Catch Up With Chuck | Episode 20 | Creating The Future For Rural
Rural Futures Institute
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03/30/2018
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Chuck is joined by Microsoft GM Shelley McKinley
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- [00:00:05.670]Good morning, welcome back to Catch Up With Chuck
- [00:00:08.290]from the Rural Futures Institute
- [00:00:09.930]at the University of Nebraska.
- [00:00:11.510]I'm Chuck Schroeder.
- [00:00:12.750]I'm executive director of the Rural Futures Institute.
- [00:00:15.620]Joining me today is a really special guest of the institute,
- [00:00:20.600]Shelly McKinley, who is the General Manager of Technology
- [00:00:25.260]and Corporate Responsibility at Microsoft.
- [00:00:27.740]Yes, the Microsoft.
- [00:00:30.040]And we're delighted to have her on campus.
- [00:00:31.910]Shelly, welcome to Catch Up With Chuck.
- [00:00:33.710]Thank you so much, it's really my pleasure to be here.
- [00:00:35.840]Well, we're so pleased to have you on campus.
- [00:00:38.380]Well, listen, this is a very exciting week
- [00:00:40.400]for the Rural Futures Institute,
- [00:00:42.290]it's been many months in the making,
- [00:00:45.310]as we bring an innovative leader of really global impact
- [00:00:49.770]here to campus to meet with faculty, meet with students,
- [00:00:52.800]meet with a lot of our friends at the institute.
- [00:00:55.620]Now, Shelly, most everybody on the planet
- [00:00:58.150]with an active pulse knows about Microsoft.
- [00:01:01.940]It's a big deal.
- [00:01:03.540]Tell me what brings you to Nebraska.
- [00:01:05.550]Well, almost everyone on the planet
- [00:01:06.780]knows about Nebraska as well.
- [00:01:08.180]I mean, there's a lot of famous things
- [00:01:09.590]coming out of Nebraska, as I've learned this week.
- [00:01:11.780]And really, for me at Microsoft, and for Microsoft,
- [00:01:14.690]we also need to know the rest of the world.
- [00:01:17.940]We can't do everything from our home base in Redmond.
- [00:01:20.720]We are located around the world.
- [00:01:22.950]But it's so great for us to come into the field
- [00:01:25.730]and really get to know our customers
- [00:01:27.600]and get to understand what's possible.
- [00:01:29.897]Well, it's already been an exciting time for us,
- [00:01:34.060]as you've had meetings over the last day.
- [00:01:36.010]Well, listen, one of the things that we try to do
- [00:01:37.760]with this broadcast is to let folks in our audience
- [00:01:41.480]get to know a little more personally
- [00:01:43.930]people of global impact, like yourself.
- [00:01:47.460]So, listen, you were born in Kansas City,
- [00:01:49.840]grew up in the Dallas area, spent summers in the Ozarks,
- [00:01:54.200]so you have some heartland roots.
- [00:01:57.550]But, listen, tell us a little bit more
- [00:02:00.080]about Shelly growing up, and the seeds that were planted
- [00:02:04.000]that led you to this really remarkably diverse career
- [00:02:07.910]that has had global reach.
- [00:02:09.940]Yeah, so, I think really as I traveled in my youth
- [00:02:13.240]between Dallas and Kansas City, spending a lot of time,
- [00:02:16.090]as you mentioned, in the Ozarks,
- [00:02:17.110]it was really that sense of adventure
- [00:02:18.710]that I learned from my father.
- [00:02:20.830]We would travel back and forth, kind of overnight
- [00:02:23.280]to grandma's place in the Ozarks.
- [00:02:25.960]And then, there, there were a lot of adventures
- [00:02:27.750]to take advantage of.
- [00:02:29.160]For me, growing up in Dallas, when I came to the Ozarks,
- [00:02:32.077]and we went fishing, that was like a huge adventure for me.
