Bob Morgan helped turn around the United Way in Buffalo, N.Y., an organization that, he says, had experienced 10 consecutive years of campaign decline. He was part of a team that put together six consecutive years of growth there. Last year, Morgan moved to Las Vegas to become president and CEO of the United Way of Southern Nevada.
What is the best business advice you’ve received, and from whom did it come?
I was once told that a great decision is the product of the right decision, multiplied by the buy-in to the decision. It really resonated with me. I have a natural inclination to try to optimize my business decisions, but if people aren’t bought in and a part of that decision process, having the right answer is worthless. The gentleman who shared that with me is Michael Wilkinson, the CEO of a company called Leadership Strategies.
If you could change one thing about Southern Nevada, what would it be?
In my work, we spend a lot of time trying to help the community to improve the education pipeline. Some of the data about our educational attainment are really alarming. I’d like to see us strengthen the supports that kids and families have to get through that pipeline, from affordable high-quality early childhood education to career and college support.
My father was the first person in our family to get a college degree. And he was a high school dropout before joining the Marines and using the GI bill to get through college. He grew up in abject poverty, and the opportunity to attend college changed his life. It opened the door for me to get an advanced degree from Duke University. And now my kids are simply expected to go on to study in college and beyond. That’s how powerful education can be to generational economics.
But that whole foundation begins in preschool. Studies show that kids who attend preschool have higher earnings, are more likely to hold a job and are more likely to graduate from high school. We need to invest more in great starts for kids.
What are your short- and long-term goals for United Way of Southern Nevada?
Short term, I want to take the organization through a strategic planning process. I think it is important that we solicit feedback from the community about what it wants its United Way to be. Long-term, I want our United Way to be a catalyst for positive social change. I want it to be the place where Southern Nevadans come together to solve our most pressing social challenges. I want it to be a place where people and organizations collaborate to create collective solutions.
Compare the needs of upstate New York with those here.
I’ve noticed that a lot of the challenges are similar. Generational poverty is a challenge. The educational pipeline is a challenge. Having a thoughtful and strong social safety net with minimal gaps is a challenge. One distinction is the age of many of the institutions. Many of Buffalo’s prominent social service agencies are over 100 years old. Here, our Community Foundation is less than 20 years old. Three Square is a great success story and really is a startup organization. That would be a lot harder to replicate in Buffalo with so many venerable incumbents in the marketplace.
What are you reading right now?
I haven’t had a bunch of free time to read for enjoyment. Before I moved here, I read “The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King” by Michael Craig. It’s a nonfictional account of high-stakes poker games. A friend recommended it since he knew I was moving to Las Vegas. It was enjoyable.
What do you do after work?
My wife, Stephanie, and I have five kids, so it’s usually a kid-related activity that could be soccer, hockey or gymnastics. I do my best to be present for my kids when I’m not at work. Our first headed off to college this year, and I’m aware of what a short sliver of time we have with them.
Blackberry, iPhone or Android?
Is PalmPilot an option?
Reluctantly, my answer is iPhone. It has been a love-hate, rocky romance for us.
Describe your management style.
I try to find out what people are best at and put them in a role that will allow them to experience success. Nothing is more motivating than success. When you give motivated people clear and unambiguous goals, and the support and encouragement to reach them, you can get pretty tremendous results together.
What is your dream job, outside of your current field?
I love what I do, but in a fantasy world, I’d like to be a striker for the FC Barcelona soccer club. I played soccer collegiately and for many years after but had a pretty debilitating knee injury a few years ago that has made it impossible for me to run or play any longer. I miss it, and playing for the best club in the world would definitely be a dream job.
If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be?
My mother was born in the Philippines but raised just outside the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem. I had a chance to visit last year and see the places that were a part of her youth. Many of them are unchanged. The history of the place is palpable, and I loved the experience. I would enjoy living there someday if the opportunity presented itself.
Whom do you admire and why?
When I met my wife in college, she was working three jobs while carrying 18 credit hours of classes, on her way to completing her bachelor’s degree in three years. She’s the hardest-working, most driven person I know. She has built a successful boutique real estate business from the ground up while raising five kids (and putting up with me), and I find it inspiring. She is a smart, strong, successful woman, and I remain impressed more than 20 years later.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
I don’t like when people are arrogant, dismissive or disrespectful.
Where do you like to go for business lunches?
I’ve been here only for a few weeks, but our office is near Nora’s Italian Cuisine, and it’s really tremendous. Italian food might be my only vice in life, and I think the proximity may pose a problem for me.
What is something people might not know about you?
Most people don’t know that I dropped out of law school to start a recording studio. It somehow made sense at the time to my 23-year-old self.