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"Our company has offices across 69 countries, and all of them are designed in the same way. There are no walls between teams and no private offices, not even for me. Everyone has the same size desk. Central common areas offer snacks and coffee, and bold works of art add color and dynamism," Mike writes in his annual letter on philanthropy.
"The purpose of this approach is to bring people together to foster conversation, spark creativity, and share ideas. It has been a central part of our company’s culture since our founding in 1981, and it has been part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ culture since its inception, too. But this open office plan wasn’t our invention. In fact, it is rooted in a model nearly as old as recorded history itself: the city.
Cities create a special kind of alchemy. People from different backgrounds and holding different perspectives come together on sidewalks, in public parks, and in markets. They fall into conversation, learn from one another, and find common ground in unexpected places.
When our team brought the open office plan to New York City Hall, reporters could hardly believe it. But there was no more natural place for it.
City halls, like the cities they govern, should offer fertile ground for discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurial activity. That can only happen if mayors tear down barriers and create a culture where open communication, healthy debate, and idea-sharing can thrive.
Until recently, however, the dynamic mixing of ideas that defines the best cities has mostly happened within them, not among them.
Bloomberg Philanthropies has been working to change that by building something entirely new: a global infrastructure for mayors and local leaders to collaborate with their peers and leading experts. And as global challenges like climate change and public health crises grow more complex, openness is more critical than ever.
Our mission is to help the greatest number of people live better, longer lives — and mayors are natural partners.
While national governments are too often gripped by partisan gridlock, mayors don’t have the luxury of playing politics. They are responsible for delivering the essential services that people depend on every single day, which tends to make mayors more open to new ideas — and more willing to engage in creative experimentation and risk-taking. We are empowering local leaders to do both through a variety of ways.
Strengthening Leadership.
Running a modern city can be more complex than running a major corporation. But executive training, which is common in the private sector, was historically rare in the public sector.
Ten years ago, we created the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative to change that, and it has since grown into the world’s premier training ground for local government leaders. More than 500 mayors and 3,650 senior leaders from across local governments have participated in the program.
To expand its impact, we recently launched a similar program for mayors across Europe, in partnership with the London School of Economics and the Hertie School in Berlin.
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