Concern about a contracting vision at CCL
DeVries worries that the CCL has actually contracted its vision, rather than expanded it, over a period of about thirteen years. While it has earned a stellar reputation, its leaders have not parlayed that into a wider vision.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with David DeVries, November 23 and December 2, 1998. Interview S-0010. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- ELIZABETH MILLWOOD:
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When you say in the way it was acted out, then your concern was, your
desire was to see the commerce back and forth across that bridge.
- DAVID DE VRIES:
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Right. I have found in the last few years in particular, the place has
gotten conservative, at a time when it could be even more expansive.
When I got there in 1975, it was ridiculously expansive. I was telling
you that. This brilliant group of 20 governors would come in every
several months and expect us to have sort of materially changed the
quality of leadership in the U.S. and there was somewhere around 25 of
us. So back then, one reason we did some interesting things was we were
given such a hugely expansive agenda. Now in 1998, the place actually
now has such credibility among the world in the field of executive help
that it virtually could do [unclear]
things. And yet as it's gotten all the reputation, all this
access to organizations around the world, is extremely well healed in
terms of funding, its vision has contracted not expanded.
That's what disturbs me profoundly. And I don't
know how long an organization like that goes on with a very narrow
vision without it deteriorating on a kind of permanent basis. I think
organizations like the Center are fragile in that if you lose a certain
kind of vitality, regaining it is damn difficult if not impossible.