John Hennessy Interview (page: 8 / 8) President of Stanford University	Print Interview

What do you know now about achievement that you didn't know when you started out?

Get the Flash Player to see this video. John Hennessy: I've learned that there probably are some issues surrounding luck and timing that I think are not as obvious unless you've actually been there. Now I say luck and timing, because it's not all luck. Clearly part of it is being aware that this is a unique time. The luck piece is that you're there at that point in time that you have the basic opportunity to do something unusual and to really make a difference. I think spotting that opportunity is absolutely key, and I think most people would tell you that, but being aware that you're in the right place, and the right time, and that you are there, I think is partly luck, and those opportunities come along. They don't come along just once. They come along from time to time, but you have to watch out for them. It takes longer and requires you to be more persistent than I think is immediately obvious. When we finally realized that the work we had done on RISC was going to really be pervasive, that probably took five, six, seven years. I mean, we really had to slug away. Even though you generally think of things in the technology spectrum as moving much faster to the real world than say the basic sciences. Even so, it took us five, six, seven years to really get that confidence. So we had to be persistent, and we had to have confidence through that, and I probably didn't realize that it was going to take that long when I started.

[ Key to Success ] Perseverance

Is there anything you haven't done that you'd like to do?

Get the Flash Player to see this video. John Hennessy: Oh. There are a lot of things I'd like to do that I passed up the opportunity to do. I find the current revolution in the biological sciences and the transformation of biology into a quantitative science -- into a science that really uses much of the same skill set that I've learned as an engineer and a computer scientist -- to be absolutely fascinating. If I could come back again and start my career again, I'd be so tempted to go into the biological sciences now, because the opportunities for impact are truly phenomenal. That's a little hard to squeeze in my schedule while I'm still trying to run the university, but I find it so fascinating that I at least like to engage my colleagues, and have some thrill of watching them accomplish the tremendous things that are being accomplished in that field.

Looking ahead into the 21st Century, what do you see as the biggest challenges facing us as a nation?

Get the Flash Player to see this video. John Hennessy: As a nation, I think we probably face a real challenge to ensure that we don't split apart as a country, that the economic disparities across this country don't continue to widen in a way that divides us, that we use our diversity and the tremendous strength of the human capital that we have in this country in a productive fashion. I think that's probably our biggest challenge going forward. We obviously have a lot of new technologies too that we'll put in place, and in the same way in which the atomic age was born and there was tremendous danger, we are going to invent things in the biological sphere that have moral and ethical implications that are as deep and as challenging as those that we faced in the birth of the atomic age. Hopefully, we've navigated that -- the atomic age -- successfully. Certainly I grew up in an age where we built bomb shelters and we had drills, bomb drills, and we thought about fallout and all those sorts of issues. I think we now have to navigate a set of questions which will be equally difficult doing them correctly. Getting the right balance between helping people lead better lives and ensuring that we keep an ethical standard and a moral responsibility that we can look back on with pride, I think, is going to be key.

There's a program at Stanford where students meet with members of the faculty and ask them one question: "What matters to you, and why?" Can you answer that? What matters to you and why?

John Hennessy: That is a good question. I have been in this program, "What matters to me and why?" I gave a three-part answer, as you might guess. It's hard to answer in one part. I think, first and foremost, making a difference, making the world a better place, and I think that's what I certainly encourage all my students to do, is to try and make a contribution to the world that makes it a better place. Second, to find something that you're passionate and enthusiastic about. Find something that you love to do. And, third, to maintain a high standard of personal integrity. Do what you say, say what you mean. Particularly in a leadership role, and this I probably can't emphasize enough, in a leadership role that is so critical. People have to believe that your word, your commitment, is as good as gold, and I think it's probably the one thing that I've found to be absolutely critical.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. People will come and sometimes ask for things, and sometimes the answer is no. Well, if the answer is no, it has to be no. The answer shouldn't be yes if later on you don't think you'll be able to deliver that. And I think that has been key, particularly in leadership roles. It means sometimes you have to disappoint people, but better to disappoint them than to be in a situation where you haven't carried through on something that they were counting on you doing.

[ Key to Success ] Integrity

What does the American Dream mean to you?

Get the Flash Player to see this video. John Hennessy: I think the American Dream is about opportunity. It is really about giving every individual in this country, every citizen, the opportunity to accomplish something, to use their skills and their abilities, their perseverance, their hard work, to make the world better, to make a difference, to contribute something. It is really that contribution, that contribution is its own reward, and I think if you can make a difference, and you can look back on what you have achieved, what you have contributed and take pride in it, then I think you've realized the American Dream.

[ Key to Success ] The American Dream

Looks like Stanford is in good hands.

John Hennessy: Thank you.

We really appreciate your taking the time to speak with us today.

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