H E S S E L B E I N & C O M P A N Y

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by France s Hes s e lbe in

Harvard Business School turned 100 years old this year. I was happy to accept an invi-tation to speak on the morning of the day-long celebration, which ended with a greatparty on the lawn in a giant white tent. On our panel were two other leaders: Johann

Olav Koss, one of the greatest winter athletes of all time—a four-time Olympic gold medal-ist in speed skating—and Nancy Barry, the former president of Women’s World Bank, nowwith Inter-American Development Bank.

I often ask people, “What do you think was the subject the three of us were invited to speakon?” Everyone guesses something about leadership and management (after all, it is a businessschool). They are as surprised as I was to learn the topic we were asked to address: “ChangingHearts, Changing Minds.” I added “Changing Lives,” for that is what we do when we changehearts and minds. Each of us was invited to share in five or six minutes a story of an action wetook in our own careers that changed hearts and minds.

As I read the invitation I knew the story I wanted to share. It happened when I served as CEOof the Girl Scouts of the USA, and it involved Harvard Business School faculty members. It isdocumented in a Harvard Business School case study and in the lives of millions of Girl Scouts.

In July 1976 I left the mountains of western Pennsylvania to become CEO of the Girl Scoutsof the USA—the first national executive to come from the field, from within the organization,since 1912. It was the largest organization for girls and women in the world, 650,000 men andwomen serving 2.25 million girls. The organization had lived through the trauma of the ’60s

CHANGINGHEARTS,CHANGINGMINDS—CHANGINGLIVES

H E S S E L B E I N & C O M P A N Y

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and the early ’70s, but the program had not changed in 12years and the organization was ready for a transformation.The world had changed.

We were determined to become highly relevant, to takethe lead into the future. Our hearts hungered for change,but how could we change minds, become a highly con-temporary, highly effective organization of the future—changing lives in this changing society?

Our remarkable people produced remarkable results. Inone year, with the help of four distinguished educators,we created a new, highly contemporary program forgirls—heavy on math, science, and technology. Com-puter Fun became the most popular proficiency badge.And we quickly more than tripled racial and ethnicmembership and strengthened minority participationon the national board, on my management team, and in335 councils across the country, creating a richly diversecohesive organization.

But even with these impressive achievements, I realizedwe had not fully changed hearts and minds. As I workedwith the 335 Girl Scout Council CEOs, the indispensa-ble team, I was aware that some did not see themselveslife-size. If they did not see themselves life-size, how couldthey see the organization and the future life-size?

So two and a half years into the transformation, we wentto Harvard Business School to talk with Dr. Regina Her-zlinger about the possibility of a team of business schoolprofessors developing a Corporate Management Seminarfor Girl Scout executives, just for us.

She immediately saw the value of our proposal and,with Dr. Jim Heskett and several other professors, de-signed the most powerful executive development sem-inar for 335 local council CEOs and 100 national staffmembers. Our people participated—50 at a time—until all had completed the Harvard Corporate Man-

agement Seminar for Girl Scout Executives, and eachhad a Harvard certificate to hang in their office, withnew spirit, new appreciation, high motivation. Some500 hearts, minds, lives were changed.

Now when you make available this exposure to great ac-ademic leaders in the perfectly designed leadership devel-opment opportunity, you ignite a revolution of risingexpectations. So, they asked, “What’s next?”

These were the CEOs responsible for a cookie sale thatgenerated a third of a billion dollars every year; they wereresponsible for hundreds of conference centers, camps,headquarters buildings, impressive budgets. So “what’snext” became Dr. Herzlinger’s “Asset Management Sem-inar”—an enormous contribution to the effective finan-cial management of a great organization.

With this investment by a team of Harvard BusinessSchool professors in the development of the key profes-sional leaders of a great movement, membership soared—the adult workforce grew from 650,000 to 788,000, andracial-ethnic membership more than tripled, changinghearts, changing minds, changing lives throughout theGirl Scouts of the USA.

What was an indispensable ingredient, the initiative inthis massive transformation of the largest organization forgirls and women in the world?

It was the major investment in the leadership develop-ment of our key professional leaders, and having the bestbusiness school faculty in the world to partner with us.An interviewer once asked me, “What led you to chooseHarvard Business School faculty?” My reply, “It’s simple.Only the best is good enough for those who serve girls.”

