28 June, 2021 4 4 Comments

Surfside And The Power Of Empathy

June 28, 2021 By 4 Comments

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is meeting the moment with professionalism and heart.

I got choked up last week watching Miami- Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine  Cava  do a masterful job at a press conference in the wake of the tragic condo collapse in Surfside.

Daniella is a friend of mine and I can only imagine the stress and pressure she is feeling as she leads her community in the wake of an unfathomable disaster.

Mayor Levine Cava was my Leadership Florida classmate many years ago. I was the mayor of Delray Beach at the time navigating a series of hurricanes that disrupted our class schedule.

Just when we bonded as a class, we were knocked back by a series of major hurricanes that knocked us off our schedule and off our games. The  storms were ferocious and scary.

But we made it through, and in some ways the challenge of that year made us stronger and closer as a group.

Leadership Florida is a statewide program that seeks to bring a diverse set of leaders together for training and education. The goal is to build better leaders, create a statewide network and to get members to care passionately about Florida. It’s a life changing program. And if you engage it will make you a better leader.

Daniella was an earnest student. She was deeply engaged.

I remember her constantly typing away on a laptop taking notes at every one of our sessions with a series of experts who came to teach.

At the time, Daniella was involved in social services. But when the class ended, she reached out and asked to meet.

Daniella was considering entering local politics and she wanted a primer.

We arranged to meet “halfway” at the Bass Pro Shops in Hollywood.

She peppered me with questions and if I remember, she took more notes.

I left telling her that I hoped that someday she would run.

That someday came a few years later when she won a seat on the Dade County Commission. In 2020, she ran an amazing campaign and got elected to a really big job—Mayor of Miami- Dade County.

I have one word to describe how her Leadership Florida classmates felt when she won and that was “wow”!

Personally, I thought  that Daniella would be a great mayor because she has all the smarts, toughness and intellectual curiosity that the great ones possess. But she also has something else that is absolutely necessary to succeed, to be more than just another elected official who comes and goes and barely leaves a mark. That something is empathy.

Empathy is the fuel for success. You have to love the people you serve. You can’t be a real leader if you lack love and empathy.

I saw Mayor Levine-Cava’s empathy shining through during her many press conferences last week. Her facility in two languages, the care and concern in her words, the warmth of her personality just burst through the screen.

A friend from Utah texted me in the wake of the tragedy saying that he knew these kind of events affected people like me because we were “city people” who feel these things.

Truth is, we all do. We all feel the fragility of people and communities.

But maybe mayors, police officers, firefighters and other city people feel it a little deeper.

Because when tragedies strike: murders, violent crimes, hurricanes, fires, accidents etc. we are (or were) tasked with picking up the pieces. It’s a leader’s responsibility to provide information, context and perspective when the world goes berserk as it does with some regularity these days.

My former classmate voiced all of these essentials and more during her interactions with the press.

She made a point to describe the remarkable dedication and bravery of the rescue personnel on site. How they wanted to keep working and how their dedication was breathtaking. They worked at risk of their lives, with debris falling, high winds that made that debris even more dangerous, rain, heat and fire. They worked in a structurally unsound building focused on their task: to save lives. For these brave men and women, it’s more than a job, it’s a mission. Great leaders like Daniella shine in these circumstances because their humanity becomes paramount to that mission and to the eventual healing that will be needed.

Watching her on TV I thought of that word again: Wow.

We often give short shrift to the soft skills but they make all the difference.  Empathy is everything. So is love for people and community.

We often see criticism of local government fed by cynicism and snark.

But we need local government. We need good, local government.

And we need great leaders at all levels of government.

Tragedy reveals character.

Last week, we saw the character of local rescue workers and the character of a local mayor.

Our hearts break, but we can take comfort that there are still some special public servants who meet the moment with love, dedication and empathy.

 

26 June, 2019 2 2 Comments

It’s Simple Math

June 26, 2019 By 2 Comments

Ken Gronbach is often asked by Fortune 100 companies to predict the future. He does through the power of demography.

There’s a tsumani coming to Florida and we are not prepared for it.

Those were the startling words we heard last week from a well-known demographer at Leadership Florida’s annual meeting at the Grand Floridian in Orlando.

The “tsunami” refers to a wave of people who will be heading to the Sunshine State in the coming years to seek tax relief, better weather and quality of life, according to demographer Ken Gronbach, an expert who is often hired by Fortune 100 companies to predict trends based on population and other factors that drive sales and lifestyle decisions.