- [00:02:35.450]We would go out on the boat,
- [00:02:37.300]on the little tiny metal boat into the lake,
- [00:02:39.520]and explore the caves.
- [00:02:40.910]And so, while my sense of adventure
- [00:02:42.910]I think started on a very local level,
- [00:02:44.910]that grew over the years into a sense of adventure,
- [00:02:47.120]really around the world.
- [00:02:48.230]And so, I did spend a lot of my career already in Europe.
- [00:02:51.580]And many, many countries around the world.
- [00:02:54.210]Well, clearly you have that sense of
- [00:02:55.970]looking over the next hill and trying things.
- [00:02:58.450]Trying new things, and I think that's important
- [00:03:00.719]really for our prospective students to know,
- [00:03:03.147]hey, that's where it all begins.
- [00:03:06.350]Well, listen at the Rural Futures Institute,
- [00:03:08.640]our big hairy audacious goal is a thriving,
- [00:03:12.810]high-touch, high-tech future for rural.
- [00:03:16.100]We firmly believe that thriving rural communities
- [00:03:19.100]can be a legitimate best choice
- [00:03:20.980]for young professionals that are looking for a place
- [00:03:23.930]to build a business, raise a family, get involved,
- [00:03:26.883]where they can make a difference.
- [00:03:28.980]But they can't do that with two tin cans and a kite string.
- [00:03:35.450]Microsoft has declared a genuine interest
- [00:03:39.150]in rural connectivity, and that's one of the things
- [00:03:42.240]that you've been talking about with folks here
- [00:03:44.780]the last couple of days.
- [00:03:46.210]Tell us a little bit more about Microsoft's interest
- [00:03:49.320]in rural and how you perhaps can help us deliver on that
- [00:03:53.690]high-touch, high-tech future.
- [00:03:55.060]Well, we know there are at least 60 million people
- [00:03:57.140]in the United States live in rural areas.
- [00:03:59.290]Our mission as a company is very clear.
- [00:04:01.030]We want to empower every person and every organization
- [00:04:03.630]on the planet to achieve more.
- [00:04:05.290]And that doesn't matter whether you live
- [00:04:06.340]in an urban community or a rural community
- [00:04:08.200]or somewhere else in the world.
- [00:04:09.280]Our mission is really to touch everyone
- [00:04:10.850]and help them achieve more.
- [00:04:12.600]What we definitely know is also, to have people achieve more
- [00:04:15.670]you have to help them get the skills they need,
- [00:04:18.380]you have to help provide them with connectivity,
- [00:04:20.620]and to really take that and be able to use it,
- [00:04:23.170]and be able to live where they wanna live.
- [00:04:26.140]So, rural Americans and urban Americans
- [00:04:29.900]should have the same opportunities.
- [00:04:31.510]They should have high-paying jobs in rural areas.
- [00:04:34.370]So, I think with broadband, certainly what we know is that
- [00:04:37.190]today 19 million Americans that live in rural areas
- [00:04:40.770]do not have access.
- [00:04:42.560]Can you imagine if you didn't have access to broadband
- [00:04:44.725]how you could take advantage of educational opportunities,
- [00:04:47.267]how you could start a small business,
- [00:04:49.860]how you could take advantage of the opportunities
- [00:04:51.840]that telemedicine will bring,
- [00:04:53.090]to bring better health to people,
- [00:04:55.190]and advances in agriculture,
- [00:04:56.290]which is so important here in this area.
- [00:04:59.040]So when we can help areas bring broadband,
- [00:05:02.610]that's what we'd like to do
- [00:05:03.830]to help empower everyone to achieve more.
- [00:05:06.000]Well, I have to tell you,
- [00:05:06.833]you put up a slide on the screen yesterday
- [00:05:09.270]that really touched me,
- [00:05:10.350]and when you talked about your ambition to
- [00:05:13.285]move forward with technology without leaving people behind.
