Redwood Fellows: Stories from the Grove
Redwood Fellows: Stories from the Grove is a podcast series that features Fellows in conversation with one another, creating space for authentic storytelling and the exchange of leadership insights. These are genuine conversations that reveal how Fellows lead with conviction and courage.
Redwood Fellows: Stories from the Grove
"The Game is Bigger"
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Redwood Fellows Jason Price and Rebecca Good in conversation.
Hey everybody, I'm Andrew Ferguson of Redwood Fellows. Welcome to Stories from the Grove, a podcast production of Redwood Fellows made possible thanks to the generous support of CCM. You know, our media is filled with examples of people exploiting their differences to pull us apart. This is different. Stories from the Grove is about leaders who seek to lean into their differences so they can understand each other, find common ground to strengthen Connecticut. I hope you enjoy Stories from the Grove. Let's get started. Let's go.
SPEAKER_02All right. So I am Rebecca Good. I'm the vice president of the Redwood Fellows Experience for the Redwood Fellowships. And who are you?
SPEAKER_01My name is Jason Price, uh longtime New Haven resident. I am a co-founder of Nexthaven. Um sit on several boards in town. Climate Haven was on the United Way of Greater New Haven and some other uh nonprofit boards. Jason, I like it because you just went and gave like your whole list.
SPEAKER_02I feel like, well, now let me go give my let me give my list. So I also, I also um I am the national vice provost for Relay Graduate School of Education. I founded a graduate school here in the state of Connecticut for teachers, which was about 10 years ago I started that project. Um New Haven resident also love our local city, um, do a lot of work in communication, persuasive communication, um, one-on-one executive coaching, and just writing for the neighborhood and writing for our students.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so you're the professional in this dialogue.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's great, great to be in conversation.
SPEAKER_02It is, it is. So we're here because we were asked about our leadership stories and thinking about what are the leadership stories that that we might not um always share or doesn't get as much attention. And I was thinking about you and I, Jason, because our kids went to elementary school together.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And I was thinking, I was like, if you were to give leadership advice um to my daughter, who is now 17, and you met when she was probably about six or seven, what type of leadership advice would you give to her as she's about to go out in the world?
SPEAKER_01Okay, well, you made it easy. Yeah. Because I know your daughter, Layla, and I know how bright she is, and uh I know she's ambitious. True. And uh, you know, if I if I had to give kind of real advice that uh, you know, you can't really learn in a book and that you think is the you know the things that you need to be successful, you know, there are those uh those bits of advice that um you know you don't know. And I remember when I was uh leaving a job in banking, traditional banking, private equity, to do something entrepreneurial, I got some advice from someone, and he said, um, you don't know if you're gonna like it. And that it resonated more afterwards than before. And what he was saying is that sometimes when you take a leap, the the activities that you have to get involved in, the you know, what you need to execute are slightly different than maybe what you were trained to do. And so I think the real advice is if you know yourself really well, you know what you're good at. Um, and when you take those leaps, and then you combine that with this idea that you will be doing things that you didn't expect to do. I remember I was uh, you know, taking vehicles in and out of uh proper insurance to make sure they were insured. I was uh, you know, having to have conversations about management at lower levels than I was used to speaking to, but that's what it took. So my advice is um, you know, if I had to distill it all, is you know, talk to your peers, get as much advice as you can, get to know yourself really, really well. Think about all of the things that you're gonna have to do that aren't really related to that end goal, which might be making money, helping the community, doing whatever you want to do, and then be you know very thoughtful about are you ready to do those things and if you like it? Yeah. That that'd be my my biggest um point of advice.
SPEAKER_02All right, all right, Layla. Make sure you watched at least to this this point. Exactly. Um what else? What what else do you got? What else do I have in terms of in terms of uh actually let me if I your your sons are incredible, they're going off into the world, they're getting ready to um start a new chapter academically, and like this is an exciting point. If I were to give your sons advice on leadership from what I've learned um in thinking about this generation and as an educator, yeah, um, can I can I give some advice?
SPEAKER_01I want to hear it. And I need it.
SPEAKER_02Um I really think about relationships in a very different way now in this for this generation and and how the young people are connecting to one another and building um, you know, people say it's networking, but it's for them, it's it's really building relationships outside of an echo chamber. And how are they making those connections? Because we know if we look back and how we have gotten to positions and how have we had how have we had influence, a lot of it can be connected to the relationships that we've had. Right. And a lot of those relationships might have just been made you on a a casual conversation while you were taking the Metro North into the city. It might have been made over over a dinner, like really investing in building relationships, your network, and like tending to them. Like, don't, don't just don't let people just like slide by, like, really tend to those relationships because I think those are gonna be things that are going to benefit any type of academic success or any like you're working really hard, you're gonna need those people either to help you on your way, to check you along your way, or to affirm you along your way.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And and uh so I agree with all of that. That's great advice. Um, I spend countless hours talking to my boys about those things. The only thing I would add to that is um again, back to that awareness. You know, I think you know, our kids go to competitive schools. Yeah, uh, it's stressful. Yeah, they're focused on um just achieving. But at the end of the day, we know there's a bigger game that's being played. And that that game is related to a lot of what you're talking about, your network, your ability to make relationships. And just to support what you're saying is what I try to tell my boys, sometimes successfully, sometimes we have, you know, issues that we have to overcome. But it's look, nail what you have to nail, which is, you know, your job is to go to school, get the best grades you can get, be kind, be a good citizen, um, you know, show up on time, all those things that are valuable. Um, if you do well at that, you'll have options. But we know that the game is bigger than just having those options. The game is really about um who's your family, yeah, who's around you, who's in your network. And I also believe that when you're nailing some of the basics, it gives you the confidence to have those kind of conversations that we know are meaningful.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I think the challenge with uh my kids because they're young, and maybe with uh Layla, because she's young, is they don't understand that a conversation today may pay off a few years from now. And that um, you know, when you're standing solid on your square, whatever that is, as an academic, as an athlete, as both, et cetera, that that should give you the confidence to ask questions that you may not have the answer to, or that you may feel vulnerable, or you may feel like um are stupid questions.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But it's been many times that we both know that it's been the stupid questions, kind of, or the inquiries that happen early on in a relationship. Maybe you met them on the train, or maybe, you know, we have casual interactions like we do between our kids. But those are the folks that come through for you.
SPEAKER_06Yes.