Grombach is bullish on Florida but he also cautions that the state has no idea what’s about to happen and is deficient in a number of areas including housing. We just don’t have enough to serve the needs of the people who will be seeking a new life in Florida.

Interestingly, it’s not the “millennials” who will be driving growth but the tail end of the baby boom generation —those born between the late 50s and 1964 that will be fueling the growth.

“You don’t need a crystal ball,” Gronbach told Leadership Florida, a non-profit that consists of community leaders from throughout the state. “It’s simple math. We can predict people’s behavior based on their age and by looking at the Census we can know the size of the market that’s coming.”
So what does that mean?
Well…

Florida’s will explode (with people)

Bigotry will end (future generations are free of bias)

China, Japan and Russia have big demographic problems that they cannot avoid.

China’s economy will implode (their one-child policy was a big blunder)

Europe will be forever changed (immigration will change its character)

Funerals will double (the party will end for boomers)

Marijuana will be bigger than wheat (Cheech and Chong were right)

“We can accurately forecast what’s next based on the rise and fall of populations,” he says. “But it’s often missed by smart people who don’t recognize the power of demography.”

Now this may sound a little depressing, but if you see Gronbach he’ll tell you that’s it not.

“I can’t see a single number that worries me,” he says talking about the United States. “We won’t run out of food or room…the future is bright.”
In fact, one of his most provocative statements is that he does not foresee a recession anytime within the next 20 years because of population growth and trends.

But, if you’re someone who is disturbed by growth, Florida may not be the place for you.

In fact, in our own little world we are seeing some interesting growth trends. According to the Census, Boca has reached a milestone of 100,000 people and Delray is now around 70,000 people. Both cities have experienced double digit growth since the last Census in 2010, Boca at about 18 percent and Delray at about 14 percent.

And according to Gronbach we have only just begun.

“I live in Florida half the time—and if you go in-season the elderly in Florida range from 75- to 95-years-old. Boomers right now are 54 to 73, so they aren’t even there yet.”

But they are just off shore and they are descending on Florida “like locusts.”

Let’s let Mr. Gronbach explain: “What is going to happen is you have a tsunami offshore because the people, the generation right in front of the boomers, which is called the “silent generation,” they were born 1925 to 1944 and there are just over 50 million of them that were born in the U.S., with no immigration during their start up and even during their tenure. That would further have complemented their generation. But, instead, they are tiny, the smallest generation of the last 100 years.

So people ask me, what is going to be influenced by the boomers? And, I say whatever is going to happen, whatever these people consume, whatever senior citizens consume, be it health care or elder care or death care [i.e., funeral homes, etc.], or cruises or whatever, will be dramatically enhanced by the boomer generation of 80 million people. They are right offshore. It is coming, people have been lulled into thinking that it has already hit, and it has not. The boomers will change anything and everything. It does not matter, there are so many of them it will be a case of rising tides lift all boats.”

According to Gronbach, we will be 25 million housing units short in the United States as the children of Boomers begin to move out of their parents homes.

Not part of his presentation– but certainly a factor– were the changes recently made to the tax code which limits the deduction of state and local taxes on our federal income tax. States such as New York, New Jersey, California and Connecticut are seeing an exodus of tax burdened residents to places such as Florida and Texas.

It is estimated that luxury properties in Florida cost a third less than comparable properties in New York, a stat that savvy developers are beginning to explore and exploit.

Ultimately, Gronbach’s presentation is a very positive one for the United States especially as we ramp up our competition with China, whose one child policy he describes as the single greatest demographic blunder of all time because it has created an aging society that cannot take of its young or old.

But like everything, growth has its plusses and minuses, especially if we don’t prepare.

At some point, we have to address traffic and congestion issues, infrastructure, climate change (mysteriously absent from his presentation) and a host of other concerns. We also have to address land use and have an intelligent conversation about how to limit sprawl which creates traffic and burdens our fragile environment.

Still, Gronbach’s “math” makes for intriguing discussion. We ignore the numbers at our own peril. It’s simple math.

 

 

 

24 June, 2019 0 Comments

But For Leadership Florida…

June 24, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Leadership Florida builds statewide community.

