Turnaround, by Mitt Romney: on Principles & Values

Has “over-developed community service gene”

I later joked with the press that it was due to an overdeveloped community service gene. And that was not far from the truth. Ann’s arguments had resonance, but they had resonance because she knows my core beliefs and life aspirations. She knows that somewhere deep inside, I hoped to commit myself to things greater than making a living or building a fortune. It was the spirit of service in one form or another--a family poltergeist that has haunted my ancestors for generations. It was the legacy of my heritage.

Ran against Kennedy in 1993 to offer a different vision

We recognized that there was no way I was going to beat him. After I won the primary, and was ahead in the polls, Kennedy launched a particularly effective attack campaign, portraying me as a money-grubbing businessman. He beat me soundly.

We wanted to raise new ideas for government, and help rebuild a disappearing second party. But after it was over, we did not feel like we had accomplished what we set out to do.

Did not consider political value of Olympics

I gave very little thought at all to what I would do afterwards. Many people cannot believe that. They think that I had calculated the political benefits. I saw no political connection at all. The idea of going to Utah as a way of helping me run in Massachusetts was nuts. If I wanted to run, I would have stayed in Massachusetts. And I had no appetite for staying in Utah for a political career. There were plenty of people who had lived there all their lives, who were prepared and qualified. I was going to Utah to run the Olympics. Ann and I felt it was the right thing to do. We felt it brought greater meaning to what we had already done. I wanted to serve the community, not run for office.

Pronounced dead at age 20 from car accident in Paris

Tragically, there was a fatality; one of my passengers was pronounced dead at the scene. I was also pronounced dead. One of the gendarmes found me unconscious and wrote, “il est mort” on my passport.

My parents and Ann, my then-girlfriend, learned I had expired. They did not believe it. My father called Sargent Shriver, who was then the US ambassador at the American embassy in Paris. Shriver assured them I was very much alive.

At the hospital where we were taken, the doctor’s triage led him to focus on another colleague. Broken ribs, facial lacerations, & bleeding were more threatening then my broken arm & swollen forehead.

Worked for Olympics with no salary and no expense account

When you take a job to perform a service, not to earn a paycheck or win a jackpot, you do not really care a lot about how people think of you. You have the absolute luxury to do exactly what you think is right. Ann kept reminding me that this was about serving. It was a great relief and it freed my anxious mind to really do what I thought was right.

SLOC’s guiding principles: teamwork, pride, integrity, fun

SLOC’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES
• Teamwork
  • Involve stakeholders
  • Think horizontally, not vertically
  • Consider other viewpoints; find win-win solutions
  • Emphasize team success
• Passion and Pride
  • Seek Gold Medal performances in your job
  • Love what you do
  • Relish small achievements
  • Realize your impact
• Communication
  • Be honest and direct
  • Accept feedback, avoid defensiveness
  • Seek prompt resolution to issues
  • Listen more; talk a little less
• Integrity
  • Be loyal to those not present
  • Do what you say you’ll do
  • No hidden agendas
  • Value diversity
• Fun and Celebration
  • Take your work seriously, not yourself
  • Encourage laughter
  • Don’t sweat the small stuff
  • Look for opportunities to include others

$100M in SLOC donations criticized as special deals for rich

We designed a donor package of benefits. Our bronze level cost $100,000 and entitled the donor to 4 tickets each to even of several prime events over the 17 days of the Games. Silver was $500,000 and brought 8 ticket packages & other benefits. A cool million included 12 ticketing packages.

Because no good deed goes uncriticized, the donor program attracted its fair share of naysayers. Rich people were going to get special deals. Yes, and we would get an even more special deal because these rich people would be helping us pay for Games that were in financial crisis.

Dollar by dollar, million by million, we climbed toward the $100 million dollar goal. We enlisted 105 donors. We secured the $100 million.

$99M in deferred payments from State of Utah paid for SLOC

But, there was nothing to do but approach Utah to ask for forbearance. I knew it would not be easy. The whole point of the state payment schedule was to guarantee that Utah taxpayers would get their money out first. But if we did not keep the bank line of credit, we would not have Games and if we did not have Games, the cities and towns would get zero. Give the forbearance and the cities and towns had a shot at the whole $99 million. The legislature eventually approved the deferral.

Success in DC: Tell truth, find right fit, never give up

1. Tell the Truth--the Whole Truth
   The perception in Washington was that the folks from Utah didn’t tell the truth--partly because of the bid scandal & partly because of the state’s request for billions in “Olympic projects,” some located 100s of miles away. Truth became the most convincing argument.
2. Find the Right Fit
   The federal government is not like a large corporation with centralized decision-making. It is more like hundreds of independent entities, each pursuing their own agendas. Getting help from Washington depended on matching our need with a specific agency’s mission.
3. Never, Never, Never Give Up
   If you work at it long enough, there is always another way to get the help you need in Washington.

World Trade Center flag shown at Olympic opening ceremony

During the parade of nations, the host country’s delegation is always last. The last 8 American athletes in line would carry the 9/11 flag. The Olympic Charter stipulated that displays of nationalistic sentiment were not permitted. Hitler’s efforts to use the Games in the 1930s to celebrate Aryan superiority had sent aftershocks that were still felt.

The IOC had decided that the WTC flag could not take a place in the ceremonies. I was sympathetic to the policy but I felt it was wrong.

We finally agree about 1 AM the next morning. The flag would be brought into the stadium just before the anthem was played and held in front of the symphony and choir. A second American flag would be raised during the anthem.

Drafted to run for MA governor; incumbent was unelectable

A state rep endorsed me for governor. The attention stemmed from the weakness of the incumbent. She had taken over for the governor when he became Ambassador to Canada. A poll showed such poor ratings that the pollster said she was unelectable. If I did not run, he concluded, the GOP would lose the office and probably disappear as a viable party in Massachusetts: the legislature had dropped to 15% Republican. Democracy needs two parties; If not, me, who?

Source: Turnaround, by Mitt Romney, p.379-380 Aug 25, 2004

Ran for MA governor to help people

• First rule, the vision: know why you’re running. Very simply, I was running to help people. Massachusetts had been burdened too long by waste, abuse, inefficiency, and patronage. Government needed to be more about public service and less about self-service.
• Second rule: assemble the right people for the team.
• Third rule: carry out a strategic audit. With only 13% Republicans in Massachusetts, & major paper with a decidedly liberal bias, our strategy would sell my vision straight to the electorate, unvarnished.
• Fourth rule: communicate the vision and challenge the team to stretch. Before the campaign was over, I had taken positions on scores of issues. I believed they were all consistent with our vision: helping people.

Olympic slogan “Light the Fire Within”:it’s more than sports

[But as I spoke with Olympic champions], it began to impress on me that the Olympics are really about something greater than sport, but seen through sport and the Olympians themselves. The Olympics are a showcase of some of the great qualities of the human spirit: determination, persistence, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, faith, passion, teamwork, loyalty, honor, character. The Olympics celebrate the human spirit by revealing the athlete’s unrelenting drive to push the limits of human capacity.

The phrase we eventually gave as the vision of our Games was “Light the Fire Within.” Those words, that vision would affect everything we did at the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.