Nelson Carbonell, Chair of the GW Board of Trustees, joined the PAF weekly meeting on Tuesday, March 7th for a discussion on problem-solving and creativity. Chair Carbonell is in his second term leading the Board of Trustees. He has a long history with GW, having graduated with a B.S. in Engineering in 1985 and serving on the Board for 15 years. In addition to his service to GW, Chair Carbonell is the founder, chairman and CEO of Nelson Carbonell and Associates, a firm that assists middle-market companies with strategy, financing, operations, technology, and leadership.
While PAFs creatively address a myriad of problems in our professional and academic lives, we wanted to learn more about the high-stakes, organizational problems Chair Carbonell addresses daily, both in his role at GW and at his company. We spoke at length about the difficulties of solving conflicts within institutions. Chair Carbonell emphasized that an organization must have a strategy, and strategies require saying “no” to some things. He explained that emphasizing and investing in all parts of an organization, particularly one as large as GW, is too ambitious, and therefore a useless strategy. You have to focus on some things and let others idle.
Of course, saying “no” causes conflict. Chair Carbonell discussed the importance of including a variety of voices in decision-making. Doing so helps ease tension when a final decision is reached. Although some people will not be happy with the outcome, he believes people will feel more satisfied with the outcome if they are able to contribute to the discussion.
It was useful to “pick the brain” of such a dynamic leader. Chair Carbonell’s message about strategy and vision will surely influence the way PAFs shape the PAF program and their future workplaces.