SPEAKER_01And uh, you know, if I take that to professional advice, I remember I had a mentor and he said uh return every phone call. And he's and I said, every single phone call. You know, not every phone call is meaningful. I'd like to hit decline on a lot of them, but you know, the the conclusion was because at the end of the day, you don't know who's going to answer your call when you ask for help. We're in a world of savvy people, and uh they can make you feel as if they're bet your best friends, that you're your that you are their best friend. But it's in those moments when you ask that you find out who are your friends, or I could say who are your advocates, and who are those who just may not have the time.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So um, and it's been those that I least expected that return my phone calls and have been the most meaningful in terms of um some of the advice that they've given me along the way. So, you know, I just tell my boys, nail what you got to nail. Uh, you know, be confident, ask stupid questions, and follow up. Yeah, yeah. Um so I got a question about New Haven. Okay. So you so you've you've been here for a long time. Yes. Uh definitely had leadership roles. Yes. Uh you're impacting the community in many, many ways. Yeah. Some of which you mentioned. There are others that you did mention. So I'm here to kind of lift you up. Um, where do you think we are in New Haven? Um, what what is great about New Haven and what do you think is missing?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I remember moving to New Haven in 06, and the within like a month, I believe, we moved here, the Colosseum was demolished.
SPEAKER_01I do. I was here then.
SPEAKER_02And it was such an interesting uh to see such a prominent like structure be destroyed. That was kind of like, welcome to New Haven. Things are changing. Yes. And, you know, I were we gonna choose to put roots here? Were we gonna like, was this gonna become home after moving across the country, um, well, California by way of Florida, and up here. And what I saw was a community that was complex. I saw people that looked like me. Um, I was going into schools and teaching school in schools that were, you know, 98% black or Hispanic. And yet what I was seeing, the influence of Yale, which felt predominantly white and Asian at that point, was it there didn't seem to be a mix. Um, and it felt like two different cities when I moved here. Right. Um, and I can't say that it still doesn't feel like two different cities, but what I've watched over the last um wow, now 20 years, is an attempt to bring the city together. But I get worried about that stuff because I don't want, I don't want New Haven to become like many cities that I've seen, uh Oakland, California, or Brooklyn, where like the the community that that built New Haven can't afford to live and thrive in New Haven. And so I don't I don't know the answer. I don't know the answer to that, but that's like my worry for New Haven is that we're getting like how can we truly bring communities together without kind of destroying the essence and the foundation of the community.
SPEAKER_01So I agree, but I'm gonna push you on that. Push. And just give me one thing, you know, one issue, one challenge that uh you see that you think um you have a solution for. Okay. Or maybe someone has a solution for, and maybe how that will impact the community for the better.
SPEAKER_02I think one of the challenges is our education system is racially segregated within New Haven. And so I think that like we have proof points out of Hartford that when we racially integrate our schools, that it actually can change the dynamics of the school for positive for all kids.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_02I think that our so I think that there's a space within our school system, but I do think that the um we're kind of stuck in some old ways of doing education. And so it's hard to get out of that kind of old bureaucratic way to move forward and be and and that takes a certain level of commitment from families around their kids to truly like integrate our school system.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I don't want to label you. Does it make you a progressive? Without, you know, without getting to the point of the state.
SPEAKER_02And I think that that's like a well, I mean, it's you know that's like a progressive idea.
SPEAKER_01It is a progressive, yeah, tear tear down.
SPEAKER_02I think having one idea that's a that's a progressive idea doesn't make me an like a progressive idea.
SPEAKER_01That's why I didn't want to label you. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean that is that is a progressive idea. This idea of um the DNA and the structures here. Yeah. And the infrastructure, clearly, it's uh, you know, it's a mature city. Yeah. But it's it's ripe for amendment. Like there needs to be some changes. There are some things that um we could be doing collectively uh to really create a better pathway, maybe even a more equitable pathway for kids that may feel like they're a bit disenfranchised from some of this stuff that's happening here.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And uh I know it's a complicated problem. There's politics that run through that. There are um, you know, it requires a lot of capital and requires some time. But I do feel like it's isn't it isn't an insurmountable uh challenge to fix education in in a city of this size.
SPEAKER_02I I agree, but it requires a certain level of it requires a certain level of willingness to adapt and change and be flexible. And I think the level of of change and flexibility because that's what becomes sometimes a challenge if you don't have the the relationships or if you don't have the um yeah, it just it takes it takes a lot.
SPEAKER_01And do you think but do you think well let's talk about momentum? Do you think we have uh positive momentum to begin to change issues like education and you know others like crime and safety?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think that when you think about the size of New Haven, I think that there could be some momentum. It's who's gonna take it up?
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02Right. Who's gonna who's gonna take it up? Think about what you wanted for New Haven. What did you what did you what what were you seeing? What was the issue? And you were like, you you took it up and you're like, fine, then I'm gonna take it and I'm gonna be lead the momentum.
SPEAKER_01Um so I I can think of two things. That's why I'm like, I mean I I think one of the goals uh is to just amplify what's positive about New Haven and really kind of change some of the narrative that's out there about you know what happens here. It's not just a place for Yale and uh, you know, and crime. Right. And you know, it's it's not true. That's what a lot of people um believe. You know, I think the way forward is really focused on um doing a lot of the stuff that we're doing, getting folk folks in the room and agreeing on whether or not there's a problem. And so many times I I think that leaders are are talking past one another, you know, and they talk in euphemisms and metaphors. And at the end of the day, you want to start with the metrics and you want to say our kids aren't learning enough. Uh not enough of our kids, I don't care what they look like, are prepared to go on and uh you know excel and you know come back to New Haven and be to be um you know central members of the community and get back. And so I think it starts one with the dialogue, right? And and maybe coming to some conclusions and to say, look, we have a problem.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_01I think once we agree that we have a problem, if we can get there, then we can debate on how to solve that problem.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_01And to your point, it is a bit of a negotiation. And I never expect to get everything in that process, but I believe everybody at that table needs to move a step forward with whatever the grand bargain is to try to fix a problem that we all agreed is something that is um an issue for all of us in the community and is a topic and an agenda that may be holding us back. And so because we're in these environments and we're talking, you know, around politicians and we have the safety to really talk about um, you know, ideas, uh challenges, and ways forward, I am optimistic in terms of the dialogue that we see amongst our peers that folks really are kind of leaning across or leaning in and saying, okay, do we agree that there's a problem here? And then they're beginning to lay out their own networks and the resources that are available to begin to solve some of those challenges.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, and then repeat. So um, look, I'm optimistic. But I do, but I do think I do think there's a long way to go. And you know, I started off by talking about momentum. I feel like the momentum is strong. I feel like it's uh is it is as strong as it has been in the time that I've been involved in the community here, but uh there's always more work to be done. But I but I'm I I stay positive.
SPEAKER_02What do you think is um uh uh a significant challenge that New Haven is facing right now?
