[MUSIC]
Each year, the Arbuckle Award honors a Stanford GSB alum or
an individual closely connected with the school for their lifelong
leadership in business and their contributions to community and society.
Steve is someone who is interested in every important issue.
He shows up for every event.
He has wise advise on every topic.
And he has a magical ability to give everyone
the feeling that he is absolutely fully engaged on
the things that matter most to them. >> I have the honor and
privilege, and I will convince you before I'm done,
the delight of introducing Steve Denning tonight.
This is actually one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
Steve and Roberta are the ultimate GSB power couple.
They both graduated with the MBA class of 1978, and I've met many of their
classmates here tonight. >> [APPLAUSE]
>> From the early days of our
relationship, I recognized the characteristic that makes Steve unusual.
His ability to inspire people to do more than they imagine they can do.
Through the years, Steve oversaw the transformation of
General Atlantic Partners from that small investment firm into a major institution.
He catalyzed the global expansion of the Nature Conservancy.
He led the successful completion of the biggest capital campaign in
the history of Stanford,
as well as the leadership transition that positions the university for the future.
One of Steve's great legacy's is to have encouraged his colleagues
in every episode to achieve more because of his assertive,
enthusiastic, challenging advocacy.
Always delivered with his distinctive grin as if to say,
wouldn't it be great if we could achieve this together?
This is the magic of Steve Denning So, Steve, I am delighted
to introduce you before this audience of your friends and admirers.
You've earned our respect and our affection and
I'm thrilled that you're the 48th recipient of the Arbuckle Award.
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> This may be an individual honor but
I would not be here tonight if it were not for the impact of so
many others, so many friends here in the audience.
First and foremost, my family.
While I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, at a time when most young people
living there expected they would remain in Salt Lake City for their entire lives.
I was one of those kids, until my senior year in high school when my
father recommended that I take the Naval ROTC Scholarship Exam.
I did so and then proceeded to forget about it and the opportunity it offered.
Until the thick envelope arrived in the mail the following
January indicating that I had been awarded a full scholarship.
Tuition, room, board, and yes, $50 a month to any one
of 54 universities in the US where I had been accepted.
That was the good news.
The bad news was that I hadn't applied to any of these schools.
>> [LAUGH]
>> I decided to leave McKinsey
in September to pursue something new.
When I was approached by a former McKinsey colleague Ed Gone,
to help him build General Atlantic, a new direct investment entity.
I was eager to do something entrepreneurial, but
a direct investment entity wasn't on my radar.
It wasn't on anybody's radar because private equity,
as an asset class, fundamentally didn't exist in 1980.
However, my offer was contingent upon meeting and
receiving approval from the firm's founder and capital provider, Chuck Feeney.
We sat down and
he asked me a few questions, which I answered to his satisfaction.
Then he asked me if I had any questions for him.
I said well, I actually do.
Why do you want to build a direct investment entity?
He indicated that he believed the only purpose of wealth
was to use it to improve the human condition.
And that he intended to give away his entire net worth in his lifetime
to do just that, to make a positive and impactful contribution to the world.
Now this isn't something that you hear every day.
In fact, this is something that you'd probably go
your entire life without hearing at all.
Take a moment and think about it.
What is wealth for?
Why do we care about profit, margins, returns, return on capital,
all of these financial metrics with which we surround ourselves in business?
What's the end goal?
At General Atlantic, this was our founding mandate.
It was unique, it was inspirational, it was an extraordinary opportunity.
Through his foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, he had given
away 8.6 billion, representing virtually his entire net worth.
And making him the most giving person by percentages to
ever be listed on the Forbes 400.
Growing up in Salt Lake City, I never could have imagined any of this.
What I've learned in life is that the paths we pursue are often
not a function of a grand design we conceive.
But rather of how prepared we are to respond
to the unplanned opportunities that come our way.
Will we stick to preconceived notions and strategies?
Or will we be adaptable, and ambitious, to go a new way,
to try a new idea, to nurture a new relationship?
To take the risk and thus one day,
be able to accomplish something that is much larger than ourselves?
That is what makes the Stanford Business School so special.
I accept this award tonight as a mandate to keep pushing these boundaries,
to keep listening.
And to keep working to adapt to and
capitalize upon the transformational changes that are ahead of us.
I thank you for this distinguished award.
>> [APPLAUSE]