We spent the weekend at the annual meeting of Leadership Florida in Orlando.
We’ve attended every annual meeting since I graduated from the program 15 years ago.
Its a mental boost that comes at a time of the year when I’m looking for a reboot.
Leadership Florida is a statewide program that gathers, trains, educates and then nurtures leaders from all walks of life. There are programs for emerging leaders ages 25-40, educators, executives, elected officials and a general class program that always includes a wide mix of people from all parts of our state.
It’s extremely competitive to get in the program and members tend to become very invested and loyal to the organization.
Why?
Because Leadership Florida is transformational and the annual meetings are fun and educational.
We’ve hosted some amazing minds through the years: Tom Brokaw, Colin Powell, Ken Burns, Geoffrey Canada, Jon Meacham and more.
This year we heard from conservative icon Arthur C. Brooks, former U. S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, early childhood advocate and retired journalist Dave Lawrence Jr., “Homeless to Harvard” author Liz Murray, best-selling author Brad Meltzer, social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson, Chief Disney Veterinarian Mark Penning and provocative demographer Ken Gronbach.
As usual, the takeaways were powerful.
Secretary Duncan outlined five national goals for education to consider: the U.S should lead the world in access to Pre-K (currently we hover between 28th and 30th), raise the high school graduation rate to 90 percent; commit that 100 percent of our high school graduates are ready for university classes. We currently spend $9 billion a year on remedial education; raise college completion rates and commit to retrain every worker whose job becomes obsolete.

Mr. Stevenson, whose life is soon to become a movie (and who has an HBO documentary debuting this week)  urged us to get “proximate” to the people in our communities who need us most. Proximity allows us to better understand the issues, strengths and challenges in our communities. Who can argue with that?

Mr. Meltzer talked about heroes and urged us to thank the heroes in our lives, sharing special stories about President George H. W. Bush and his 9th grade teacher Mrs. Spicer who said three words to Brad that changed his life: “you can write. “
And Ms. Murray, whose life was a Lifetime movie, told us how her experiences on the streets forged her character and made her strong.
Powerful stuff.
These kinds of weekends inspire and fuel us as citizens, volunteers and leaders in our communities.
These special people push us to think, read, study and ultimately act.
If you are a leader, I urge you to apply to one of Leadership Florida’s programs. The experience is a game changer and it’s a gift that keeps giving. Because each year, we get to gather with now more than 1,000 leaders from all over this great state and learn from each other and from our guest speakers.
We come back restored, energized and committed to make our part of Florida a better place.
Visit https://www.leadershipflorida.org for more information.
18 June, 2018 0 Comments

But For Leadership Florida

June 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Dr. Frank Luntz gives us the numbers: we are a nation divided.

I spent the weekend in Sarasota at the annual meeting of Leadership Florida.
Leadership Florida is a statewide organization devoted to building community.

That’s not easy  in a giant and diverse state. It’s a monumental task.
Because not only is Florida huge, but many of us come from other parts of the nation and world and so we may not identity the Sunshine State as “home.”

I’m an example, I am a New Yorker and identify strongly with the northeast. But Florida is home. I’ve lived here 10 more years than I lived in New York.
Still, while I’ve always loved Delray Beach, Leadership Florida helped me gain a deeper appreciation for the entirety of Florida.

I’ve learned that we live in a remarkable state. Florida has a rich history, an exciting present and a very promising future. We also face some complex challenges ranging from rising seas to political division.
But what Leaderahip Florida proves is that if good people come together in a spirit of community they can work together to solve problems and seize opportunities.
Now I realize that sounds Pollyanna and simplistic, but the truth is these leaders from the world’s of business, politics, academia, health care, energy and the non profit world– who range from liberal to ultra conservative– show how people can work together across ideological lines.

The annual meeting weekend is jam packed with learning sessions that often raise provocative questions.
This year, we listened to Michael Smith, a former Obama administration official and executive director of My Brothers Keeper, Dr. Frank Luntz, who shared some sobering news on our divisions and a path forward, former George W. Bush White House photographer Eric Draper, Claire Diaz-Ortiz, a social media expert who talked about what’s good about social media at a time when all we’re hearing is how it’s ruining our kids, our brains and our country and a raucous panel on the pros and cons of autonomous vehicles.
The sessions provoke lots of thinking and healthy debate.
And that’s good. It’s what we’re often lacking as we talk past each other.

I’ve long felt that if you populated Congress or the state legislature with a random sampling of Leadership Florida graduates, you’d see a whole lot of problems solved.
Oh there would be arguments  and differences galore, but I’m certain that these leaders would always find a way forward.
We need more of what Leadership Florida offers: intelligent debate, treating your allies with humility  and your opponents with respect.

