1. Balancing Competing Motives Successful
tri-sector leaders find ways to pursue overlapping and potentially conflicting professional goals. Most are concerned at some point with wealth creation for themselves and their families, which they associate with the private sector. They also aspire to positions of influence, impact, and leadership on a large scale, which draws them to government service. And they typically have a strong sense of mission—the primary focus of nonprofits.
Underlying these various motives is a desire to create what Nye calls “public value,” which many in government consider to be the objective of public policy, much as shareholder value has become the objective of business. Diana Farrell, who interrupted a successful career at McKinsey to spend two tumultuous years as deputy to Larry Summers on the White House’s National Economic Council, says, “Before I went to the White House, I don’t think I appreciated how cool it is, how interesting the issues are, how much they matter, how you wake up every morning saying, ‘Getting this right really matters tri-sector leaders are distinguished as much by mind-set as by experience. They typically have a strong sense of mission.There is something about what government does which is about lives on the line.”
range of unexpected problems and difficult situations that led them
to recognize that competing in India requires special knowledge,
skills, and local expertise. In many ways, Coke and Pepsi managers
had to learn the hard way that “what works here” does not
always “work there.” “The environment in India is challenging, but
we’re learning how to crack it,” says an industry leader