SPEAKER_01I think the politics run deep.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I think uh you know we need to um you know be more open to have you know dialogue across aisles to really get to the the problem. But I think uh you know there's not enough transparency in terms of the metrics. So small stuff like you know, the trend either goes up or it goes down.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I want to make sure that the trend is moving in the right place. So I think you know, some of the transparency around crime is up or crime is down, and here's what we're doing, and then using that as almost like if you're thinking about um KPIs and traditional businesses, using that as the dashboard to begin to say we need to push on this or we need to slow down. And again, part of that is communications and part of part of that is how you communicate it, part of it is the action. So the the communication part isn't difficult, right? We got maybe we have a crime issue here, we have an education here, issue here, we have housing issue challenges here, we have uh what am I what am I missing?
SPEAKER_02Those are the top, those are the big three.
SPEAKER_01I think, I think uh, you know, we always have to balance our budget. So, you know, we have issues around you know property taxes and who pays for what and you know who gets taxed at what rate. And those aren't very many issues, if you think about it. Um, and then there's limits to that. And so the limits are, you know, how much money do we have to spend on, you know, new roads, better schools, uh, you know, policy changes, et cetera, et cetera. But if we can at least decide that the trend is moving in a in a direction, we can then begin to have a dialogue around how do we gain the resources to support the people who are doing the work. And I am describing politics in it's and it's and I and I you know I don't want to be naive, and it's very, very, very complicated. But I do feel like in a small city like this, yeah, where you have um a few large players and a lot of um, you know, loyal citizens, yep, and passionate people, that none of these problems are insurmountable. Um, but we got to get started.
SPEAKER_02How do you how do you know when to say no? Because people will come and they'll say, uh, do this, have this, be the lead on this, do that. How do you do you have a no? Is there like a what m what what brings you to that?
SPEAKER_01Well I'm getting better I'm getting better I'm getting better at saying no. I'm I'm a naturally curious person and I like projects and I like to do things, so I'm inclined to just jump in anyway, even when it's not good for me. I think uh for me, this is 100% personal, uh, I'm trying to do a better job of really um getting to know myself. And I know that sounds uh kind of weird in your why is that weird relationship, but just just understanding.
SPEAKER_02Why is that weird? That's all weird. I wish more leaders would get to know themselves.
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, how much how much capacity I have, what what I'm passionate about, um, you know, my own health, yeah, my own mental health, uh, you know, my my commitment to be a good to being a good father and a husband. Um so I just prioritize. I'm trying to prioritize and I'm saying, look, I need to look out for myself to be healthy so that I can be um the best member and contributor to my household as possible. Yeah that's number one for me. Number two is my family. Number three are the things that I like to do, right? Or, you know, I'd say like having the resources to do the things I like to do. And then after that, I want to contribute to change. And so then I I think about um, you know, what pro So I try to start at the beginning and the end and be, you know, I try to be as as honest as I can about how much work and time it's gonna take to really move the needle. Yeah. And then I jump in. And uh I think as I get older, I get most frustrated when um I'm not in a position to run fast and quickly, because in my mind, um, I'm right. It doesn't mean I'm right. I'm often wrong many times. But you know, I have to have that passion and I have to know uh that everything else is taken care of so that I have the capacity to really sprint. And if I do all that work and at the end of it I just say, look, I don't have the capacity for it, then I try to say no.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But uh probably don't say no enough. Well what I mean, you tell me, but how do you say no?
SPEAKER_02I don't often say I don't often say no because I I believe there's there's I'm I'm really optimistic I believe there's a route so somebody brings a problem and I'm like hmm and they're like no there's no possible way out I'm like ah like there's always like we might not like the ways but there's always a way and so I do it I definitely as getting older think about my like yeah well being like how am I I'm gonna be able to give my best self if I say no to this right now my yes a week from now is gonna be like 10 times better. Yeah and so I have to kind of give that give that freedom in my mind to say this is allowing for a better yes down the line. Yeah um and then I also have to become I've become a little bit more savvy about understanding what are people's intentions about asking um you know are they really looking for for a a solution or like a a thought partner or like we're really gonna solve something together or are they looking to kind of tap into my network or reputation um am I being used as a woman of color um to be a face of something and that I need to I realize it got to be more discerning about that because I don't I don't want to be a um you know I I don't I I don't want to be a poster child for something that like I'm not really I'm I'm not behind you know and I feel like that can that can happen.
SPEAKER_01Yeah it well it's it's good to grow up and know yourself.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01Right because you don't because part of it is feeling guilty. Right. Because you know you can help. You can help but you have to be selfish to to provide or leave that capacity to do the work that you know you really want to do. Right and and and to to provide the time where you can make that impact right that you know you can make.
SPEAKER_02And I don't want to send the message that to lead or to make change that you have to like destroy yourself. I don't or or give so much of yourself that it that you look back and you're like oh but I missed those years with my kid at this age or something. I I worry about that. I don't want to I don't want to send that message.
SPEAKER_01Yeah I worry about that I mean I I have carved out the time for family just because it's that time and you know my kids are reaching you know college age they're gonna they'll they'll be gone soon. So these these years are precious. Yeah so I I definitely leave time for that. But I also have more to do.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01Right? So much more so it so there's there's that fear of you know you want to do more I'm just repeating what you're saying again but you don't want to get pulled into something that prevents you from doing the stuff that you know that you're passionate about that's gonna make the greatest impact. And uh and it can be hard because we are around dynamic people, interesting people, you know, folks I do want to be around folks that I learn from but sometimes I have to say it's just not the time.
SPEAKER_02It's not the time.
SPEAKER_01It's not the time. Yeah right and maybe it will be and maybe it won't and you know I will try to give what I can give if I can give something but you know we got to be careful to say um look I love the idea um would love to be involved under certain circumstances right now it's not great for me but if I can do anything to help put you in touch with somebody else yeah etc I'm happy to to do that. Yeah and uh again it's a working process for me. I'm not great at it but you know to me that is uh you know to me that is nirvana right when you when you know yourself well enough that you can get in and out of things uh in a way that's meaningful to other people but it's also um keeps you keeps us healthy and focused and and fulfilled.
SPEAKER_02What's uh hardest hardest leadership lesson you've learned so far?
