Note: Biographical details about Mike Ullman come from his Wall Street Journal obituary written by James R. Haggerty.

First posted on Forbes.com 11.26.2024

If you were to walk down the street and ask passers-by what value they get from their tax dollars, you would likely be met with unkind words or blank stares.

Yet, each of us benefits from government services, and the need for those services only escalates when you consider the issues facing the country, from tightened public school funding to crumbling infrastructure, inadequately sourced health care, and climate change.

The means to address such problems lies at the heart of a new book by William Eggers and Donald Kettl, Bridgebuilders: How Government Can Transcend Boundaries to Solve Big Problems. The book demonstrates how corporations can effectively collaborate with the government to solve pressing challenges.

Eggers and Kettl bring a unique perspective to this issue because both have been actively involved in effective corporate partnerships and public governance matters. Eggers is the executive director of the Deloitte Center for Government Insights. Kettl is a professor emeritus, former dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. Both authors are fellows at the National Academy of Public Administration.

Need for partnership

Eggers told me in an interview he and Kettl wrote the book because “the walls need to come down both between government agencies and between government and the private sector. It is those silos… that create a lot of problems and a lot of friction in the system and prevent us from actually dealing with the issue.”

“The traditional thinking that the private sector only exists to make profits and government agencies is just for, is trying to dis solve public problems is no longer true between,” says Eggers, “because the old wall between profit and purpose is really collapsing. And you’re seeing more and more businesses committed to addressing societal problems and really attracting talent also through social impact. And so what it means is that governments can have an important partner now in solving these problems.”

Kettl says, “what’s going on is, is below the headlines and it’s the kind of thing that most people really don’t focus on.” Take the streets we walk on. People are “walking down the street on something where the private sector has, in all likelihood created that public value as contractors, they’ll lay the concrete to begin with.”

Kettl believes that accountability begins with measuring outcomes. “Does the service system that we’ve created solve the problems that people have and the way that the people want to solve them in a way that creates the least hassle for them along the way?” A survey by the Pew Charitable Trust, says Eggers, showed that “more people favored keeping the programs and in some cases even increasing them than cutting them. So we, we hate government in general. We, but on the other hand, we’d love the government that we’re getting.”

According to Kettl, what the government is doing “is to act as a kind of orchestra conductor among the, the public and the private sectors [as well as] the nonprofit world, federal, state and local… to be able to get things done.” Consider it as a horizontal system, not command and control. One example of this kind of “orchestral collaboration” occurred in Houston. The city “has put together a coalition for the homeless with more than a hundred different organizations that are involved so, so larger than any major symphony orchestra. And in the processes of the last five years reduced homelessness by 63%.”

Ten Action Steps

To build strong partnerships, Eggers and Kettl offer ten action steps (as summarized in a media release).

1. Knock down barriers because siloed thinking hinders success.
2. Seek mutual advantage because shared governance builds on the mutual pursuit of shared strategies.
3. Nurture private partners because effective accountability requires instilling a public spirit into private operations.
4. Build trustworthy networks because improving trust in government depends on excellence in cross-sector collaboration.
5. Grow catalytic government because government often doesn’t so much manage or deliver solutions as it shapes and integrates them.
6. Focus on outcomes because internal procedures can’t dominate the search for multisector success.
7. Make data the language because data creates not only information but the shared grammar for acting on it.
8. Redefine accountability because we need new systems to replace traditional top-down authority.
9. Cultivate cross-boundary leaders because all partners in the governance process have a responsibility to lead—jointly.
10. Make the exceptional routine because the new era of public management requires scaling bridgebuilder know-how across.

These steps provide both insight and guidance into how to make government more responsive, corporations more engaged, and citizens more served. Not easy, but we need to start somewhere.

Note: To see the full LinkedIn Live interview with Bill Eggers and Don Kettl click here.

First posted on Forbes.com 6.28.2023