WE GO BEYOND THE HEADLINES
Each week, Sunday Business Editor Henry Unger has a candid conversation with a local leader as part of our commitment to bring you insightful coverage of metro Atlanta’s business scene.
There’s never enough money when it comes to fighting contagious and chronic diseases around the world.
At least that's what Charlie Stokes, chief executive of the CDC Foundation, believes. Stokes, 64, has led the Atlanta-based not-for-profit organization since its inception in 1995. It has raised a total of about $400 million so far to help the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control battle pandemics, disasters and other health issues in this country and abroad.
But why does the federally funded CDC, which receives about $10 billion annually, need a private organization to raise about $35 million this year to help it? And will other hard-pressed government agencies adopt this idea in the future?
Stokes, a public health veteran who became deputy director of the Missouri Department of Health before heading the CDC Foundation, discusses the issue. He also recalls what he learned about leading people while in the Army Reserve and what Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, a former board chairman of the CDC Foundation, taught him.
Q: You took a few detours early in your life before deciding to go into public health. What happened?
A: I grew up in an Irish Catholic family where the goal for every mother is to have a son who's a priest. I ended up spending seven years in a seminary and then realized it just wasn't for me.
I knew I wanted to serve people. The question was — what could I do to be helpful? I got a teaching degree, but decided that wasn’t for me, either.
I ended up in public health. It has really fed me because it is focused on entire populations of people, rather than on one-on-one medical care. You can have a massive impact on people’s lives.
Many people misunderstand public health. It is not medical care for poor people. It is focused on those diseases and illnesses that are threats to entire populations.
Q: You learned something about leading people when you were in the Army Reserve that subsequently helped you in the public health arena? What happened?
A: My experience in basic training has really colored all of my management philosophy. In 1971, the Army was struggling with how to train and motivate people. They were experimenting with what they called the "new Army."
During training, two of the three companies were “old Army” — all the motivation was negative. But in my company, they were experimenting with much more positive reinforcement. We don’t have to denigrate you. We can treat you in a civil way. The bottom line is you have to perform.
I can remember being married only three months. My wife was coming to visit me and the drill sergeant told me to take a few hours off to meet her at the airport. So I’m walking there and the captain drives by. I figured I’m in trouble now. But he stops, says hop in and he gives me a ride to the airport.
The complete opposite was when someone’s mother was visiting on a Sunday. He owed an old Army drill sergeant some push-ups. He’s walking in 90-degree weather in his dress uniform with his mother and the drill sergeant passed by and said, “Drop down and give me those push-ups.” He had to do push-ups in front of his mother until he dropped in the dust.
What a stark contrast. In every single competition, we in the new Army totally outperformed the other two companies. I have never wavered from the belief that it’s positive reinforcement that really gets the results.
Q: Why does an agency funded by the federal government to the tune of $10 billion a year need a not-for-profit foundation to supplement it?
A: The CDC is protecting Americans and the world from health and safety threats. In so doing, it's protecting our economy. Businesses with huge global workforces care about that.
There are things that can be accomplished through public-private partnerships that government alone cannot do. So having an organization like a foundation in between a government agency and businesses to bridge that gap between two very different cultures is a great idea.
For example, shortly after 9/11, there was an anthrax scare. At the CDC in Atlanta, there were long tables of telephones where they were answering questions from around the world every 20 seconds, 24 hours a day. Bernie Marcus, who was chairman of our foundation’s board, walked into that room, looked at what was going on, and walked out.
He said, “There’s something seriously wrong here. These people are protecting me and my grandchildren. And these guys have pulled a bunch of tables together.”
I said, “Bernie, would your philanthropy help us fund an emergency operations center?”
He wrote us a check for $4 million. But he said, “I want it built at the speed of business, not government. And I don’t want any low-bid crap. I want the best computers.”
Q: In an era of budget-cutting, is this model likely to be adopted by other government agencies? If so, what’s your best advice?
A: Foundations in support of federal agencies are still fairly rare. But every year, I talk with two or three different organizations that want to create what we've done here. I think this model will become more and more important.
In today’s flatter world, where both government and business both have to deal with fewer resources and become more efficient, we have to change that old model of government and business staying in their own corners.
In my opinion, the only solution is that government and business have to partner. I think it’s important to have a bridge like us in the not-for-profit arena that can take a wheel spinning at high speed — business — and another wheel like government that is moving at a different speed, and minimize the friction. That helps build trust so the partnerships can grow over time.
For example, a disaster is not the time to be exchanging business cards among business, government and philanthropy. It’s too late. These three sectors need to be talking with each other ahead of time.
Q: You’ve had some heavy hitters on your board, including former UPS chief Oz Nelson, former Georgia-Pacific chief Marshall Hahn, former Southern Co. chief David Ratcliffe and Bernie Marcus, who you’ve already mentioned. What’s the best advice you’ve gotten?
A: I learned a really hard lesson early on in this job from Bernie Marcus. He said, "Charlie, you have essentially spent most of your career as the No. 2 in an organization. You need to transition more sufficiently to be the No. 1. You're the guy who has to make the tough decisions now."
I needed that objective feedback to make that leap. Every leader has to be open to the fact that he or she is not perfect. Don’t assume that moving from being supervised to being the supervisor just happens. We all need constructive criticism.
Leaders are either people who you have to walk on eggshells around — who don’t feel comfortable admitting a mistake — or they’re people who can laugh at themselves in a heartbeat. The latter makes it easier for others to do the same, to take risks and know that they might fail. That’s OK. It’s all part of being successful.
