Learn, Adapt and Evolve

By James M. (Jim) McClelland
President/CEO, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, Inc. SKL Class VI

One of the ironies in my life is that I have not sought any of the paid or unpaid leadership positions I’ve held. While I never aspired to be a leader, I did aspire to serve, and throughout my adult life I have been interested in accomplishing something worthwhile and in creating something good that would outlast me.

When I decided to go to work for Goodwill, I took a 25% pay cut to accept the lowest of three job offers I had at the time and make a four-year commitment to enter a field that was totally different from anything I had trained for or ever imagined I would do. This is probably not what most people would have done. But perhaps it’s not too surprising I went against the norm when you consider I’m a fifth generation Floridian who left the sunshine state at age 20 and have now lived in Indianapolis for 36 years.

While some of my friends viewed my initial decision to work for Goodwill as irrational (or worse), I’ve had a career that’s been an incredibly good fit for someone who’s wired the way I am. It’s been a nearly continuous learning process, and I can honestly say I cannot remember a day when I woke up wishing I didn’t have to go to work.

Looking back on a long career (and, by the way, I’m not done yet), here are a few reflections that might offer some food-for-thought for others.

• More than any single accomplishment, I am most proud of how our organization has adapted and evolved as the world around us has changed. We’ve grown a lot, to be sure. But we’ve also substantially raised the level at which the organization functions. This has involved a great deal of change. I have never been content with the status quo in anything, and over the years we’ve developed a culture where change is normal and expected, though certainly not always loved and embraced. My philosophy, though, is if you can’t learn to love change, at least learn to live with it without whining too much.
• We’re very entrepreneurial and not afraid to take risks. Over the years, we’ve tried an enormous number of ways of growing our businesses and accomplishing our mission. Some have worked great, others haven’t. But we’ve learned from all the experiences. We’re also not afraid to shut down operations that have outlived their usefulness, although I must admit we left a few of them on life support for too long.
• The successes we’ve enjoyed are largely a result of hiring the best talent we can find – people with the right set of skills and values – the right combination of “head” and “heart”. We make sure they understand what the goals are and that they have the resources and work environment they need to perform, and then we let them operate. We also help them continue to develop and grow.
• We manage a highly diversified organization according to five basic principles that are ingrained in our culture. Those principles emphasize that, while accomplishing the business goals is important, how we accomplish them is equally important. And we’ve found it’s much easier and more effective to manage primarily according to a small number of values and principles than a thick book of rules and regulations.
• Lifelong learning has never been more important, and I have a strong need to learn – especially about subjects I know little about (which covers just about everything). I have a wide range of interests, and in addition to what I have learned from traditional studies of leadership, management, and organizational development, I have found useful insights in fields as diverse as the history of the Roman Empire, music, biology, physics, and complexity science. It is really important for us to get outside our usual circles and comfort zones and expose ourselves to different perspectives and ways of thinking.

I don’t know what our organization will look like ten years from now, but I know it will be different. We must continue to find new and better ways to strengthen the organization and increase its impact, and we’ll continue to learn, adapt, and evolve. And, to me, that entire process is incredibly exciting.

Since 1974 Jim has been President/CEO of the Indianapolis-based Goodwill organization which, with 2200 employees and more than $80 million in revenue, is one of the largest of 160 Goodwill corporations in North America. Under Jim’s leadership, Goodwill has evolved into a community resource that includes in its workforce over 1300 persons with limited vocational options. In 2004 Goodwill founded the Indianapolis Metropolitan High School, a public charter school focused on helping increase the high school graduation rate in Indianapolis and the percent of graduates who enroll in post-secondary education.

Jim has served on the boards of numerous local not-for-profit organizations and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Citizens Energy Group, a member of the State Workforce Innovation Council, and is on the board of the Indiana Public Charter Schools Association. He is also vice president of the Economic Club of Indiana. Jim has received numerous awards, and in December 2000 he was named Nonprofit Executive of the Year by The NonProfit Times, a national business publication for nonprofit management. In February 2009 he was inducted into the Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame.

Jim holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from Georgia Tech, an MBA from Indiana University, and an Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Christian Theological Seminary.

Contact Jim at jmcclelland@goodwillindy.org to share your feedback on his leadership lesson.