Tom Tierney

Thomas Tierney, the founder of Bridgespan and former CEO of Bain & Co., combined his sharp analysis of social change and his passion about John Gardner’s mentoring and influence on him in telling a riveting personal story at the 2009 Purpose Prize Summit.

I too was mentored by Gardner. I cherish these chances to place in a current context Gardner’s influence as a social innovator, thinker and whose mentoring guidance has a lasting impact on our public and private lives.

Tierney’s was the third annual John Gardner lecture. These lectures demonstrate Gardner’s living legacy. Tierney made clear why purpose in life must reach beyond being acquisitive about money, stand for reaching beyond self and recognizing that an anchor in society requires independent, effective and accountable non-profit organizations that embrace strong, effective and accountable leadership.

It means taking the risk of starting organizations that neither reach their goals nor make the difference hoped for. Without trying people cannot live lives of being dedicated to serve others, to think and act past yourself. The effort of trying is about pushing yourself to live your ideals, to renew yourself, to recognize you cannot do it alone and to be prepared to share what you have learned—those ever present nuggets of learning and the things you would rather forget.

As Encore Careers builds a social movement, John Gardner’s consequential life stands out as an inspiration and guide. As Gardner fondly reminded us, life was “not a riddle but an endless unfolding with self-discovery.” As we work to build our Encore Career movement in a period where people are severely hurting economically, and where opportunities continue to abound but in less obvious ways, Gardner’s understanding of the American experience at its best is about America
trying must be a constant reminder.

Gardner’s lessons come to mind for people building a movement:

1. Stay interested in the world around you and others.
2. Leadership requires your recognizing you cannot do it all by yourself.
3. Help release the energy of others. Each of us has an important part to play.
4. The excitement of democratic practice and experience is its uncertainty. Prepare yourself for surprises.
5. Learn as you go. Use that learning for reflection.
6. Remember that change is an ongoing struggle. Battles have to be fought again even after success.
7. Stamina and persistence matter.
8. Create networks of responsibility. Those networks will help us focus on our common efforts.