A Master Class In Common Sense
Thursday March 1, 2012 | Filed under:
I admire anyone with the guts to take a stand on unpopular issues – whether I agree with those positions or not. So it was refreshing to hear former Mayor Richard Daley discuss hot-button topics like gun control, education and competing with China in his recent interview with ASI Radio.
After the Ohio school shooting, Daley said frankly: “There are just too many guns in America.”
During his interview with ASI Radio, Daley said we’re becoming numb to violence: “I know it’s very controversial and people want to stay away from it, but we are arming America … It’s just another headline, and people don’t realize what it does to families and to the children in these schools.”
The interview advances Daley’s July 19 keynote at the ASI trade show in Chicago titled “City CEO: Rising to Challenges and Change.” Click here to listen to the interview in its entirety, and click here to register for the keynote and the meet and greet with Chicago’s longest-running mayor.
In his keynote, Daley will share turnaround stories and discuss changes that affect businesses at all levels. He’ll also offer a hands-on lesson in leadership, crisis management and preparing for future business challenges in any economy.
Daley, who served Chicago for 22 years, is credited with revamping the city’s public school system and overhauling public housing. Since leaving City Hall in May, Daley joined a law firm and became a distinguished senior fellow at the University of Chicago.
In the interview, Daley made a great point about the state of U.S. manufacturing: There isn’t one college or business school in America that teaches manufacturing. Wisely, he suggests that what business leaders learn in plants, steel mills, factories and the like can easily be applied to government.
Daley thinks the best way to battle bureaucracy in either business or government is to appoint project managers to get things done. “You really have to be a problem-solver,” Daley said. “Bring people together and take a holistic approach. Hold people accountable. That’s key.”
The best way to accomplish something? Stop studying issues to death, Daley said. “Make a decision and move on.” Anyone who’s ever sat through endless rounds of meetings where nothing seems to get accomplished can relate to that, I’m sure.
Let me know what you think of the interview by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.