How do you make change at organizations that resemble hard granite, and aren’t designed to bend?

Only by patiently and persistently nudging them forward day-by-day, one improvement at a time, according to the authors of Bending Granite: 30+ true stories of leading change (Acta Publications, 2022). It’s a compilation of stories from leaders, mostly in and around Madison, writing about the organizations they loved and sought to improve.

It’s a book that promises “no big bang, no instant pudding, no quick fixes.” Nonetheless, it might lend insight for managers on effectively changing the status quo.

On today’s show, host David Ahrens speaks with Tom Mosgaller and Michael Williamson, two of the volume’s co-editors.Mosgaller and Williamson join Ahrens in the studio to talk about the nature of leadership, the role of quality assurance, and the importance of paying attention to purpose, processes, and people.

Michael Williamson has led many complex public organization, including stints as chief of staff for Madison Mayor Joe Sensenbrenner, assistant to UW-Madison chancellor Donna Shalala, and policy assistant to Wisconsin Governor Lee Dreyfus.

Williamson is the former Executive Director of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, which manages the Wisconsin Retirement System’s trust funds. Now retired, he continues to serve on a variety of nonprofit boards.

Tom Mosgaller describes himself as a “change agent by nature, and leader by nurture.” For more than a dozen years, he served as the City of Madison’s Director of Organizational Development and Training. In his tenure, the city’s quality assurance work received worldwide recognition as a pioneering effort and was recognized by the American Society for Quality (ASQ).

Mosgaller later worked as Director of Change Management for NIATx, a division of the UW Madison School of Engineering that works to improve the delivery of community-based health services.

He is past President and Chairman of the Board of the American Society for Quality and has served as a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award examiner and judge for the Wisconsin Forward Award. He now works as a consultant through his business, Gnarly Oaks.

Find more about Bending Granite – including interviews and resources – at bendinggranite.org.