Rosabeth Moss Kanter The Change Master RSS Feed

Top 10 Ways Obama Can Change American Culture

2:53 PM Monday December 15, 2008

Tags:Election 2008, Generational issues, Innovation, Leadership transitions

In the transition to the Obama administration, I have been interviewed by old and new media about President-Elect Obama's stimulus package, which I applaud for its focus on job creation through short-term infrastructure upgrades combined with longer term investments in technologies of the future.

But I think that what Barack Obama could really change is American culture - and with it, the work ethic and business norms that can support recovery and competitiveness.

So here is my David Letterman-style Top 10 list of how President Obama will shape a new culture. The items are fun, but the message is no joke - there are serious reasons these changes could help the economy.

10. It will be cool to make jump shots AND do well in school.

America is losing competitiveness because we're not educating every child. In some disadvantaged communities, the long-shot of sports or rock star fame seems the only path to success, not staying in school. Obama's model is already changing that, and if it succeeds, America's stock of human capital will increase.

9. Middle-of-the-night studying will replace middle-of-the-night prowling.

Discipline is everything. So are mentors. Obama's grandmother held him to high standards. We could do the same for our colleagues, employees, and children. Hard work built America, and hard work can build a positive future.

8. Kansas will go cosmopolitan and develop children like Obama's mother, with curiosity about other countries.

Obama's Midwestern mother, Stanley Dunham, studied other cultures and took her son abroad. Will more Americans now understand how much there is to learn from other cultures, and how important that knowledge is for success in global marketplaces?

7. Dreams from My Father will be taught in English literature classes, mainstreaming the Chicago black experience.

Obama's first book is a lyrical classic. It might encourage people to talk openly about their backgrounds, thus deepening human bonds necessary for teamwork and collaboration.

6. No matter how important the task, people will put it aside to visit their dying grandmother.

On the eve of the election, Obama stopped campaigning for the most powerful job in the world to put family first. In many companies, work-life flexibility exists in theory more than practice. When will all managers increase compassion and acknowledge that work is not all there is to life?

5. Students will aspire to be community organizers rather than investment bankers.

Obama chose organizing over analyzing. Which career path looks more likely to propel people to the top today? Besides, companies need people with organizing skills, who know how to mobilize support for new ideas.

4. Foreigners will be the hot new date, because if marriage follows, the offspring could be over-achievers.

We'll never know whether Obama's genius genes came from his white mother or his black African father. Three cheers for diversity! Maybe more managers will look beyond race, gender, and ethnicity to find major talent.

3. Unusual first names will replace nicknames, giving everyone a little more R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

I might be alone here, but I'm tired of hearing people first-name or nickname people they have never met (including me). Polite formalities first, please. Respecting others facilitates deal-making.

2. Politicians will try to sound intelligent rather than like folksy beer-drinkers.

Brainpower is an under-rated item on lists of leadership traits. Like Obama, the people in charge of big assets should be big thinkers with the best education.

1. After saying, "Hello, how are you?" people will ask, "And how are you improving the world this week?"

I anticipate a big surge in national service under Obama. Federally-supported opportunities will expand through a bill now in Congress. Companies will emulate IBM in creating their own service corps to develop younger leaders through doing good around the world. Service could become a lifelong expectation.

Leaders are powerful role models. I have high hopes for Obama as culture-shaper - and for all of us who like these values and can act on them.

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Comments

Any real, deep, and independent study on Obama's rise to power will quickly reveal none of the above points (besides getting his book into schools) are on his mind or will occur between 2009-2012.

The Obama model IS clear; Milk your socio-economic status around rich, influential liberals. Latch on and ride them to the top. Talk and say nothing. Increase taxes where it hurts the U.S. the most. Appear as a kind father figure to a newly-created intellectual poor. Do nothing for their plight but talk and say nothing. Lame duck it to 2010. Campaign for next time.

- Posted by Truth 
December 15, 2008 9:32 PM

Ignoring "Truth" in lies clothing. Applauding your article. Negativity is the new FAIL, particularly when not fact-based.

- Posted by Wow 
December 16, 2008 4:21 AM

"Ignoring 'Truth...'" seems par for the course this year in politics.

- Posted by Truth 
December 16, 2008 10:25 AM

Why not try to be positive and give this guy, our new President a chance to prove his ideals? Being negative, in the near term, will do nothing but inhibit and keep down those that are trying to raise this country up. At least give him the same courtesy we afforded President Bush!