Bits from the weekend:
–We had dinner with former White House photographer Eric Draper who chronicled all 8 years of George W. Bush’s term. I loved his session so getting to sit next to Mr. Draper at dinner was extra special. He talked about the Bush family, the rigorous nature of the job (over 1 million images shot, international travel and the pressure of not missing history as it unfolds).

Also at our table, Gregg Pettersmeyer who served two presidents (Nixon and Bush 41) in senior advisory positions and Capt. Charlie Plumb who spent 2,103 days as a POW during the Vietnam War and is a founder of the Navy’s “top gun” school. He’s a remarkable man and beyond nice.
We got lucky with our seat assignment because my Leadership Florida classmate Wendy Spencer is now CEO of the organization after serving as director of National Service for two presidents. She hooked us up. (Class XXIV perks). These types of opportunities are also called “but for Leadership Florida” experiences. They’re invaluable.
–We got some insight from Claire Diaz Ortiz on how as a Twitter executive she helped get the Pope on social media. She talked about the positive aspects of social media at a time when the technology is under siege. It was a welcome respite. But concerns linger about data privacy and social media’s role in sowing division.

–Dr. Frank Luntz talked about public opinion and reminded us how far institutions and professions have sunk in the minds of the public. (More on his findings in a future blog). But right now, elected officials, bankers, lawyers, journalists and CEO’s are held in very low regard.
And we enjoyed a great presentation on autonomous cars with advocates (the co-founder of Voyage which serves The Villages) and the entertaining Alex Roy president of the Human Driving Association. (More on that too in the future).
Hope everyone had a great Father’s Day! If you can, check our Leadership Florida. Apply for the cornerstone class program or Connect if you’re a young professional. It’s a worthwhile investment of your time.

2 August, 2017 3 3 Comments

Here’s To The Teachers

August 2, 2017 By 3 Comments

Geoffrey Canada

I had always wanted to see Geoffrey Canada speak.

We tried to get him to come to Delray Beach many years ago, but for some reason we were unable to pull it off.

Canada is a legendary educator and community builder who did some miraculous work running the Harlem Children’s Zone until his recent retirement. He continues to speak around the country and we caught him recently at The Breakers in Palm Beach where he spoke to the annual meeting of Leadership Florida.

He’s a riveting speaker. Riveting with a capital R.

And his message is powerful and built on a lifetime of experience. It’s also timely with our children heading back to school in a few weeks.

While there were many lessons packed into his presentation my two takeaways were this:

  • We completely disrespect the education profession in this country and;
  • Where you grow up and how you grow up matters—a lot.

Canada who grew up in the South Bronx was a bright student who went to Bowdoin College in Maine in the 1960s.

Back home, he saw the plague of heroin stealing young lives (sound familiar) and so out of curiosity he took two science classes his last year of school: pharmacology and physiology.

He wanted to figure out what it was about heroin that made the drug so addictive and deadly.

He aced both classes and a group of professors intervened in his career path and urged him to go to medical school.

“But I want to be a teacher,” he told them believing that education was the best way to lift a community and break the cycle of poverty.

“No you don’t,” they answered trotting out the usual reasons: you won’t make money, you won’t be able to drive a nice car and you won’t be invited to all the cool cocktail parties.

It was a full court press and his professors talked him into going to medical school which was where he was heading right up until he had to sign a commitment letter and he decided that he just “didn’t like sick people.”

So he escaped medical school and instead launched a career that has touched the lives of thousands of kids.  An astounding 97 percent of children enrolled in the Harlem Children’s Zone program go onto college—all of this in a community in which poverty, crime, drugs and despair are deeply rooted.

The Harlem Children’s Zone is changing the trajectory of that universe. That’s what great leaders do.

They change lives.

But the point was well taken. Every effort was made– by educators no less—to dissuade young Geoffrey from what would become a brilliant and important career.

Based on his 40 plus years of experience, Canada believes that education needs an infusion of talent to lift the fortunes of American students.

“When we think talent, we think Google, Facebook, Netflix,” he said. “We don’t think of the local elementary school in Fort Lauderdale.”

But we should. We need bright young minds to go into the field. Canada believes that education is beyond a full time pursuit, it requires immense dedication, talent and resources.

“We pay teachers part-time wages,” he argues. “And we entrust the future of our nation to them. In business, there is an intense struggle for talent. In education, we’re not competing for talent and we need to be.” That was not a knock on the quality of teachers, but rather a call to arms. Educators should not have to take a pledge of poverty in order to teach our children.