SPEAKER_01I think the hardest leadership lesson I've learned is on hiring and uh you know the the resume doesn't always support the work that needs to get done and you know I've I've hired very you know credentialed uh high level executives and professionals at the wrong time. And what I mean by that is I go back to what I said at the beginning of this conversation sometimes when you're doing new stuff it requires you to do um things that you may believe are beneath you or you know you may have to get engaged in uh activities that you were doing you know when you were starting your career but that's what it takes. Yeah and I've had the conversations with a lot of these executives in startup situations and you know they've run large organizations you know tons of direct reports et cetera et cetera and they'll say okay now where is my desk and you know you have to look at them and you say this is a startup you don't have a desk but your job is to find a desk right you know set up more desks build a team uh you know help us secure resources you know money uh access et cetera et cetera and you know six to twelve months from now you'll be in a position where you're back to leading the way that that you know how to lead but the moment calls for you to dig in yes at all levels and I and I find that um I've learned that the hard way but I find that dynamic to be fascinating that you know there are people that are more powerful than I am they're probably smarter than I am uh they may even have more success and accolades than what I've achieved but when it comes down to doing the the the hard work that they hadn't done in a long time yeah it's sort of like hands up like where do I find the you know the bathroom right and it's kind of like we're building the bathroom while we're building the business. Yes. So I've always said you know you hire people for their intellect clearly and you know what they can contribute but you know you hire for the job that needs to get done. And if that means you have to have 10 interviews with a person and uh you know have them speak to other people to get to the root of when you're out of answers you want to know what they're gonna do. Are they gonna look around and say hey Jason uh I'm stuck or are they gonna have that professional judgment and that energy to just dive in and know that even though it's beneath them it probably probably is beneath their their their pay grade but that you know they have the confidence that they're gonna be in a place yes where they get to do it the way they want to do it.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Hiring hiring is it it's I one I love. I love building teams like I I founding teams and it because it's like putting together an amazing puzzle of finding these amazing elements and being able to fit it together and know that when they come together it's gonna be an incredible team. And I'm humble enough to know I need to hire around my weaknesses or my the areas that I'm not I'm not gonna be the smartest in everything. I'm not gonna be the greatest in everything. So I need to hire I know I'm great at something so I need to hire around me all that greatness so we have one big one big great puzzle but out of everybody that I have ever hired the ability to be humble and adaptable no matter all the accolades no matter all the fancy degrees and the fancy awards humble and adaptable will always win out it just is like the key ingredient in my opinion for people who I want to work with on a team and who will grow something.
SPEAKER_01No I agree and and you know what I always you know because we're in that we're older now so we're constantly mentoring younger entrepreneurs, professionals leaders etc and you know I always often say when you're building a business the hardest thing to do is to build a business that can be controlled outside of your sphere of influence and what you can actually touch. Which means you have to hire the people that have the sensibility and the judgment to make calls. Yes but also know when they're in trouble and to reach out. So I've been in situations where you know startup organizations were about to run out of money and we get the call as leadership right when we're about to run out of money.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_01That's the time where you you know you should pick up the phone sooner. Yes right um but there are also also times where maybe you're just short on a little bit of money. I don't want to hear that right I don't need that call so you'll figure that out and you know you can decide you you can discern when that is so I I call I I say look you know I want to hire adults I want to hire people with judgment I want to hire folks that have seen enough that they know the difference between I got this and I have a solution and let me pick up the phone and call my colleagues because we may have a big problem. And the last thing we'll need is for us to be scrambling at the last minute trying to find the money trying to find you know help this, you know, or whatever it may be because they didn't have the judgment they weren't adult enough to say I've got a problem or maybe they weren't confident enough. So you know I think in my hiring practice say you said that you like hiring people I um love people I like working in teams but I don't like hiring that much because I've made a lot of mistakes and I haven't made mistakes on um I think credentialed folks and whether I like them et cetera but I made mistakes on fit in terms of what it is that we're trying to do, where we're trying to go what we have in place what tools are available to that particular person to solve the problem. And so I have a lot of anxiety around matching those credentials with maybe something that's new.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But you know I do feel like you need help there as well. So you know maybe maybe you need placement firms or uh you know that come in and run processes for you. And you know they sort of vet a list to get it down to a few that are more suited to what to to um to the job at hand. But I'm just not I'm not great at it. I haven't been great at it.
SPEAKER_02It's the it's that the that you say fit the part that I I can see somebody who you want to be a really great at this job and you're like a great human and I like like you as a great human this isn't the role for you to thrive in. Yes. And like that is a it's it's hard to see when somebody is such an awesome human sometimes. It's hard. And and that is something that with lots of practice and and lots of mistakes and hiring and saying oh that was not the right fit to train my eye to be like you're a great human. I know you want this but this role is not where you're going to thrive.
SPEAKER_06Yes.
SPEAKER_02And like and being able to be really transparent and honest with somebody who like man you're like a really great human and helping and but then I do feel the need to help them go like find like you'd actually probably thrive in this space or in that space because this is not the role for I think the onus is also I mean I have to be honest on me maybe as you as a leader who hires folks and you know what you say to people along the way and how you mentor and develop them.
SPEAKER_01So I prefer to hire from within yeah you know you you want to you want a cast of employees who are all ambitious and eager and looking for that that next stretch assignment and you know my my role is to kind of uh eliminate some of the anxiety around the ambition that we see in young people. Yeah. Right. So what I always try to say is I'll say look two things need to happen here because a lot of times we're working we're working in nonprofits one is I see you as the executive director let's say if they're one down. But there's some things that you know I want to help you with.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I usually try to put those opportunities in their path sometimes it might even be you know developing skills and credentials that will just help yeah with the job. Sometimes it might be like you're saying is putting them in touch with another mentor who can help them give perspective and sometimes it is picking them up when they fail.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And but at the same time if they're not coming along you do have to hire from the outside. So you have to match this sort of responsibility that we have inside the organization to bring these folks along and make these promises that to get back to my earlier point that if it doesn't work here you will have done enough and seen enough that I can make sure that you're gonna end up someplace else.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So at the end of the day you want to be able to say I work with Jason and his group you know I worked on you know MA I worked on you know the balance sheet the income statement you know operations human resources and we did all this global stuff that everybody can see and this is how this is how I'm involved in it. But I have to go and I want to be in a position to say congratulations. Yes because you actually put in the work you did it you grew and now you're making more money you have more responsibility just remember that this is your home so I like to get into that cadence when you can I think it's harder when it's a startup again you know right because um there are so many unknowns uh there's so many pivots in the startup organization that you have to be ready for and when you are in those small small small you know groups I call them heavyweight groups in the very beginning you're you're tied together by more than just you know the work that you're doing and the salary or how much you earn by being there. You know how it is. You're picking up the phone at 9, 101 solving problems, you know about their families uh you know they know if you're not feeling well and if uh you're you're upset with your daughter for whatever reason I'm sure that never happens.
