Drawing on distinguished careers in public service, business, and civic leadership, former U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss and leadership scholar and former Medtronic CEO Bill George shared lessons learned from leading through adversity and complexity. Amanda Murdie, Ivan Allen Jr. Chair and Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech, moderated the discussion. 

In his opening remarks at the event, Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera stressed that Georgia Tech’s mission is to develop leaders, including engineers and computer scientists, who use technology to improve society. Effective leaders must learn skills like civil discourse, respect for differing viewpoints, intellectual humility, and curiosity — all skills the new Tennenbaum Family Institute is committed to fostering. 

"For democracy to work, we have to be prepared to listen to the other, to not demonize the other, to sit down, to have real civil conversations, to look at the facts, to listen to the other with respect,” Cabrera said. 

Chambliss and George shared with the audience their advice for leading amid rapid change. Both agreed that change (rapid or not) is an inevitable part of leadership. Chambliss advised that good leaders must work through uncertainty rather than wait for stability or certainty. George conveyed that successful leaders need the courage to try new things and accept that they may fail.  

"I think today and I see a lack of this frankly of leaders with courage — the courage to try something new,” George said. “You may fail, but you may learn more from that failure than you would from your successes." 

Being an effective leader also requires a deeper understanding of society beyond one’s industry or profession, George added. 

Both leaders stressed the need for effective leaders to admit mistakes quickly and work on a path forward. 

"If you let a mistake or a problem continue to fester in your company or in your family or whatever, it just gets worse. So, you face it, you fix it, you move on,” Chambliss said. 

For any students aspiring to leadership, Chambliss encouraged them to prioritize truly listening. He said good ideas come from many sources, including people you may not agree with on politics and other issues.  

"The best legislation I ever worked on was bipartisan legislation,” Chambliss said. 

George, a Georgia Tech industrial engineering alumnus, admitted he had lost many elections for office as a student until he received some sound advice from fellow Georgia Tech students that he seemed too focused on himself and his success to be an effective leader. He said the advice shifted his perspective and convinced him he should slow down and invest in genuine relationships. He suggested students invest in their relationships and focus on service rather than status. 

On the topic of AI, both leaders said they viewed AI as transformative and potentially beneficial — with some caveats about responsible governance. Chambliss emphasized the need for public-private partnerships to ensure technologies are developed with the public in mind. He also stressed that negotiations are needed to navigate concerns around the development of data centers and other computing infrastructure.  

George warned that AI cannot replace human values like empathy, vision, and values. Technology should enhance the work of people, not replace the human qualities that make leadership possible, he said. 

“AI is great at telling you what is today. It does not have vision. It doesn't see around corners,” George said.