How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything, Expanded Edition

Foreword

When I was in government, everybody debated two questions: “What are we going to do?” and “How much are we going to spend on it?” After my Presidency, I wanted to bring people together to focus on a more important question: regardless of what we want to do or what amount we have to spend on it, how can we maximize our efforts and expand our impact so that our good intentions turn into real change?

My friend Dov Seidman has dedicated his life's work to studying how people conduct their business and their lives. As we settle into the twenty-first century with all of its unique challenges, it's clear that we can no longer regard success as a zero-sum game: one group rising only at the expense of another. In this new century people worldwide will rise or fall together. Our mission must be to create a global community of shared responsibilities, shared benefits, and shared values. This new focus will require all of us to think about the how, and to find new ways to take action to solve the global issues that none of us can tackle alone.

In 2005, I started the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) to convene leaders from the public and private sectors to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges—to answer that how question. At events throughout the year, CGI creates opportunities for global leaders to collaborate, share ideas, and forge partnerships that enhance their work. We encourage members to develop specific projects—what we call ...