SPEAKER_02But never but you know you're working through some things at home they are your family and so then the motions come in.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_02And you know when folks are eager uh if you're not nurturing it like we're talking about the whole leadership uh conversation it can be uh toxic and and creating boundaries and creating boundaries it's like it's like yes you can be all consuming but there's a way to create like you've got to be able to create boundaries and hold boundaries or else that toxicity just eats away.
SPEAKER_01Yeah or you know young people might say hey you're casual yeah but doesn't give you permission to be casual you know I'm I'm casual because you know I'm trying to operate up here yeah at the strategy level I'm willing willing to do the work but we I hired you to do something and let's begin there did you get it done did you hit the deadline did you you know were you kind to your colleagues or you know were you let's get the basics cover first let's get the basics yeah or you know or are you in opposition to you know the the momentum or maybe even did get something done and it's all about them. Yeah you know and you want to I I like to create the environments where you know yes you will get the credit and you get the benefit from a lot of great work but we do it as a mission. A mission and we do it for the we do it for the for the team. So you know I I say it as if I have it all figured out yeah I don't um you know when I went to grad school got an MBA you know a lot of it was technical right that's all the stuff I paid attention to how I make more money et cetera et cetera and then you have these conversations about um you know organizational behavior and that's my world exactly you and I are like right or bookens power influence and everybody's kind of you know we're we're young at the time everyone is kind of you know not paying attention right but what's funny what we talk about what we're talking about what I talk about with my friends now that we're whatever 20 something years out of grad school is the the organizational behavior often is dominating the the technical skills.
SPEAKER_02The reason why is because it often slows them down. Like you it it it can slow and impede upon the technical skills if your organizational behavior is not one that like cultivates um the the technical skills of threat is that and everybody's good yeah right you know you go to certain organizations where they hire from the best schools and the smartest people they're all smart yeah probably smarter than me but that's not all of it right once you get beyond the I call it eating your spinach can you do the spreadsheet can you break down um you know a strategic problem and communicate it in three slides and all that other kind of stuff and you know kids go to these Ivy League schools and grade schools to learn how to do that.
SPEAKER_01And then it's like okay now we can all do that. Now can you um take that meeting that you didn't want to take because it may lead to something can you uh do you have the judgment to say I did all the analysis I'm out of information but I've seen enough to know that this is a problem yeah or it's not a problem. That's where I'm really you know I'm grading you on your ability to do that.
SPEAKER_02Not your ability to put a spreadsheet I can get that's a commodity right that's like the baseline like of course they're everywhere.
SPEAKER_01They're in China they're in India they're in uh the United States they're they're I can outsource all of it but I need somebody who I can say hey go down to City Hall you know talk to Rebecca I know you're not in city hall but you know talk talk to talk to Rebecca about A B and C distill that information and then make a decision. Yeah and if it's it to me is that to me it's that simple and if you can't do that then then it's not good for uh me it's not good for them it's not good for the body. Yeah so well I'll say that okay this is uh you know we'll we won't use New Haven because we know a lot of the people here I was gonna say I was like our New Haven button yeah let's use an avatar an avatar for New Haven so if if you're in a if you're in a city where kind of these attributes and you wanted to make kind of you know big system systemic change for the better um to make it more equitable for everybody.
SPEAKER_02What are some of the things that you would you would want to do big big small or indifferent it's so interesting because you you ask that and I'm like oh I don't have one thing like I don't have these big things that don't that are not in absence of children. Everything everything that I kind of put my mind to is I I think about how is this going to be better for kids and for the next generation? Because I don't think that right now like how we're moving is like great is is great but I'm like hmm how can I change the school systems to be better for the next generation? Children who are five years old right now with housing insecurity or food insecurity what are we doing so that when they're 10, when they're 15, what needs to happen so that they're not they don't have housing insecurity or food insecurity and and those are the pieces I usually come back to who are the people I need to gather in a room and it's very similar to you and have the conversation about hey there's a problem there's no reason a city this size there's no reason our country should have any five year old any child that is hungry that doesn't know where to lay their head at night like and doesn't have access to a safe like socially safe physically safe emotionally safe learning environment and to me like everything is is goes towards the children who need that space so that they can take on the next generation. Right. So I when you ask that question I'm like oh I only come back to to kids it's the educator in me right like so what needs to happen to create the conditions for kids to thrive.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02And what I I then jump to in my thinking I'm like well what are the barriers who is blocking it so children are not thriving.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And then I think of excuse me then I think of well what policies in place what legislation is in place what like city what city functions are are not working right now or putting a barrier to children thriving in our city.
SPEAKER_01Right. I No I I like it I mean I I uh I mean we're we all approach problems through our lens right through our lens through our lens right and so I do agree that if the the kids are are all right then we're probably all right and um I think that's just a human condition um you know we're we're um we're oriented towards safety of our of our offspring and for ourselves and then once we take care of that again going back to everything we're talking about yeah then I have enough of myself and I have the capacity to really um help others.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_01But again the central question is will my kids be safe? Will they have opportunities? You know can I find a job? You know am I being discriminated against? Do I have to worry about if I'm safe in the streets because you know crime is high. Do I have to move out of our city to go to better public schools because uh New Haven is failing. I'm not saying they're failing or not but yeah if they are failing. So you know your approach through the through the schools is just as as good as any approach because the school system touches everybody. Everybody.
SPEAKER_02Everybody I agree everybody and I and I and your would you say your approach is through business? Like what would you say your approach I wouldn't well I mean like if I'm saying my approach of change and making things better is through education and through the education system or and through maybe like the the political or like the legislative system and policy. What would your like oh I see problem we see the same problems? What's your approach?
SPEAKER_01Trying to solve everything for Yeah, trying to solve everything for I mean you said it's my my approach or where's like where do the where do you come in?
SPEAKER_02Like what's your entry point? My entry point is usually through children through education. What's your entry point?
SPEAKER_01My entry point is through business. Okay, yeah. And it's through uh access to capital. And I feel that way because I know I understand the system. I'm not here to say it's right or it's wrong. It's the system. And America is built on capitalism. And uh we say small government. And I don't care if you're a Republican or Democrat or independent, that's what the field we're all playing on. Yeah. We believe that money solves all problems. The truth is it doesn't, right? But you do need access to capital. And that capital really comes in, I think, three forms. It comes in uh what I would call investment capital or risk-based capital, call that like foreign direct investment or investment, you know, money on the outside that's coming in, and then we're gonna do something with it. It comes from uh taxes, which is like revenue from you know policy and municipal. And I think the other one is really kind of like philanthropy, right? Like that's really all there is. And so we know that, and you've heard me say this before, is like the world is a washing capital, it's everywhere. But the truth is we need more of it here. So I think what I would do after identifying all the problems, is I would try to raise as much money as I could for the city that we're talking about.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01Right. And then I would identify the people and I would put them in position and I would give them the freedom to try to solve particular problems within that bucket or that challenge. So if it's uh you know, health and safety, I'd have a health and safety czar. I'd make sure that that health and safety czar had as much capital as they needed to make real systematic change. If it's uh you know, crime, same thing, if it's education, same thing, if it's uh, you know, kind of like jobs and innovation, same thing. And I would look outside and I'd say, the problems that we're sav that we're trying to solve here are the same problems that we're trying to solve uh domestically and maybe even globally.