- Posted by Teacher 
December 16, 2008 11:09 AM

Mr Obama will give this country the stimulation it needs to get back on track and lead us into another direction. My only memory of the former administration will be of the atrocities in Iraq and our economic collapse.

- Posted by Worker 
December 16, 2008 11:39 AM

I do not understand why work ethic & business norms ought to be changed in the first place. The World looks up to how firms conduct business in America and to legends in American business.
Perhaps I misunderstood that part, so any elaboration would be appreciated.

I believe a clear distinction should be made here between leading a nation and leading a business. There was this case study given in one of my execed programs about Bobby Knight's leadership qualities Vs that of Coach K's. I always wondered why the professor saw absolutely no leadership qualities in Bobby Knight's character despite the results. I just couldn't relate the work dynamics of a finance team at -say- Goldman Sachs to those of a football team ! This is where I think that the prerequisites to success differ, and where the concept of leadership ceases to apply in a universal manner: One may very well be the best at what he/she does best, but that certainly can't be everything. There's no doubt about that top-10 list being the perfect prescription to upgrading America in the World, but I think expectations are now way overstated given the total disconnection between him and his cabinet members, especially our new Secretary of State and our enchanting new VP.

I need to hear more about that top-10 list during our mass on a Sunday morning so that men & women can be better parents at home, but not for a president to deliver better at the Oval Office.

- Posted by Marwan Abdo 
December 16, 2008 2:43 PM

I agree with the article (except for one thing *) and with all of the posted comments; I also think Mr. Obama is not the only one in charge of getting back on track the US, there is also responsability of the Congress and and the American People.
*I think that most of American People and business are a good example of ethics.

- Posted by Antonio 
December 16, 2008 7:15 PM

#5 is pretty suspect.

It has got to be pretty cool to work for an investment banking firm where the U.S. government guarantees bonuses - an pays them from public funds. Not many market segments can boast that kind of assurances.

- Posted by Cary King 
December 19, 2008 3:22 PM

As a foreigner & a believer in human capital which survives at all odds, I love the article. Dont know if Obama can make it happen but the path is there. Bush was an insult to this Great Nation...I like it for the following points:
-I hate it that people are too arrogant to make an effort to pronounce my Name & give me nick name...
-I find it unbelievable that parents are chasing running driving children to baseball matches instead of telling to work for a good grade point.Especially if they can see that sponsorship & National leagues may really reduce on an eco downturn
-I was Shocked that people didnt know India & China or even Asia when I was in Phoenix and met a couple on the lift..they thought I was Peurto Rican
-If I dont roll my r"s doesnt mean I am illiterate.
-America is a dream for hard workers and now the hard workers are the immigrants- mexicans & Chinese.Everybody else is happy wiht social security like the woman who had no means but tried create babies she couldnt feed...& expected the hardworking taxpayers to feed her and her children.Well in today's world she would be given the money & children would be taken care of...Hey its her eggs she is still fertile & can breed again.....who cares what gene pool she is creating & how she is going to bring up her children? Wont they do the same thing?
-I have an addition what about making sure children go to school at an early age and not after 5...hey You are competing with India & China....in those countries children can read a whole bible at 5 & do complex math calculation...why leave the education to teen mothers & not professional teachers?

- Posted by sandy 
March 3, 2009 4:14 PM

We are confident, despite initial natural resistance to change, USA is on the right track with President Barack Obama's leadership. We pray that good sense prevails and univeral values of peace and brotherhood are restored everywhere.

Sir. Martin Luther King's dream has been realised. The victory is historic and once the momentum sets in ....nothing can stop the progress of USA..I have great faith in the democratic values working in the USA. The process is going to a testing and learning time for all.

The whole world is looking at Mr Barack Obama to unie the whole world after he solves the economic crisis facing the country.

We in India, wish him all the best. He has made a special place in our hearts....

Regards

Renu Munjal

- Posted by Renu Munjal 
March 27, 2009 1:15 AM

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The editors

Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, where she specializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. Her strategic and practical insights have guided leaders of large and small organizations worldwide for over 25 years. The former Editor of Harvard Business Review (1989-1992), Professor Kanter has been named to The Times of London list of the “50 most powerful women in the world”.

Her latest book, SuperCorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Innovation, Profits, Growth, and Social Good, will be published in August 2009. At Harvard, she is chair and director of the Advanced Leadership Initiative, a University-wide faculty group aimed at deploying a leadership force of experienced leaders who can address challenging national and global problems in their next stage of life.

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