ASU+GSV 2026 Summit | Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 10:30 am-11:30 am | Sponsored Partner Programming
Speakers
- Eric Holcomb, 51st Governor of Indiana
- Bill Hansen, Building Hope
Key Takeaways
- Former Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb sat down with Bill Hansen in a fireside chat about leadership, civility, and the future of education and workforce development.
- Holcomb reflected on his two terms as governor, emphasizing an eight-step leadership framework he taught during a sabbatical at Harvard Kennedy School: cast a vision, attract a team, build a plan, execute, measure, share results, learn, and adapt.
- He described how during COVID, maintaining transparency and calm leadership was essential to preserving public trust, even while facing armed protests on the governor's lawn.
- Holcomb shared that his Harvard students -- contrary to stereotypes about radicalized youth -- came seeking constructive ways to get through divisive times, giving him optimism about the next generation of leaders.
- He also discussed Indiana's progress on school choice (now 100% of families eligible), workforce pathways, and announced his new Better Way Policy Institute focused on engaging high school students in nonpartisan civic leadership.
Notable Quotes
"If I had one wish that could come true, it would be that everyone had two loving parents."
— Eric Holcomb
"It used to be that the younger cohort were the rabid, red meat, more radicalized folks who were wanting to change the world. Now that seems to be the opposite. Now these students were coming to me saying, how do we get through this?"
— Eric Holcomb
"Conduct is central to success. Otherwise, it's rather fleeting when you stop and really think about history. If you're well-conducted, and you have a team, and you've reached out, that change tends to be more enduring."
— Eric Holcomb
"You certainly had to bite your lip to almost get bleeding. It required a lot of patience. It required keeping cool. It required leading by example."
— Eric Holcomb
Full Transcript
Well, thank you. This is a treat to be able to have a conversation with an incredible governor and a dear friend and Andre, thank you for the introduction. It was the best first hire I ever made. Governor, I just wanted to tee this up a little bit as we're thinking about the title of our session, civility and who's your roots and what you did most recently at Harvard, but I just want to also just kind of serve as a backdrop of our conversation that we're moving into the 250th anniversary of our dear and wonderful country and as we think about the next generation of students and thinking about our schools of tomorrow, our jobs of tomorrow, our economy of tomorrow, I just think it's kind of a good grounding for us to be thinking forward here, but also just thinking back to 1976 at our 200th anniversary just to give you guys all a math problem, I was a junior in high school, 17 years old and I remember the best song of the year was Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John, but just also thinking back of my life of those 50 years of just how the classrooms changed, how our economies changed, we were three years away from the Iran hostage crisis and I was still using a push button phone, we had actually migrated from the dial phone, but just thinking about the tools of learning and the tools of our economy, just in the last session talked about AI, I just really am fascinated about the next 50 years and where we're going to be going, but I just want to turn it to you a little bit, I don't know if everybody in the audience really might have a deep understanding of who you are and your story and so I just maybe let you talk a little bit about your story and your values and what brought you to the governorship.
Sure, well it's so good to be with you specifically and to be here again, so good to be back as most probably did unless you flew in on your own jet, flew in on Lindbergh Field and I've gone down this rabbit hole before to where why is it named Lindbergh Field and this young man from St. Louis and it was actually, having this event, having this topic discussed here, it couldn't be a better backdrop than Lindbergh Field in that back in 1918, to put this thing all in perspective, what you just did in context, 1918 this hotel owner in New York puts out this $25,000 prize and says who can fly solo from New York to Paris and it's this young man, 25 years old, who puts in 2,000 of his own money, dollars, and raises money from people that he had given flight lessons to in St. Louis and a company in San Diego who said we can do it and fast forward in 1927 is when he made that two day flight, think about that flight, 2,000 miles over an ocean, two day trip in the dark, a friend of mine said there's something different about at night over an ocean for two days than just in your backyard looking up at the stars, think about the courage that that took and this company built this aircraft, Ryan Airlines, right here in San Diego, right where that field is, in 60 days, design, test, build, deliver, make flight, and he wins the prize, right? And so without that courage, without really leaning into it, just like the collection of companies that are here today and individuals and leaders that are thinking about to your point after 250 years, where are we and where do we want to be when we celebrate our 300th anniversary?
