Willy welcomes Bill Haslam. He is the former two-term mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee and former two-term governor of Tennessee, reelected in 2014 with the largest victory margin of any gubernatorial election in Tennessee history. During his tenure, Tennessee became the fastest improving state in the country in K-12 education and the first state to provide free community college or technical school for all of its citizens. The state also added 475,000 net new jobs during his term. Haslam serves on the boards of Teach for America and Young Life and is a visiting professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of Faithful Presence: The Promise and Peril of Faith in the Public Square. Bill is a graduate of Emory University. He and his wife of 40 years, Crissy, have three children and ten grandchildren.

The podcast begins with Bill sharing how he changed his mind about becoming a teacher and going to the seminary. His father advised him to work in the family company, Pilot Corporation, to hone his communication and business skills, which he found to be a more “interesting and challenging environment”. He is optimistic about the trajectory of the business despite pointing out America’s supply-and-demand issue. In the early days of internet retailing, he moved on to be the CEO of Saks Fifth Avenue, seeing it as a fresh and different challenge. The Friday Five, a peer support group he created with a lawyer, banker, salesman, and dentist, held weekly meetings and encouraged him to run for the Knoxville mayoral position. Bill explains how crucial it is to be surrounded by people who know you well before making life-changing decisions as they give the best advice. He continues to explain how Americans have forgotten the importance of governing and institutions to a public democracy due to extreme divisiveness. He urges everyone to support officials with a history of problem-solving. As a mayor, he emphasizes the significance of vulnerability that although it is uncomfortable, it allows him to examine himself in new ways.

Tune in to this new episode of the Walker Webcast — Leading with Empathy with Bill Haslam, Former Governor of Tennessee. ▶️

Key Points In The Webcast:
01:00 Willy welcomes Bill Haslam
02:03 Joining the family business
04:24 Saks Fifth Avenue, the Friday Five, and Bill’s mayoral run
08:19 Why America’s governance is struggling and vulnerability as a mayor
11:57 How Bill’s business background helped his political career
14:51 The Affordable Care Act and getting the right answer
20:59 The problems in leadership and American politics then versus now
27:10 The solution to political divisiveness
33:21 Casting votes as a Christian and the search for truth
40:49 Balancing faith and logic to combat negativity
43:45 Thinking Biblically in politics
47:30 Separating policy and scripture and staying humble as a leader
53:50 The Cyntoia Brown case and the presidential race