- [00:05:17.380]And that kind of declaration I think says a good bit about
- [00:05:21.740]not only Microsoft as a company, but the people within it.
- [00:05:25.520]Yeah, although we are a global company,
- [00:05:28.840]we're very local.
- [00:05:30.640]We strive to have local impact
- [00:05:32.150]in every community within which we operate.
- [00:05:34.840]That means bringing everyone forward
- [00:05:37.640]and not having technology leave people behind.
- [00:05:39.860]And we know, we've been through
- [00:05:40.840]tough digital transformations before,
- [00:05:42.720]technology transformations,
- [00:05:44.110]we can learn what we did in the past as a society,
- [00:05:47.300]and think about how do we move forward
- [00:05:49.104]and ensure that people have skills the need to have
- [00:05:52.196]to really be flexible and transition to newer,
- [00:05:55.210]higher-paying jobs in the future.
- [00:05:57.320]Well, I think it's noble.
- [00:05:59.194](laughs)
- [00:06:00.027]Well, listen, I know that one of your desires,
- [00:06:02.270]you told us prior to your arrival,
- [00:06:05.550]is that you wanted to meet with students.
- [00:06:07.680]You wanted the opportunity to,
- [00:06:09.530]not just talk to them, but to engage.
- [00:06:12.240]And you did that yesterday.
- [00:06:14.690]I've already been hearing exciting reports.
- [00:06:17.180]Tell us a little bit about why that was important to you
- [00:06:20.360]and some of your impressions
- [00:06:21.470]coming from some of your engagements yesterday.
- [00:06:23.120]That has been, so far, I think probably my favorite part
- [00:06:26.510]of the two days I'm here.
- [00:06:28.849]I had the chance to spend three hours
- [00:06:31.330]with a group of female students last night
- [00:06:33.700]and really just talk about issues
- [00:06:35.300]that they were interested in understanding.
- [00:06:37.320]A lot about leadership,
- [00:06:38.600]about being a woman in the workforce,
- [00:06:41.000]about the opportunities of the future,
- [00:06:43.090]and importantly, how can they live where they want to live
- [00:06:47.280]in rural communities or in urban communities
- [00:06:49.207]and be successful.
- [00:06:50.820]And it was just so great to hear what was on their minds.
- [00:06:53.450]And I have to say, what you have an amazing group of
- [00:06:57.310]creative, innovative, motivated, passionate students here.
- [00:07:01.550]And I frankly have no concerns
- [00:07:03.860]about their ability to be successful.
- [00:07:05.920]They demonstrated that yesterday
- [00:07:07.630]by the questions they asked, by the engagement they had.
- [00:07:11.000]Literally, we went an hour over time,
- [00:07:13.250]and they were still all there
- [00:07:14.700]ready with probably three more hours of content for me.
- [00:07:16.920]So it was just, for me, I take away so much from that.
- [00:07:20.640]I learn so much about what they're thinking,
- [00:07:22.520]things that you lose touch with when you're kind of off,
- [00:07:25.740]off doing your job.
- [00:07:27.360]So it's so important to get in touch with
- [00:07:29.530]the customers of the future, the leaders of the future,
- [00:07:32.240]and understand how you can help them
- [00:07:34.700]with their opportunities and help bring them forward.
- [00:07:37.320]Certainly, one of our ambitions
- [00:07:38.650]at the Rural Futures Institute is to give the students
- [00:07:42.170]with whom we interact the opportunity to go face-to-face
- [00:07:46.300]with global leaders like yourself, because we know
- [00:07:50.250]from our own lives, that those relationships,
- [00:07:53.640]those engagements, those impressions,
- [00:07:55.720]shape lives for the future.
- [00:07:58.270]So, our audience has heard me say many times before
- [00:08:02.990]that one of our core beliefs at the Rural Futures Institute
- [00:08:05.871]is that people have the capacity to shape their own futures
- [00:08:10.470]so your engagement here has been about much more than
- [00:08:14.820]showing off Microsoft technologies.