As the father of a young ESE (Exceptional Student Education) teacher who loves her students and goes above and beyond that argument resonates with me. I simply don’t know how teachers can live in Palm Beach County given the high cost of housing these days.

The second point is that place matters.

“The place you’re in is either going to help you succeed or be a barrier,” he said. “It’s hard for a child in the fourth grade who has to go home to parents addicted to drugs, living in chaos. He or she won’t be able to compete with a child coming home to loving parents.”

Unless….

Unless we start to think deeply about how we are going to make the child successful.

The brilliance of the Harlem Children’s Zone is its holistic approach.

“We start at birth,” he told Leadership Florida. “With baby college which is for newborns to three year olds. And we stay with them through college.”

That’s a big and expensive commitment—financially and emotionally. But it works. It gets results, especially when you introduce remarkable teachers into the equation.

“The message is we are going to do whatever it takes,” he said. “This is the deep end of the pool. In the beginning, the data is going to be bad. We have to get comfortable with that. And know, that over time, we will move it..slowly.”

On August 14, our kids will be heading back to school.

When you take a look at the educational landscape in Southern Palm Beach County you see lots of bright spots and lots of areas of concern.

The state recently released school grades for 2017.

More than half of District operated schools earned A’s and B’s overall and 30 schools operated by the School District of Palm Beach County improved by at least one letter grade. A total of 63 District-operated schools earned A’s from the state and 35 schools earned B’s, which equals 61 percent of traditional schools in Palm Beach County. No District-operated school received an F in 2016-17, and only eight District-operated schools received a D.

Twelve District-operated schools improved from a B to an A, including the following schools in Boca Raton and Delray Beach:

  • Banyan Creek Elementary School
  • Boca Raton Community Middle School
  • Hammock Pointe Elementary School
  • Olympic Heights Community High School
  • Sandpiper Shores Elementary School

But we all know we have lots of work to do.

Locally, we are fortunate to have Delray Students First, the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, magnet programs, career academies, the Golden Bell Foundation, the Delray Education Foundation, the Achievement Center, the Milagro Center, Florence Fuller Center and more.

I’ve always felt that the Village Academy and a concept called “Village Center” had enormous potential to employ the Canada Harlem Children’s Zone model.

But it takes money. It takes leadership. It takes vision and it takes a long term commitment.

In other words, it takes a village.

We say we are one, but it’s not about the size of buildings or whether we get a Publix—(for the record I like our scale and I want to see a Publix on West Atlantic) it’s about the size of our collective hearts.

Some Internet trolls love to sit back and bash and pontificate about what they don’t want to see.

I get it. And that’s cool—to a point.

But I often wonder if that same energy was channeled into thinking about the future rather than fighting the latest outrage if we might actually get somewhere again—as a community and as a nation.

I see a lot of loud people who are comfortable with their lot in lives paying lip service to kids but barely lifting a finger. I see others who have placed their comfort and personal convenience over the needs of future generations. What do our kids need?

They need attainable housing. They need good jobs. And we need to nurture our entrepreneurs and have a strategy to both attract and retain talent.

Place matters and that could be our competitive edge.

We’re walkable. We’re cool. We have amenities. We have art and culture. We have great restaurants and a wonderful beach. We have great weather and recreational opportunities.

Sure, we have problems. But you don’t solve your problems by driving down your positives. You solve your problems, you meet your challenges, through collaboration, investment and a can-do mindset.

Frankly, I’m seeing the opposite from our so-called “leaders.”

We have some deep end of the pool issues in Delray these days. It’s not the first time we’ve had them.

Last time, the community said “let’s work together.” Three words=profound results.

And it sure beats “divide and conquer.”

It’s our choice. Which path do we choose?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 July, 2017 2 2 Comments

Finding Hope Among Leaders

July 3, 2017 By 2 Comments

Nancy Lublin, best selling author of “Zilch” speaks at Leadership Florida.