Telling that story was my contribution to a great 100thBirthday Celebration. Isn’t it amazing how circular lifecan be?

After that first round of professional leadership develop-ment programs, Peter Drucker himself provided a similaropportunity at Claremont University for the 335 GirlScout Council Chairmen and the National Board.

Changing hearts and minds means changing lives. Weremember Peter Drucker advising us that “the bottomline of every social sector, nonprofit organization is

We were determined to take

the lead into the future.

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changing lives.” Sometimes when I’ve used this quotefrom Peter Drucker with corporate leaders, some willsay, “The bottom line for our company is changinglives, as well. The services, the products we deliverchange lives.” And frequently, corporate leaders sharethe remarkable success they are having with their owncorporate social responsibility projects. A few years ago,it was not the usual response. Today it is, and the suc-cess is dramatic, the results measurable.

Since then, I have been to Grapevine, Texas for the Mil-itary Child Education Coalition 10th Annual Confer-ence, with the theme “For the Sake of the Child, forthe Good of the World,” with 800 military officers fromall five branches and their spouses. They met working tosupport the 1.8 million children of our military, chil-dren going to schools all over our country, all over theworld. Some move frequently, some have both parentsserving in the military. If you want to be inspired, goto the Military Child Education Coalition Web site andsee some of the artwork of these children. “My father,my hero” is the caption on one watercolor portrait ofhimself and his father by a seventh grader whose fatheris serving far away.

The opening session touched our hearts and our mindsas Lieutenant Colonel Greg Gadson, his wife Kim, andtwo teenage children came on stage, Colonel Gadson in awheelchair. Both Colonel Gadson and Kim Gadson aregraduates of West Point, class of 1989.

In May 2007, Colonel Greg Gadson, Commander of theSecond Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, was returning froma memorial service for two soldiers from his battalionwhen he lost both his legs to a roadside bomb in Bahdad.Currently assigned to the Army’s Warrior TransitionBrigade, Colonel Gadson told us, “It’s not about whathappens to you in life. It’s about what you do about it.” Ashusband and wife talked about their lives, the family’s livesthey are living today, duty, honor, courage, and love werepalpable. Real people, real lives, real courage. Later in anafternoon in a Distinguished Lecture breakout sessionGabby Gadson, age 17, and Jaelen Gadson, age 15 led in“Living in the New Normal: A Kid’s Perspective, “ with aWest Point faculty facilitator. The children were as mov-ing and inspiring as their parents.

Dr. Darlyne Bailey, Dean of the College of Education &Human Development at the University of Minnesotawas the first keynote speaker and her opening presenta-tion on preparing our children to be the leaders of to-morrow set the perfect tone for what followed. JimCollins opened the second day of the conference with apowerful keynote address that moved everyone in theaudience to a new level of appreciation of the messagesof Good to Great for the military and its families. Noone will forget his passion, his energy, his message.

General William E. (Kip) Ward and I had a “FiresideChat for Military Leaders” on improving the academiclives of military children. We included “learning aboutthe social sector as a means for significant change.” Gen-eral Ward is the Commander of the new United StatesArmy Africa Command. He and his wife Joyce are pas-sionate advocates for the care and education of the chil-dren of our military.

Once again I had the privilege of serving with a greatleader—General “Kip” Ward—who changes hearts,minds, and lives, including mine.

This Military Child Education Coalition, caring for theschoolchildren of the military, is serving in the mostcaring and responsive way that underscores ourtheme—Changing Hearts, Changing Minds, Chang-ing Lives. I’ve never had a greater honor than being partof this program, which permits me to work with mili-tary officers and spouses and makes me realize ever moredeeply that “to serve is to live,” as these military fami-lies work to make the best of separation and stress. Nocomplaints, ever—they serve with pride and dedicationand their children reflect the family’s “Duty, Honor,Country” values. “To serve is to live.”

Frances Hesselbein is editor-in-chief of Leader to

Leader, founding president of the Drucker Foun-

dation, chairman of the board of governors of the

Leader to Leader Institute, and former chief ex-

ecutive officer of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.