- [00:08:18.080]You really have been encouraging people, students,
- [00:08:21.059]faculty, others with whom you've engaged,
- [00:08:24.227]to realize the opportunities that they have
- [00:08:27.780]to shape their own future.
- [00:08:29.500]Indeed, using technology, but it goes beyond that.
- [00:08:32.730]I'd like for you to share some of your thoughts
- [00:08:34.850]in that regard.
- [00:08:35.683]Yeah, I think really the future
- [00:08:37.620]is a multi-stakeholder discussion.
- [00:08:40.072]There's no one company or one person or one institution
- [00:08:43.240]or one community that can do it alone.
- [00:08:45.130]And I think when we have discussions like this,
- [00:08:47.340]it really helps when students get all these perspectives
- [00:08:50.950]and understand, this is what I can do,
- [00:08:52.960]this is how I have to own my future,
- [00:08:54.770]this is where I can get help,
- [00:08:55.970]it helps me understand where we can help.
- [00:08:58.002]It helps me understand what the local forces are in play
- [00:09:01.050]that are really helping the students move forward,
- [00:09:02.950]like the Rural Futures Institute.
- [00:09:04.190]I mean, I just can't tell you how much I've learned.
- [00:09:06.765]That's what really sparked my interest
- [00:09:09.050]in coming to Nebraska, was when I learned about the work
- [00:09:11.080]that you're doing here in the institute,
- [00:09:12.400]and thought we can learn a lot from that.
- [00:09:15.120]I can also bring a few learnings from us.
- [00:09:17.510]And that exchange is so important
- [00:09:19.833]for helping develop these young minds
- [00:09:21.844]and helping them move forward.
- [00:09:24.260]Well, it's been fun to see, again,
- [00:09:26.240]some of our community leaders that we know
- [00:09:29.539]are driving these thriving rural communities
- [00:09:33.165]with high-touch, high-tech ventures of various kinds,
- [00:09:36.990]and to see their interest in your being here
- [00:09:39.850]and being able to ask questions was really a lot of fun.
- [00:09:42.230]Well, listen, Shelly, I just want to say
- [00:09:44.120]that it's really an honor for us at the
- [00:09:46.050]Rural Futures Institute to have you in Nebraska
- [00:09:49.340]for this very unique engagement with students, faculty,
- [00:09:52.420]civic leaders from rural and urban settings.
- [00:09:55.010]We hope this is a friendship that we can revisit
- [00:09:57.470]time and again, as the years go by.
- [00:10:01.050]Anything you'd like to add about your visit?
- [00:10:02.990]Absolutely, I think this is really
- [00:10:04.307]the start of a discussion.
- [00:10:07.380]I am excited to be here.
- [00:10:08.713]I am excited to learn more about what you're doing
- [00:10:10.870]over the course of the next day.
- [00:10:12.830]And I'm excited to continue the conversation.
- [00:10:15.640]You may be aware that we are engaging in rural communities
- [00:10:18.350]around the United States.
- [00:10:19.730]We're gonna be learning from that.
- [00:10:21.452]I want to be able to share those learnings back here
- [00:10:23.620]and see how you can take from those learnings
- [00:10:25.880]as what you're doing here in your institute.
- [00:10:27.680]So, we've committed in six areas in the United States
- [00:10:31.900]to really work on digital skills,
- [00:10:33.640]to work on broadband access, to work on...
- [00:10:38.640]career transitions, which I think is so important
- [00:10:40.910]in this digital economy.
- [00:10:43.580]And to work with non-profits.
- [00:10:45.090]And while we work around the United States,
- [00:10:47.660]on many of these things, particularly broadband,
- [00:10:49.760]which is what I'm focused on,
- [00:10:51.367]there are so many learnings that we have
- [00:10:53.850]that I think we can share more broadly
- [00:10:55.240]and really help communities deal with the issues
- [00:10:58.310]that they're facing today.