For me, Leadership Florida is an antidote for the mundane and the banal.
For two and a half days every year, I can count on seeing good friends, hanging out with smart accomplished people and learning from the best minds around.
It’s a break from the cacophony of social media, the gossips at the gym, petty politics and the rigors of daily life.
Over the years, we’ve heard from the likes of Ken Burns, Colin Powell, Tom Brokaw and thought leaders from science, journalism, education, medicine, education and business.
It’s energizing.
But this year was different. This year, we weren’t sheltered from the outside world. There was an 800 pound gorilla in the room by the name of political dysfunction and it dominated official and unofficial discussion.
All four keynote speakers/panels that I saw referenced it: Pulitzer Prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas woke us up with a challenging talk about immigration.
Vargas is undocumented and he challenged us to see parts of the debate that many of us avoid: the personal (he hasn’t seen his mother since he was 12), the factual (he produced staggering stats regarding the economic contributions of immigrants) and of course the politics. Always the politics and the sad fact that we can’t seem to get a coherent immigration policy in this country.
Vargas was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Knight Foundation CEO Alberto Ibarguen and featuring former Gov. Bob Graham and former Miami Herald Publisher Dave Lawrence.
The trio discussed civic engagement, their long careers full of real and lasting accomplishments and politics.
Several of the questions focused on the toxicity of the current moment and the lack of true leaders in the public square.
Gov. Graham sees civic engagement and education as the answer.
We need to train better citizens who will become servant leaders.
Watching these guys–serious people with gravitas–only pointed out how those qualities are missing today and so badly needed.
It was a good segue to Chuck Todd, the host of Meet the Press and himself a lighting rod for the right.
Todd’s message was how compromise and bipartisanship went from desirable behaviors to political death. He spoke about civility and how gridlock is preventing anything from getting done.
Nancy Lublin, a legend in the non-profit world, followed with a sobering talk on crisis trends in America as expressed via text messages to her organization which provides counseling to those crying out for help. Once again, political dysfunction seems to be driving anxiety, fear, anger and stress.
The last speaker I caught was the great Geoffrey Canada, the recently retired founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone.
He gave a roof raising talk about the importance of education and how teachers are often given short shrift in society.
It was a call to arms. A plea for seriousness and an impassioned argument to save a generation.
Our incoming chair Beth Kigel believes that if Florida and the nation were turned over to the men and women of Leadership Florida we would be able to solve a lot of problems and seize a lot of opportunities.
I agree. Because I believe in the organization.
But I also know that won’t happen and that many of my fellow alumni won’t be running for office anytime soon.
Oh sure, there are many current and past elected officials in the organization and more than a few current and future candidates. And yes, these talented men and women are making it happen in business, academia, social work, health care and the social sector but we are not in charge.
If we were there would be bipartisan compromise. There would be fact based discussions, there would be civility and policies based on a genuine passion for Florida.
Yes I am biased. But I’m also optimistic it’s possible because Leadership Florida is a mix of parties, philosophies, ages, geographies, backgrounds and ethnicities. And we get along. We care for each other.
It’s possible. We can do this. We must do this.
Happy Independence Day.

 

20 April, 2017 2 2 Comments

But for Leadership Florida…

April 20, 2017 By 2 Comments

Thelma and Louise? No…Wendy Spencer and Wendy Walker two of Florida’s best leaders.

This Friday, Diane and my son Ben will join me at the Palm Beach Yacht Club to thank one of our personal heroes for 28 years of service to Florida and to an organization that has meant so much to so many.

Wendy Walker is retiring after 28 years of stellar service as the President of Leadership Florida, considered by many to be the premier statewide leadership organization in America.

And while the organization is a ‘who’s who’ of talented people from business, politics, education and the non-profit world, it would not have soared without Wendy’s steady and humble leadership.

This is from a recent feature on Wendy in the Tallahassee Democrat.

“It’s impossible to spend time with Walker and not walk away inspired or impressed, but likely both. A tall, beautiful woman who is clearly comfortable in her own skin, Walker commands a room when she walks in, but gives credit for her success to great parents, good luck and often being in the right place at the right time.  She is the only person who will tell you that she is undeserving of the honor of being named one of the 2017 25 Women You Need to Know.”

That’s our Wendy.

She is our Wendy because she dedicated her life to her Leadership Florida family and made us all feel very special. Now imagine a constituency that includes governors, university presidents, senators, state legislators, mayors, CEOs, entrepreneurs, scientists, high powered attorneys, prominent journalists and Jon Levinson (sorry, Jon , it was there, so I took it). How do you keep them all happy?

Sure, they are wonderful people: generous, talented, accomplished and smart. But the lion’s share of her constituency are Type A personalities who are wildly opinionated and ambitious–often code words for hard to please.

In lesser hands, this is a combination that could easily go off the rails.

But with Wendy Walker at the helm, the organization has thrived.

Here’s what one of those really smart people—a former Leadership Florida Chair and top aide to Gov. Chiles– had to say in the Tallahassee Democrat.