SPEAKER_05Yes.
SPEAKER_01And just say, like, so if you're a billionaire in the world and you're contributing money to ABC and cause, do it here. And let's put it to work and let's measure it. And so now you let you, you know, like prove out your theories about, I'm just making up one, let's say uh a big tech billionaire says, I think all of our cities need to be wired for whatever.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh what is it now? Fiber optic. I'd say, okay, what's the cost of that? That's two billion dollars. You give away four billion a year. Let's prove it here. Give us some of that.
SPEAKER_02I love that. Right.
SPEAKER_01Or or or you know, um, and then you can vertically integrate it. You can begin to say, to your point, you could say, all right, well, let's let's follow the children. Like, what is the issue? You know, birth to three is a challenge because a lot of mothers are out of the home, yeah, having to make money. And so they're not trying to neglect their kids, but eventually the kids um are neglected out of necessity. So, what do we put in place there to ensure that those kids are thriving while um you know mothers or fathers are out in the world making their way because they have to.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I know, you know, we have friends that have uh programs and nonprofits that address that exactly. That's why I kind of bring it up. But there's other ways to do that when you identify people like the founder of whatever.
SPEAKER_02If you if you have it's the concentration, it's it's the concentration of that level of uh ingenuity and leadership and saying, I don't, the way it's been done isn't working. So I have no problem saying, let's like scrap the way it's been done and let's try something new. We can take bits and elements, but let's try something new and there's a freedom in that.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And then there's an accountability in that. It's like holding that leader you ch you put in charge of that thing to say, so then make it happen, like solve the problem and like hold them accountable to that.
SPEAKER_01Well, you I think you get into the spiral that is back to business that municipalities get into that are hard to solve if you're working in government. Government's bureaucratic and it's like very, very slow. And I know that when you're an entrepreneur and you're doing anything new, speed is important. Right. You don't have a lot of time. Right. Right. You're constantly uh making judgments about um whether you're under threat, the business model, or if you're head, you're paranoid that someone's catching up.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_01And what ensures that speed, the pivots, is having access to capital and be and being in and having the ability to move fast and know that when you get there, that you have the resources to do it. So in government, what happens many times is you know, it may be the right approach, but then you don't have the funding or all of the funding. So instead of doing all of it and leaving some dry powder, it's it's bits and pieces, it fits and start, you get ahead, and then someone says, well, the metrics aren't there, then there's the excuse in some cases, well, you know, we ran out of funding or, you know, the tax basis was lower than it was in prior years. And then you kind of, you know, make these sort of like incremental improvements. But if you understand like the J curve in just business, which is really investment, and we'll go back to big numbers, um, a billion dollar investment, let's say in infrastructure, is gonna look like a loss. But what we're hoping is that that billion dollars generates, you know, two or three billion dollars worth of value. And then you get into another question: how do you measure that value? How do you measure that value? I know you I'm always talking in terms of value, because that's the way I think about it as a business person. It's like, yeah, if you're holding me to the income statement today, and you don't understand this concept of time, value, money, that I'm measuring the return on investment by, let's go back to education, by the number of children who are actually going on to college, the number of children that go on to college and then come back and then start businesses or um are employed here. Whatever metric is a value metric, um, which is a direct derivative or is a derivative from the work on the policies and the change, you have to be patient for that. And what I worry about, I worry about America is that we are going back and forth, right? We're saying, you know, this group wants this, and then we swing this way. And then and then somebody else takes office and then we swing that way, but we're kind of going like this in the middle, but we never get these wide um, you know, uh moments of change that we can double down on and say, you know what, this is just better. We rarely get there.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_01And uh, you know, I think money, I hate to say it, and access to capital is a way to really avoid some of the fits and starts because you have that dry powder, and to put in place everything you wouldn't need to put in place to manage the narrative. So when somebody says in in you know, in year one, after you put in the the one billion dollars, well, it's not working.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_01Well, it's not supposed to work the first year. Okay, now check with me in on the second year. Oh, you looks like more kids are graduating. Okay, the third year, and then you look up, and with this measure of value, you can say your one billion dollars generated all of this, and it's an insignificant amount of money relative to uh the money you give away every year, but do it here. So I would I would do my best to do that, maybe put together some sort of business council, use their network to bring in folks who are already giving what I always say is they're already giving away the money.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_01But why not here?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And uh so what's the grand bargain? I don't know. Maybe they say, you know, I want to run it. And I may say, well, that's too much. Um, but that's what I would do. I'd start looking out, right, to expand our pie to to become the model citizen. And I think I would put a lot of money into uh advertising.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I'd begin to, I'd begin to tell our story. You know, this is who we were, this is where we are today, here's where we're going. Here's where we're going. And here's what I want you to hold me accountable to. And I would just hammer it.
SPEAKER_02I mean, that's what we need to do just as a state in Connecticut. Like, right? When when like what is like Connecticut's, what's Connecticut's draw? Like what's like, you know, like, and maybe coming from from California, like I there, there's a very there's a something about being Californian. If you're from Texas, there's something about being Texan. Like what is like how what's the draw for the state of Connecticut, for people to not just say it is, oh, we're between New York City and Boston. It's like, no, it's like us.
SPEAKER_01Like Well, it's a it's evolving. I mean, it's a narrative. So if you're in lower Fairfield County, it's a suburb of New York City, right? We know that. So it's just it's as long as New York is there, that's always gonna be that, unless we get a fast train. And I mean, not like a you know, Excel that goes a few miles per hour faster than you know, like a like a real bullet train. Then I think that expands for, you know, as long as you're within an hour, let's say, of New York, it's a suburb of New York. But what's the draw to invest in Connecticut? Here's here's what I'm saying. And so, but then there's a history, right? Yeah. So the history is um, you know, New Haven and Bridgeport could have been uh, you know, I won't say they Boston, but they could have been, you know, Detroit.
SPEAKER_02I mean, it could have amazing. I mean 1931 should have been the first HBCU right here in New Haven.