- [00:10:59.790]And so I'm hoping, I'm definitely coming back to Nebraska.
- [00:11:03.240]Absolutely.
- [00:11:05.090]We definitely feel like kindred spirits here,
- [00:11:07.660]and I want to make sure that we can continue to engage,
- [00:11:09.870]continue to discuss, continue to share
- [00:11:11.580]and learn from each other.
- [00:11:13.170]So I'm looking forward to it.
- [00:11:14.540]Well, I have to tell ya.
- [00:11:17.270]We've had these conversations since you arrived in Lincoln.
- [00:11:21.210]You're our kind of people.
- [00:11:22.190](laughs)
- [00:11:23.190]So the welcome mat is absolutely out for ya.
- [00:11:27.500]You know, I just have to say
- [00:11:28.850]that your demonstration of values,
- [00:11:33.190]as a critical part of your work,
- [00:11:36.280]I think was a very powerful message for all of us
- [00:11:39.120]that tend to think of, you know,
- [00:11:41.380]Microsoft as the technology.
- [00:11:44.360]And, so we've learned a lot from you.
- [00:11:46.290]So it's still a people business.
- [00:11:48.140]Yeah, the important thing is
- [00:11:49.540]our biggest asset at Microsoft is our people.
- [00:11:52.510]People ask me a lot of times,
- [00:11:53.640]why are you engaged in broadband?
- [00:11:55.060]Why are you engaged in digital skills?
- [00:11:56.900]Why are you doing all of these things
- [00:11:58.200]if they're not direct moneymaking ventures?
- [00:12:00.480]Well, look, there's a lot of great business interest
- [00:12:02.580]in helping people,
- [00:12:04.210]there's a lot of great business interest in serving people,
- [00:12:06.530]but for me, one of the number one things
- [00:12:08.350]is our employees expect it of us.
- [00:12:10.520]They are people, too.
- [00:12:11.520]They came from all over the world,
- [00:12:14.700]and now they all work in Redmond, Washington
- [00:12:16.790]and in other places around the world,
- [00:12:18.170]but there's 40,000 of us in Redmond.
- [00:12:20.780]And there's about 100,000 of us worldwide.
- [00:12:24.540]But these are people.
- [00:12:25.740]These are people that drive the company,
- [00:12:27.150]and people that have interests
- [00:12:28.270]in other people around the world.
- [00:12:30.180]So it is, people do think of Microsoft
- [00:12:31.910]as a monolithic corporation,
- [00:12:33.297]but really, we're people.
- [00:12:35.180]People are our biggest asset,
- [00:12:36.900]and they expect this of us,
- [00:12:41.155]and it's amazing the kind of engagement
- [00:12:43.440]and enthusiasm you get.
- [00:12:44.530]People will be super interested to hear about
- [00:12:46.020]what I learned here.
- [00:12:46.980]I guarantee you that.
- [00:12:47.970]I will get a lot of email at Microsoft about this visit.
- [00:12:51.170]Very good.
- [00:12:52.003]Well, we're proud to have you here.
- [00:12:53.426]Welcome, thank you for making this investment in us.
- [00:12:56.860]Listen, we wanna encourage you to stay in touch
- [00:12:59.065]with the Rural Futures Institute.
- [00:13:01.450]We'll be back with Catch Up With Chuck.
- [00:13:03.570]But we want you to follow our website,
- [00:13:05.910]and our postings on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram
- [00:13:10.130]and LinkedIn and all of those fun things.
- [00:13:13.020]But we'll be back next week, talking with real people
- [00:13:16.750]about real places, demonstrating
- [00:13:19.170]that thriving rural communities are a legitimate best choice
- [00:13:21.746]for worthwhile living.
- [00:13:23.240]Thanks for joining us.
- [00:13:24.690]Thanks so much for having me.
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