“Many governors and other public officials in Florida only aspire to the pinnacle level of respect, recognition and appreciation that Wendy Walker enjoys among some of our state’s most important and influential leaders in every sphere of influence,” said Ron Sachs, CEO of Sachs Media Group and a longtime friend. “Her real secret power is a quiet but always effective style of leadership in which she brings people of divergent views together on really big issues that matter most, such as creating a greater sense of statewide community in Florida.”

That’s the magic of Wendy Walker and of Leadership Florida. We need more people like her. It’s easy to divide and polarize. It’s much harder to bring people together.

I applied at the encouragement of former Commissioner Levinson who was a graduate of Class VII when obviously the standards were relaxed to let him in (wink). Actually Jon became Chair of the organization and was recognized with a special award two years ago for his tireless devotion to the organization—a devotion that Wendy inspires in many people.

When I applied my interest was to see if Jon was being truthful– because let’s face it– he tosses around compliments like they are manhole covers and he was always raving about Leadership Florida.

I am a passionate devotee of leadership, was interested in the information I would glean from the experience and wanted to meet many of the people who were in the organization.

I was accepted—which in itself is an honor and devoted the better part of a year to attending weekend programs all over the state—Tallahassee, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and a rural  camp where we had no cellphone service and we woke to frogs and other critters in our shower stalls. But we bonded and we learned from each other and a fascinating array of speakers who gave us a deep appreciation for our state.

Among those we met were Florida icons ranging from Gov. Askew and the first African American to serve on the Florida Supreme Court to Army Generals, nature photographers, professors and experts who helped us understand our state and our own individual leadership styles.

Regular readers of this blog understand my love for Delray—but it was my Leadership Florida experience which cinched my love for Florida. Leadership Florida made me believe in the concept of statewide community—even in a state as transient, diverse and large as Florida.

In my class, there was another Wendy who became a good friend.

Her name was Wendy Spencer and she ran Volunteer Florida for Gov. Bush at the time. When President Obama was elected,  he tapped Wendy Spencer to run his national service program because he recognized that Wendy Spencer was special.

Wendy Spencer would make it back home for Leadership Florida’s legendary annual meetings including an infamous event at Epcot Center in which Wendy and I got lost in the park and couldn’t find our way back to the hotel. It was a rather hot and humid Central Florida evening and there were moments when we felt that we would not make it back alive. It was that hot and that uncomfortable. Navy SEALS we are not.

Alas, we did find our way back to the air conditioned comfort of the hotel. And it’s a good thing too.

Wendy has now come home to take over for Wendy Walker. As a proud classmate, I couldn’t be happier. She’s an inspired choice to step into some very big shoes.

Over the years, I have gained much from my membership in Leadership Florida. And tried to give back as well.

I have seen and met great speakers and thinkers: documentarian Ken Burns, author Jon Meacham, Tom Brokaw, Colin Powell and experts on history, presidential power, communication, entrepreneurship, the environment and health policy.

You leave smarter and inspired, every time. And the goal is to bring these insights back to make your part of Florida better.

But it’s the personal relationships that are just as transformational—when we were hit by hurricanes we were able to call a Leadership Florida classmate who was a senior engineer to help us with equipment that helped to keep our sewage systems from breaking down. When I needed advice as a member of the board at Delray Medical Center, I was able to ring up an alumni expert on healthcare for advice and counsel. In between, there have been presidential primary debates, governors debates and senatorial debates—all sponsored by Leadership Florida. We are great conveners.

On a personal level, my son graduated College Leadership Florida and now attends meetings with me and it has been a great bonding experience for us. It’s nice to share and to see his mind expand as he’s exposed to great thinkers and doers.

My daughter, an ESE teacher in Tampa, attends annual meetings as a guest and last year had a chance to meet Vice Chancellor of Education Brian Dassler, who inspired her as he has so many.

When Brian passed away tragically last month at the age of 38, Leadership Florida members found comfort in each other and gratitude that we had a chance to know such a special man and educator thanks to our involvement in Leadership Florida.

The stories go on.

Wendy Walker made a lot of this possible for me and my family. So did Jon Levinson.

Leadership Florida’s annual meeting will be at The Breakers in Palm Beach this June.

It’s a big year…the official send off for Wendy Walker and the official welcome for Wendy Spencer and the 35th anniversary for the organization.

If you have a good resume of civic involvement and desire to immerse yourself in a community of generous and smart leaders, I urge you to apply for one of Leadership Florida’s amazing programs.