And so when I stop and think about everyone that's here and the energy and the potential synergy of all that, I get pretty excited about the individual and not just the expanded liberties that people have and that's what draws me to this area of conversation and I'll just break it down and usually I would always try to simplify things, I'm not real comfortable talking about myself, I'd rather hear about other people, but I'll give credit where credit's due and that's two loving parents. If I had one wish that could come true, it would be that everyone had two loving parents. That instilled in me, as did my friends and my wife and playing sports with your buddies, you know, you learn things about respect and you learn things about how to win and lose and you learn things about everyone has a role. Personally serving in the United States Navy taught me that the person on your left and the person on your right is just as important as one another and especially when it comes to completing that mission and I think the Navy got me flying straight in terms of being mission oriented and having a sense of urgency about what we're doing, meaning, you know, serving in government's not always easy, it's not supposed to be, by the way, it's a privilege.
People are entrusting you with a responsibility to hopefully do what you said you would do and that's to leave the campsite a little better than you found it. So here we are. Well, thank you, Governor. You know, I had the blessing of living in Indiana for the eight years that I was CEO of Strata and I just overlapped with your two terms quite a bit, but I loved one of your themes of that, you know, we need to build an economy for 2050 and not 1950 and just I know a couple of the things that you did with, you know, creating your workforce cabinet and expanding school choice and the graduation pathways, just maybe a little bit of context of really what you meant by that and kind of looking forward with your policy decisions.
Yeah, two things always remain or a few things remain true and that's, you know, time flies and the world gets smaller and smaller, meaning that the usual suspects are showing up saying how can we improve on our rankings or our ratings or our graduation rates, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, rating level, math levels, et cetera. And for us in Indiana, we've always embraced and again, credit where credit's due before me, but we've always not been adverse to change, but it's not just changing for changing, you know, the respect, it's how can we get a different outcome? How can we improve? And for us, it was all about, you're hearing this the last yesterday, I've heard it a lot today is decentralizing and customizing and personalizing and making sure that we're tethered to the customer, the student and or the teacher in terms of how we deliver a good education, how we deliver good training programs.
We always tried to look at this from both ends, the polling, the business community, what we need, it's all about supply and demand, right? And so what do we need as the different verticals in our state and then how are we preparing the workforce to meet that demand? And that meant these pathways, whether it was to higher education or further education, perpetual if that's your thing, and or enlisting in the Navy or employment right out of school. And so for us, it was about kind of an efficient program to make sure hopefully students were pursuing what they loved.
I mean, if you could measure and you can, I mean, if you could determine students who love to be in school, students that love their teachers, students who love to learn, typically it turns out okay for them. It's the ones that aren't looking forward to it and now why? And then oftentimes it's they're in a lane or on a track that they don't know where it's leading to. There's all these bridges to nowhere, right?
And so we were trying to attack it from both ends, from the student-centric through that lens and through what was needed in the state. And you can never do enough, obviously. And we took a lot of shots on goal and if it didn't work out, we were just honest. We were very transparent.
We turned our cards face up and said, you know, didn't work, but we've got something that we're going to try or expand. And then always we would try to increase what was working. It sounds simplistic and it is. Yeah.
Well, just going back to five years ago in the midst of COVID, I do remember that our Do we have to? Our institutions, I think really lost a lot of trust in the public. I actually serve as a vice president of the State Board of Education in Virginia and Virginia actually had the largest learning loss of any state in the country during COVID and took us the last four years.
to dig out of that, but there was a lot of trust that was lost, a lot of, I think, families have made decisions on education and other issues, but just what were some of the practical steps that you needed to do to help instill that public trust of these last several years? I could get emotional about this topic.
You certainly had to bite your lip to almost get bleeding. It required a lot of patience. It required keeping cool. It required leading by example.
I'd look back on those years and I've often described it as that's when Hoosiers went to Oz. We pulled the curtain back and Hoosiers got to see on a very regular basis who was in charge, and they were neighbors of theirs. They learned that it just weren't bureaucrats. These were people who cared deeply about their neighbors, who were trying to take a very balanced approach to getting through something that none of us had gone through before, where information was changing by the day, and so we had to have a very balanced, calming effect, which meant we had to communicate a lot, like over-communicate, be very transparent, and very accessible, and I think that helped us get through and not respond.
