Kurt Nick is here from Ideacast. I want to tell you about the Big Take

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listen. Welcome to the HBR Idea Cast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Sarah Greenker, Michael.

We often look to the leaders of private companies to give us advice on how to manage people. But there are many lessons to be

learned from the public sector as well. Today's guest has served in a number of

high-profile public roles, from an assistant district attorney to a US senator to

secretary of state but John Kerry started out in the US Navy. It was the military

training from start to finish that taught me management skills, that taught me leadership, accountability,

hierarchy, all of those things that are critical to any kind of organizational structure

and everybody knew what they were doing and everybody knew what they have to do if somebody else couldn't do what they were doing.

You learn to take care of each other and move quickly,

exercise command decisions.

Also, just being on a ship,

having responsibility for a large division on a 535 foot ship that has a huge crew.

Those are great lessons.

John Carey is the author of the book Every Day is Extra, and he recently sat down at his home with

Harvard Business Review senior editor Allison Beard. She started by asking why he decided to go into public

service.

It is the single most effective best way to get real things done with Uncle Sam paying the bills of your telephone and your air flight and your day-to-day existence. I mean when you're in outside

when you're in the outside advocacy group, you are constantly raising money.

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