Visit www.leadershipflorida.org for more information. It will change your life.

Thanks Wendy Walker and welcome Wendy Spencer …we look forward to see where you lead us.

 

 

7 July, 2016 0 Comments

In Praise of Leadership Florida

July 7, 2016 By Leave a Comment

LF

Ten years ago, I spent the better part of a year attending Leadership Florida (LF), a statewide program designed to give participants an in-depth view of the state’s challenges and opportunities.

I know the term “life changing” has become trite and overused, but my experience in the class program left a lasting and deep impression on me. I’m not alone in that assessment and over the 34 year history of the program—considered one of the finest state leadership programs in the nation—about 1,500 men and women have come away with similar feelings.

The experience instilled in me a love of Florida and a deeper appreciation for its diversity and history. I have lived here for nearly 30 years now, a decade longer than my native New York, and so Florida has become home even though I will always feel an allegiance and a passion for the Empire State.

But my love affair was with Delray Beach. Sure, I liked Florida, but I didn’t have a love for the state until I experienced Leadership Florida. In LF, I found a community of leaders committed to the betterment of their cities, state and nation. They hail from business, the non-profit world, education and government but the common ground among this diverse group is a commitment to making a difference. We are Democrats and Republicans, conservatives, moderates and liberals and since the program is 34 years old there is a wide age range involved. In fact, my son Ben just graduated from College Leadership Florida and I have friends who have been involved in the executive program (for CEOs), Connect (for young professionals) and a new program for educators (hoping my daughter attends). You can say that LF covers a lot of ground.

Every year, LF holds an annual meeting featuring world class speakers on a variety of topics. This year the event was in Orlando which led to a lot of discussion on the mass shooting and what can be done to make our state safer.

The speakers also talked about poverty in Florida (1 in 6 live below the poverty line), the shrinking middle class and what it means for America and of course leadership.

Jon Meacham, the Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author, gave an engaging speech on this moment in history—Trump vs. Clinton—reminding everyone that while this year is extraordinary, America has had its share of interesting and tumultuous politics throughout its history.

A devout Jeffersonian, Meacham lamented that his guy was being overshadowed by rival Alexander Hamilton thanks to a popular Broadway show featuring rap music intermingled with history.

His idea is to follow “Hamilton” with a show called “TJeff” that would celebrate the life and legacy of our nation’s third president. But humor aside, the graduate of Suwanee College (which he describes as a cross between “Deliverance” and “Downton Abbey”) reminded the audience of how George Washington took pains to solve the bitter feud between the Jefferson camp and the Hamiltonians only to be swiftly rebuffed. Ahh….politics.

Meacham did say that effective leaders throughout history tended to be good writers and tended to know exactly how to reach their followers. Today, that could mean tweeting and getting your message across in 140 characters.

Meacham was fascinating, glib and helped to put this particular moment in our history in perspective.

My other favorite speaker was Ambassador James Joseph who now runs an ethics and leadership center at Duke University. Joseph was ambassador to South Africa when Nelson Mandela came to power. Throughout a long and distinguished career, he has served four U.S. Presidents and has observed leaders at all levels of government.

Joseph seemed to long for a time when “leadership was defined as someone who inspired us and appealed to our better nature.”

Today he sees a tremendous amount of anxiety, alienation and adversity but believes that all of those concerns can be addressed without the bitterness we are seeing today. He says the meanness of public life is the biggest challenge facing leaders and that we must find a way toward national reconciliation.

“A fear of difference is a fear of the future,” he said. “We have to find a way to co-exist.”

He sees four elements to leadership, three traits you need and one you need to avoid:

  • Emotional Intelligence—which he defines as having the ability to be the adult in the room, having compassion and self-control.
  • Moral Intelligence—good leaders know how to think about and talk about values without succumbing to insults or caving into politics.
  • Moral Imperialism—leaders need an ability to resist the urge to divide and develop skills to unite and compromise.
  • Social Intelligence—recognizes the many ways the world is changing.

“I want to see leaders who understand this phrase…’I want to be me without making it difficult for you to be you’,” Joseph said. “Effective leadership turns me and you into us.”

Joseph and his wife, an Emmy Award winning documentarian, spoke to the College Leadership Florida graduates at lunch. There he spoke about the importance of hope.

“Effective leaders are not just agents of reconciliation but agents of hope,” he said. “Hope sustains innovation, hope builds profits and the gift of hope is as important a gift as life itself.”

Well said.

I hope you’ll consider applying to Leadership Florida.