Tom Moran – So Good He was Great

I truly lament that we have lost Tom Moran.

When my brother called me with the tragic news that Tom had died I was transported to a moment at a Mutual of America Sales Conference. Tom, the CEO and President, was happily introducing himself to everyone at this crowded reception. I was watching his progress with two other seasoned MOA veterans when he turned and stood face-to-face with us. Beaming his sun-bright smile, Tom looked each of us in the eye and said, “I know you three already.” And then excused himself. But in barely a second he wheeled back to add, “We’ll catch up later.”

We were left wearing the standard, but very unique smile that always accompanied a moment with Tom. The smile was inevitably followed by a wondrous shake of the head that was needed to reassure one's doubts of human nature - It IS true that a man can be so good that he is great.

There is never a good time to lose anyone as good as Tom. Death has its own schedule. There are moments in history, such as with Abraham Lincoln, that death comes at the exact moment when a particular life has completed its mission. Where that particular person had earned the rest and glory of heaven.

Part of my lament is that this is the moment in history when we need Tom Moran the most.

To those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of knowing Tom, he was born on Staten Island and grew to be, among other things, Chancellor at Queen’s University of Belfast, Chairman of Concern, a worldwide charity helping the underprivileged, a key contributor to the peace process in Northern Ireland, and the former Chairman, CEO and President of the multi-billion dollar corporation, Mutual of America. Oh, and Tom would make clear that any introduction must include that he also once drove a cab and started at Mutual ‘paperclipping’ things.

This isn’t false modesty. It is a declaration of the philosophy that sits at the core of Tom’s values – every human being is valuable. Equally valuable. And he went to great lengths to make sure everyone he met, understood what their value was.

I worked for Mutual of America from 1994 until 2008. But I was originally hired in 1991, by Tom Moran himself. He was the Executive VP for Marketing then and the hiring process he used for my interview was something brilliant, challenging, and totally out of left field. He must have valued my potential greatly for this particular interview. I know I valued myself more after it.

I got this interview via a family connection. Tom Moran first started at Mutual at the same time as my brother Tommy. The future CEO and the future Senior VP of Human Resources worked side-by-side, even sharing paperclips. Their careers exceeded thirty years there. My father also worked at Mutual for nearly twenty years. But family didn’t get you a job here, it got you an interview. The interview got you the job.

My interview turned out to be lunch. In the Executive dining room at Time/Life listening to a presentation from their reporter who was in Moscow during the downfall of the Soviet system. When we arrived they handed me a badge that read: RICH HARWOOD, MUTUAL OF AMERICA. I was seated next to Tom at a table filled with Fortune 500 executives. After the most interesting and satisfying meal of my life, mingling with New York business leaders, the Senior VP of Sales, the late Jim Flynn quietly reassured me that I had earned a job offer. Unfortunately, that offer would require me to relocate. But that would force me to sell my home at a loss. The offer went into abeyance for two and a half years until THEY called me to tell me I would be hired for an opening on Long Island.

Tom showed faith in me that I could represent his company in a manner that upheld their values and reputation. He had more faith in me than I had in myself. I didn’t even work for him yet!

What kind of man does that? A man whose second nature is to find value in people, show it to them, and then inspire them to value it in themselves. He was a master at this.

Someone that this moment in history requires more than anything.

It seemed Tom Moran found joy in the simple act of showing respect. He was not one to command respect, you were very happy to give it to him. Our world is in dire need for that joyous attachment to respect. It inspires us to listen. For listening engenders understanding and you DON'T fear what you DO understand. Most importantly, you cannot hate without fear.

Our world is currently scourged with this cancer called hate. Fear-mongering world leaders are empowering divisiveness and giving people the idea that it is okay to hate.

It is not.

Propaganda disguised as news is so widespread that we are all caught up in its stink, even if that stink comes out as hate for the haters.

There is a prescription for this cancer called hate. It is not something you take. It is something you give.

Give at least two Morans everyday.

Spend five minutes thinking about all people as being valuable. Concentrate on those who you would ordinarily turn your nose up at. Try to imagine how you would behave if you were in their shoes. See the value in their lives and especially the value they can offer the world. Build on this until you actually listen to their story. Seek to understand who they are and why they are that. You will lose the fear, and then, even though you probably won’t even notice, that the cancer that is hate has nothing left to hold onto.