Brain: Bob Bruininks

Thomas Friedman, for his understanding, insight, and eloquent voice. Harvard professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, for showing how high expectations breed excellence and her insights into improving performance. Peter Peterson, former U.S. secretary of commerce, who has made it his personal mission to help America understand that we are bankrupting our children and must work now to safeguard the future.

Abraham Lincoln, a common man with uncommon gifts as a communicator and leader. Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals is a fascinating portrait of a man confronting challenges on all sides with insight, skill, self-confidence, and humility. Benjamin Franklin was extremely intelligent, involved in many of the great issues and advances of his day, and always working for the common good. On top of that, he was generally well liked—which, as in Lincoln’s case, is its own form of genius.

Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning and E. F. Schumacher’s Small Is Beautiful: Economics as If People Mattered [which] seems particularly compelling right now.

Once I complained to my late father, Henry, that something he asked me to do was difficult, if not impossible. He didn’t buy the argument—instead, he calmly responded, “Bob, can’t means lazy.”

The first one that comes to mind is Leonard Maretta, one of my college music teachers.

Not acting soon enough on good information, good advice, and good instincts. I’ve failed to act decisively on occasion due to fear of criticism or opposition, and I’ve had to learn that your capital—personal or organizational—grows when you take prudent risks to invest in making our world a better place.

My wife, Susan, and I like to escape to our cabin on the Gunflint Trail. I love to canoe, kayak, and fish; we also ride and show American saddlebred horses. Of course, we enjoy spending time with our families—we have three grandsons now. And the arts and culture scene [here] is fantastic!

Probably not. It would likely cause me to be more analytical and less decisive. Besides, I get fifty more IQ points every time I consult with talented colleagues and students.

People smart. The truth is, our world is full of smart, skilled, and creative people. Everyone has something to contribute—it’s our task to see the potential in those around us and to empower them to achieve that potential.

Mozart—what a genius! Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.

Our ability—or inability—to harness our creativity and human capital to work toward a shared, long-term vision for the future. At nearly every level of leadership—local, state, national, and world—we find ourselves caught in an us-versus-them mentality, pursuing short-term gains, and pushing off tough long-term challenges.

Let’s hope so. No one would’ve picked me to run a university in my high school days. Wisdom comes from experience, primarily from your mistakes and willingness to learn from them.

George Eliot once said, “What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?” I believe we all bear a responsibility to help those around us to the best of our abilities. Whatever skills we possess, whatever gifts we have to give, should be used to serve the greater good.