SPEAKER_01It could be a lot, it could be a lot of things. And then if you go up the road to Hartford, we knew that that's a financial center for the world through insurance, some of which has moved down to Stanford, some of which has moved into New York City. So the the provenance and the history of Connecticut is you come here to make money and raise your family. And then we got aerospace and defense, you know, we got all the whatever. So the DNA of what it was is uh is solid.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, right?
SPEAKER_01It's a solid foundation, but the world has changed.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So a lot of that manufacturing is left, a lot of the banking has become global, et cetera, et cetera. So jobs are disappearing. So the the real question is, and I'm gonna the question is, so who are we? Well, we're the shoreline, we're like beautiful countryside, we are um proximity to New York City, we're proximity to Boston or whatever, we just lean on that. It's quiet. And if you need to get to Boston, you need to get to New York, I think that's what's great about Connecticut is that it sort of is the best of all of it. I mean, if you get up towards, you know, Mystic, it's it's uh it feels like I mean it is New England, but it feels like the Cape, you know, because we're you're going into the Cape and it's it feels like uh you know resort like it's beautiful in the summer. People come up here to visit and enjoy it. Double down on that.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, if you go up to you know the corner, Lichfield County, love it up there. Yeah the hikes and the whatever, own that. And then if you're in, let's say, New Haven and Hartford, etc., to me that's the turnaround strategy. Who do we want we want to become? So if you're kinetic, I mean if you're New Haven, you know, let's let's lean into what we really do have. We have multiple universities. We have an award-winning research institution in Yale, New Haven Health. We have Yale.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01We have uh motivated government who's trying to do things. We have smart people like you who are focused on whatever, and it's not a big city. There's not a lot to really uh it feels like a lot because there's a lot of money, but there's not a lot to really one or two big things could change it. One major employer could can change the entire dynamics of New Haven if an entrepreneur comes here and they build, you know, the next thing, unicorn. Right. Right. So I think Connecticut needs to be Connecticut, right? Tell our story, our history, let people know what we're what we're doing and where we're headed, and invite people to invest in it. And not saying that's easy, but I think we do know enough people where you can get one or two of those billionaires here to say, do your work here. Yeah, do it with us.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh you don't get carte blanche, right, but you can really make an impact in a short period of time. And Bridgeport should do, should do the same thing, and you know, et cetera.
SPEAKER_02So and then it becomes a proof point. Like we become for for other states and for other spaces to say, like, this is when when you do take a full investment, when you do like create the conditions, these are the conditions that can be created to support community and to to make a change in a state, which I think other states, I mean, they're always looking at each other.
SPEAKER_01I think. Well, I mean, you you have to be willing to really break things. But if you but if you're gonna break them, you have the resort, you have to have the resources to build them back. Yes. And I think what happens with politicians, I've never been a politician, but I've worked around politicians, is you know, they have limited resources. So they have to express what they want to do, knowing that they're not gonna be able to get all the way there.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_01And then hope that they've done enough between um, you know, with in in between election cycles to get re-elected the next time. I think the dynamic changes if you're not worried about the resources to get it done. You just say, This is what I'm going to do. Yes. And then you're accountable. And then at the end of the day, you either get re-elected because you did what you said you were going to do, and people are happy about that or not.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But we know it doesn't work like that. It doesn't work like that. It doesn't work like that.
SPEAKER_02At the moment.
SPEAKER_01Well, I don't know if it's ever gonna work like that, but it doesn't work like that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And so you gotta work within the system, but we're talking about what you can add on to the system to get around what we know is inherent to trying to do we always have to work within the system?
SPEAKER_02Like it, because yeah, like if the system doesn't work, and I'm not talking about like, how do you work around capitalism? Like that's like in the foundation of that's like that is the our economic system.
SPEAKER_01I don't think you walk, I don't think you work around it. I think you embrace it. I mean, I think first you gotta say, well, what's wrong with it? So what? All right, so uh those are the things that are wrong, here's what we're gonna do too. This is what we're working with. Yeah, and then we got everything else that runs through it. It's like, you know, we have racism, we have uh like classism, we have all these other things that are woven into you know our way of life. And then you have to say, okay, I'm a you I'm going to use that tool, but here's where I depart from that tool. I'll say that the government now, we're talking about the government, has a responsibility to ensure a middle class. That's my opinion. Okay. I do think that governments can do that while holding on to the tenets of capitalism, which is really what's underpinning the American dream. So you have to keep people's dreams alive. I can come to New Haven, I can raise my family, and I can get ahead or sustain. Like that's it. We're just stuck here. It's a place I can live, it's where I'm from, I don't have a lot. One subsidizer set and the other. I believe that for certain people, government can pave the way. Like people should have a right to health care, right? Some basic healthcare. People should have a right to a decent education. They should they have a right to safe cities and safe streets. So for me, those are non-negotiables. We're gonna we would try to make that happen. And then outside of that, it's like, okay, now what is the continuum of what we do, let's say, within education? Do we want a test-based school? What does that do? Does it keep more people in? Well, you know, crowds have certain people like, yeah, but it also keeps people here that are uh great members of our society, but they're they're driving in from the suburbs because they feel like they can't afford the private schools here and that the schools are failing them. So if we gave them something, now we increase our tax basis. Okay, then it's like, well, what do we do about the people who are displaced? All right, well, we can do stuff about that too. So, like if you think about the different orders and you have the money to do it, you can ensure that there's certain social services that we provide that are basic rights, education, whatever. While we also hold on to the tenants of, but we're gonna we're gonna make it easy for you to make money. We want you to be here so that you can make money because that creates more jobs. So it's that balance between those two things. Um yeah, there's gonna be there's gonna be angry groups in the process because you may have to break, not saying break the unions, I'm not saying that, but I'm saying you may have to negotiate with unions and uh, you know, balk on some concessions while you give some concessions, but let's be honest, it's not working.
SPEAKER_02And what you're what you're saying is there is something about having the I don't know if it's courage to just to say that, say, this isn't working. Yes, it's gonna be, there's there's gonna be inequity, and but like here, here is how we're going to make things better. Like there it's almost like it's almost saying there's always gonna be things are never gonna be like equal. There's always gonna be some inequity, but it could be what we could be doing things better than by trying to make everything and equity is different than equality. Recognize that, but trying to lift everybody up at one time is not is is like not the pattern.
SPEAKER_01Well, I don't think you can lift everybody, I think we can lift more people up, yeah. And that we can have an egalitarian system that's based on the greater good for everybody. So I may be a little worse off because I pay higher taxes, but I benefit from that if everybody's doing it, because I could use the public schools if I wanted to use the public schools. So I'm willing to make that trade-off, right? Somebody may say, whatever the other end of that from their particular station. So if you go with the greater good theory, we're all sacrificing and we're all gaining.
