thoughtleaders ROSABETH MOSS KANTER
High Capacity
Spiral
Conveyors
High Capacity Spirals are in
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For application assistance or more
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300 Newsome Drive • Yorktown, VA 23692
Phone: (757) 898-1530 • Fax: (757) 898-1580
VERTICAL CONVEYING SOLUTIONS
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together very well these days. The biggest
increase in traffic is in the intermodal
arena.
Q Enough to the point that the rail- roads have capacity issues now.
A So now we need more terminals. But if those terminals are part of a plan
for regional development that includes
the rail lines and the ports, and the connections to the ports, you can tell a story
that is a vision for our future. We can use
technology in a smarter way, and leaders
can talk about how that will make a difference. We can use technology that we
have but aren’t always using to prevent
train derailments, speed trains up, or
prevent truck crashes.
The first thing you need is a leader with
a fairly comprehensive and compelling
plan to present to everyday concerned
Americans. You know, there are certain
kinds of economic activity that are not
happening because of the problems of
moving goods as well as moving people.
So you have to have a visionary leader
who tells that big-picture story, ties it to
the concerns of everyday Americans. Can
I get a job? Can I get to my job? Can I get
my kids to school? Will the emergency
vehicles be able to reach my house in a
disaster?
Then you have to start with the high-est-priority projects and show progress
on those projects. We need to hold whoever is handling the project—whether it’s
the public sector or the private sector—
to high standards. We need to invest in
upgrades, or we will have more lives lost,
more frustrations. We are operating on
borrowed time. And we’re not always
using all of our own technology. So it’s
time to get moving.
I think it requires leaders to tell that
story in a compelling way. I know that
state and local departments of transportation would like this, but they tend to be
off to the side. It really takes presidents,
governors, and mayors. And we need
new models to do all of that, so my book
Move is all about new models.
Q Yet when we can’t even get a high- way bill renewed, where does that
leadership come from?
A The highway funding debate has now gone several rounds on Capitol
Hill because Congress is way too partisan. Also, I don’t know if between now
and the end of October, Congress can
take the time to really think through tolls
and vehicle-miles-traveled fees. The gas
tax has run out of steam itself because
it was a 1950s policy. We have now
reduced our usage of fossil fuel because
we have more fuel-efficient vehicles. …
I think we should continue the gas tax
because a tax on fossil fuels is a good
thing. In fact, I think we should raise it,
but I think we should also rethink it.
We also have to get the private sector
more involved because there are private
sector investors who would like to invest
in infrastructure. They often see it as a
good long-term investment. But they
don’t always want to invest when there
are so many political uncertainties. And
you don’t want to start repairing the
roads only to have the projects come
to a halt because they’re running out of
money. So it all requires national leadership with the cooperation of regions.
I think we could get it done, but I
don’t think we’re going to get it done
between now and the 2016 election,
unfortunately.
Q As I read your book, it struck me that you’re suggesting we reframe
the argument from infrastructure, which
can elicit a yawn, to the whole idea of
mobility.
AYes, mobility, which is all about moving. There are other forms
of infrastructure that we should care
about—water pipes, sewers, energy
infrastructure—but I think the first
thing we have to fix is transportation,
and it is all about mobility: how we
move, how we get around, how we get
what we need.
Let’s say we want to stay home and
shop or work remotely. That also requires
infrastructure. It requires physical goods
getting to your doorstep somehow.
Also, it requires more broadband. So we
should be thinking about communications infrastructure in the same breath as