It's kind of like if you go to the free-throw line and there's a bunch of people watching, booing you, like you have to be able to tune that out and sink the shot, and that speaks for itself. I mean, there were days where people would protest on the governor's lawn and dress me up like Hitler and carry long guns, and there were people that said, you got to come out, you got to just lay into them, and I let their actions speak for themselves, and then let the electorate judge who they wanted in charge, and so it does require discipline for sure, but it requires putting yourself out there and not shrinking from the responsibility back to it being a privilege during good times and bad and tough times, and so again, I think it's who you are at the core that really shines through, especially in the challenging moments. Thank you. Back in December, I still subscribe, and part of my leading with civility, to the Washington Post every day, as I have for 50-plus years, but I opened up, and there was an editorial by Governor Holcomb about your sabbatical or your time at Harvard last year, and just very intrigued with your commentary there, and I just really love to hear a little bit about your time there, but also just really some of the lessons learned and just how it affected you as you're moving forward here.
It's fascinating, and you know, I've always been one of those people that says, don't complain, show up, and so when I got the invitation to go, a lot of people said, what are you doing? I'm going in the lion's den, you know. I didn't have to tame any lions. It was a very warm welcome, and what I found were students of all backgrounds, political persuasion included, that were interested in the curriculum that I was leading, and it started out, I had it titled, Leading in Divisive Times, and I crossed, before the first class, crossed out in and replaced it with through, because I was optimistic, especially being around these students, that we could get through this.
Mind you, this was when Charlie Kirk was assassinated, and I had, like I said, Democrats and Republicans students who would come faithfully and say, how do we get through this together, with one another? They were wanting to be part of the solution, and I think about, you know, when we started out, that's almost on its head. It used to be that the younger cohort were the rabid, red meat, you know, more radicalized, you know, folks who were wanting to change the world, and less civil, and it was the older statesmen, women, who were, yeah, I've been through that, I then got that out of my system, now we're trying to affect change. Now that seems to be the opposite.
Now these students were coming to me saying, but how do we get through this? How do I, how can I be constructive, not destructive to the whole system? And so that gave me a lot of hope for the future, and you know, we, the curriculum included kind of an eight-step process, so you know, each week we dove really deep into, and you've heard around here, I've already heard come themes of how you, you know, cast a vision. What is your goal?
Whether you're, again, whatever political jersey you wear, a lot of times we share the same end goal, but how do we get there? And it requires you to kind of cast a vision. That in turn attracts the team that's critical to realizing that vision, and then that team builds the plan, the actual plan, the thing that is necessary. This is not rhetorical.
This is something that we're going to execute on or implement step-by-step, time-stamped. After you implement or execute that plan, then you got to measure it, and then whatever the results are, good, bad, or ugly, you got to share them, and that sharing those results. I see the superintendent of public instruction from Indiana is here today. You know, we had to be honest with people about the results, where we were.
If we were going to improve our literacy rates, we had to talk about it, and not in a defensive way, by the way, but here's what we're going to do about it. Now help us. And so you share those results. You learn from them.
You're informed by them, and then you adapt. You tweak. Having that gained information, and then I always would say rinse and repeat is the final step, and go right back at it. And the students really honed in on that plan part, and they could detect, you know, whatever week it was, whatever had happened that week, what was the plan?
You know, if they were watching something internationally, if they were watching something nationally, whatever the issue of the day was, and they would hone in on, if I ran this through that eight-step process, where would we be? And so I was encouraged, and I continue to be, when I get around kind of younger, not just Americans, but younger folks around the world who want to be leaders, their ability to say we can impact and affect change in a very positive way, if we're well-conducted. It goes back to that civility part. They understood that conduct is central to success.
Otherwise, it's rather fleeting when you stop and really think about history. If you're well-conducted, and you have a team, and you've reached out, and you have people with different perspectives, that change tends to be more enduring, and not undone by whoever's next. Maybe tell me a little bit about your Better Way policy group, and just what the next chapter is for you right now, and how you're taking all these lessons learned from your time in public service, and this last year off, if you will, to really how you're going to apply this going forward. Yeah, it's almost like we're married again this last year off.