SPEAKER_05There you go.
SPEAKER_01And I think I think the leaders have to be good or better about just those sound bites. And this is the part I don't understand. I don't understand the lack of honesty in politics. Right. And so if somebody says to me we have a crime problem and we want to reduce crime, and crime doesn't go down, I want to know why. Right. Why?
SPEAKER_02Well, we didn't have enough police officers, we didn't have enough equipment, we didn't have enough uh you don't think that that's somebody's like personal ego coming into play because there's always this the well, I need to get re-elected and I need to, and and to me that's like a it's it becomes all about the the ego and not about the the collective or the the like saying no, just be honest about it. I just hold people accountable. Just like just people just don't want to admit when they're when when something doesn't go right, like or you don't want to admit when you're wrong. You're like, just admit it, just open it.
SPEAKER_01I say so what? So like the so what is you know, I want to change our immigration policies. And so when I change our immigration policies, we as a country will be X, Y, and Z. You're accountable.
SPEAKER_02You said this is what you want. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Like at the end of the day, it's like it's gotta be better. And so we can give time for that, but it just has to be better, right? And so I say, okay, so so what? And I may not agree, but at least we want to hold folks to the to the so what. So if you just I'm making it smaller, if you say New Haven has a crime problem, perceived or real, I'd say, so what are you doing about it? And they would say, okay, I'm doing A, B, and C. And I and I would say, you're effective or you're not. And then they may say, Well, I couldn't do it because I had a great plan, but I didn't have enough money. Okay, let's try to get, let's try to solve that. Or if I just had this, I could do this, that, and the other. But I don't want to hear, you should re-elect me when I promise I was going to fix something, right? And there's no signs that it's being fixed. Right. That's the part that fails me.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it is all ripe for manipulation through like fake news and social media and uh now AI and dupes and all that kind of stuff. So you don't really know what's real, and we're we're in these echo chambers. But the the challenge is to elevate that, right? To say, I don't care what they say, these are the numbers on both sides. We said crime was gonna go down by 10% and it didn't, it went up by 10%. We have a problem. And I want to know we have a problem before we have a big problem.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_01When we're in the yellow, not when we're in the red. And then I want to have enough money and enough people and enough smart people around it to be able to say, okay, now we're gonna push on something else because that didn't work. So this I like that.
SPEAKER_02So what? Like, all right, so what? Like, what are we in? do about it and then if you and then and then saying and if you need help like what do you need to get to the get to the stow what like to to solve this issue.
SPEAKER_01Yeah because that's yeah with our kids are like yeah I got an issue.
SPEAKER_02I'm like okay so what?
SPEAKER_01What are you gonna do about it? Right. So what do you got a bad grade? So you got the bad grade so what are we doing differently? Now let's dig into it.
SPEAKER_02We can study enough uh to you're in the wrong class or teachers man you whatever then how do we hold you accountable to like do the things you need so you get a better grade and if you do those things and you get a better grade well then there I get worked out and if you don't if you don't get a better grade then it's a okay now what?
SPEAKER_01Now what what do you think and then and then the permission to and that's why I do sort of like these what I call you know heavyweight teams outsourced whatever is then you want to say okay you have the capacity and you have the resources to sprint at this your job is to fix education and I have your back. At the end of the day it's gonna go up or it's gonna go I mean the the the the metrics are going to go up in our favor they're gonna go down against us. But remember we're telling the public come here because we're making improvements. Yeah and then we raise the baseline and then we we go from there. And and when you have a plan that's why I said marketing when you have a plan and you communicate it everybody knows what they need to do. So for education my education plan is I'm gonna do A, B, and C and I'm looking for you know money, certain kind of teacher, certain kind of resources, certain kind of connection to uh higher education and I'm looking for those partners. So then you just go out and you do it and then you you start to measure. Yeah but without that you're just what I say you're marking time. You get paid you get paid for being the politician and I'm not impressed. And I'm not talking about any one specific person. I mean you know I you know politicians serve and it's a big deal but you know I'm holding them as accountable as I hold myself.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_01Meaning generate results and if you if you're not having results then just tell me.
SPEAKER_02I that that's the piece like being able to be about results because that's what I hold myself to like if like if I'm gonna do something and I say I'm gonna do it I'm like I'm gonna hold myself accountable to doing the thing. And if I need something I'm gonna ask for it. And if I if I don't make the mark I'm gonna own it and I'm gonna say I didn't make the mark here's what I need to do differently. Yeah. It is very frustrating when and and I so then I expect that of others but we know that others don't don't always show up like that.
SPEAKER_01Well and it's a it's a young I say it I mean I'm not tired but it's a young person's game right I I like you know it's coming full circle I I like finding the young people with that energy um that when you give them the the support they just they run through they just get it done.
SPEAKER_02They get it done and they'll figure out any ways ways that I I might not I'm like I wouldn't have thought of that but I work yeah and so my my highest and best use I feel like at least and I can do some of it still but like is to be that mentor yeah to guide to listen and to encourage and it's a cliche but it's you know can we find that next generation of activists leaders who want to do their work here.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_01And do we have the resources to support them and put them into our engine and let them do their thing. And the last thing I would say is and also be okay when they fail.
SPEAKER_02Yeah because that's the problem it's like and so if you fail get up and do it again get up and do it and we have to be able to say yes and we have to say yes and get up do it again like do something else do it differently like yes.
SPEAKER_01I'm trying to build a soccer team here. Yes it's a family affair at this point I'm determined to make it something that's good for our city so I can leave it to other people who want to run so that when I come back here 20 30 40 years from now it's still kind of doing its thing maybe in the same form or if not better but it's going to require me bringing in people who have more energy than I do. Right.
SPEAKER_02I don't know if they have better ideas than that but it's about a it's a it's the generational impact that then continues for generations. And that and and that is I think one of the biggest points of our leadership and even this conversation today that I'm taking away is how we are leading the next generation of leaders and how we're guiding them and mentoring them because they have there's there's much to be done and they are so primed to do it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah and we're only called to lead or remain in this position if we deliver it's true. It's true right because I feel like we're a steward of not just the capital but of the people of the community or whatever. We're positioning ourselves as that. That's who we want to be and I would say we don't deserve to strive if we're losing all the time.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_01But we win most of the time but I don't win all the time and I've often often said so why do I have to apologize for a failure when I know that capitalism and venture capital and all that kind of stuff is built on a concept of most of you will fail. Yeah. But we got to keep letting people fail because we got to get to that person who's gonna win who makes transformational change. And that's a system that's an ideology that's a way of life and that's like getting people to realize like this is a place to be there's enough for you here. Yeah and we're building it and come join with that we're done with it.