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Turnaround

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 11 months ago

Turnaround, by Mitt Romney

 

In the late nineties, the 2002 Winter Olympics were in serious trouble. Under investigation for bribery, bogged down by millions of dollars in debt, and losing public confidence, the Winter Olympics organizers relieved their leadership and went looking for someone who could work a miracle. After an extensive vetting process to find someone who could take on this insurmountable task of saving the Games while maintaining the utmost personal integrity, they came up with one name: Mitt Romney. Turnaround is his account of the crisis and its handling.

 

Romney was at the height of his career: His business was doing better than ever and he had little interest in running the scandal-ridden Winter Olympics. But the Olympics organizers persisted. Romney loved the thrill of a challenge – his business was built on turning around troubled companies, and his success stories include the likes of Staples and Domino’s – but he hesitated about the Olympics. The situation changed, however, in part due to his wife, Ann, as she put the situation in clear terms: the family was well-off and living comfortably, and the company could now be run without him, but America and the Olympics needed him. His consultations with Ann convinced him to take on the challenge, deciding to do it when he asked himself his mother’s favorite set of questions: “If not you, who? If not now, when?”

 

Well aware of the taint that the corruption of the previous leadership had placed on the organization, Romney pledged transparency in the organization’s financial dealings, and released all pertinent information to the public. By opening board meetings and revealing all his dealings, he was able to restore confidence with the public in the recovery of morals in the organization. But he went further. Romney personally performed a thorough budget review, and eliminated unnecessary programs, going so far as to require board members to pay for their own pizza at meetings. Between his cutting of the budget and increasing of the revenue, the Olympics not only emerged without debt, but instead with over a $50 million surplus.

 

Nevertheless, while Romney had a couple years to perform his financial turn-around, he only had a matter of months after 9.11 to beef up the security of the Olympics, then considered a prime Al-Qaeda target. Romney led the movement to rapidly ensure that the Olympics were as safe as possible for the athletes and guests, and managed the affair without significant incident.

 

But an important insight is also revealed in reading his book: he’s funny! Talking about newspaper reactions to his budget cuts, Romney lists a bunch of positive headlines and then one editorial that asked “Won’t these cheaper Games make us look bad compared with other Olympic Cities?” Romney writes, “I felt like answering, ‘Not as bad as if we’re bankrupt and can’t hold the Games at all, dummy.’ I saved that answer for a few board members who called to complain about the new frugality, although I left off the ‘dummy’ part” (106). In another portion, Romney talks about complaints regarding the commercialization of the games, writing that critics “complain that tickets are too expensive for average people. And of course, they would blanch at the thought that the taxpayers should pay for the Games. But just who should pay then? The tooth fairy?” (222). And of course, both jokes reveal a strong streak of fiscal conservatism, the former predicting his strong adherence to balanced budgets, and the latter his belief in capitalist solutions.

 

This book also reflects Romney’s corporate leadership style. Written more like a business book along the lines of In Search of Excellence than the typical political fluff pieces written by Presidential aspirants, Turnaround doles out credit to subordinates left and right for their work with the Games. Romney goes to great lengths to mention that, although his achievement was massive, he was not the only one responsible – and in doing so, he inadvertently highlights exactly what made him the perfect manager for the problem.

 

Scattered with literary references, personal anecdotes, and plenty of humor, Romney’s book is a joy to read, but also has information that strikes right at the heart of his ability to lead the country. Romney’s detailing of the US Olympic Team bringing into the Salt Lake City Olympic Stadium the tattered American flag that flew over the World Trade Center on 9.11 is absolutely heartfelt and will undoubtedly bring a tear to any patriot’s eye. He offers three key pieces of advice for success in Washington: Tell the whole truth, find the right fit for what you need, and never never never give up. Furthermore, Romney says that, as a public servant, he needed to do four things: Know why he was running, assemble the right people, perform a strategic audit of the state’s finances, and then communicate his vision. In the end, Turnaround allows readers the knowledge that Romney not only has the right ideas about leadership, but also has the managerial competence to get things done. America can rest assured when he becomes the 44th President of the United States.

 

- Grant Everett Starrett

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