My wife and I get to see each other, unlike it's just two ships passing in the night. I don't know if she'd renew her vows, but we are still married through it all. But it gave me almost a year, and did the time, the stint at Harvard, but gave me time to really reflect on where I wanted to spend time. As a governor, you do a lot of things that you don't want to do, but you have to do, obviously.
This gave me the opportunity to focus on where do I, what's my area of interest that if I devote a hundred percent of my waking hours to, where would it be? Instead of just preaching to young kids to find your passion project, you know, make sure it's aligned with your personality. Now it was, I was saying it to myself, trying to be very discerning about not saying yes to a thousand different good asks or causes. And part of it was coming out of Harvard, was starting this Better Way Policy Institute, where I could remain tethered to the next generation of leaders and try to pitch in and do my part.
In Indiana, we're blessed, as are a lot of states with a lot of leadership groups, primarily focused on college-aged and young professionals. I backed that up into high schools, and so we're rolling this out around the state of Indiana, current right now, to make sure that, not in a political way, in a non-partisan way, different community projects, thinking about how you build not just stronger individuals and families, but stronger communities, and getting younger folks involved before they, you know, set sail into their professional life, whether that be higher education or employment or...
serving in the military. I think that gives us a much better head start on where we want to end up being again, maybe not in 2050, but in 2030. And just maybe with some of those examples of where the state is right now on some of the important reforms in education with apprenticeships and school choice and your workforce preparation, just where do you see things going?
You made such incredible progress during your two terms. And I know there's been a lot of activity this last year as well, but just where do you see the future in those key areas? Yeah, I think there's just a ton of momentum out there. And again, not to be egocentric about it, but I was all happy about being 97% school choice state for families eligible.
And then they made it 100%, which is good. You want to be moving in that direction. You want to be doing things that have traction and have momentum that prove out those different earn and learn models and the employer training grants and the workforce ready grants that were looking at it from the employee perspective and looking at it from the employer perspective. And again, how do we meet in the middle?
We just need to all, not just Indiana, not just America, we all need to be doing a whole lot more of that. And I'm encouraged that we come to a summit like this. Now, we're standing on the summit. We're looking down on the terrain.
And the good news is, I think, the good news, bad news is, I think there is a very healthy appetite, especially in this AI-infused economy, that folks sense there is great change coming. It's here. It's not just knocking on your door. It's inside your home right now.
We have to be able to change the systems that we've been used to, whether it be the unemployment insurance system that's been around for 90 years, was built for a very specific reason 90-plus years ago. What does it need to look like today? And I'm, again, encouraged that we have this fresh set of eyes that maybe are building the programs or promoting the policies or running to be a policymaker, creating the app or the service that can hone in on the individual's potential, where they are now and where they need to be. And these programs that you talked about, these are very practical steps in that right direction.
And I'm very bullish, very optimistic, because not just coming to a summit like this, but seeing what is being tried maybe for the first time, the appetite, not just the acceptance, but the awareness now that's out, more so than when I first got involved. Thank you for that. And just I love some of the basketball examples. I was actually able to sit here last year with Governor Young.
And I think you're the two tallest former governors. And so I feel like a point guard between the two of you. But I just- You get scholarships for shooting, not passing. Speaking of which, congratulations on your national champion.
Football, too. Well, just as we wrap up here at the last minute, just any advice for us, just generally in terms of our responsibilities in our communities, but also just really as a country and as leaders, just what would be most helpful for us to keep in mind and going about our daily lives with our families and our roles in our, again, communities and in our civic responsibilities? By the way, I also played point guard. So I never shot.
I always passed. I just repeat myself and tell younger people or advise them, still do, is to find out what you love. Find out what your passion project is. Make sure, as I said, that it is aligned with your personality.
And remain positive through thick and thin, through hell or high water. The sun will come up tomorrow, and you're going to reflect on this one day and hopefully be proud about what your contribution was. And it'll be here before you know it. You'll be sitting up here doing this instead of as a practitioner.
And I'm, again, very optimistic about what's coming and the fusion that's involved right now. Thank you, Governor. It's been a treat to be with you today. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
This transcript was put together by our friend Philippos Savvides from Arizona State University. The original transcript and additional summit resources are available on GitHub. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.