Former Utah senator Mitt Romney gave a three-day lecture series on his career and philosophies on the BYU campus from Nov. 11-13.
Romney’s remarks focused on his success story with the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, what he has seen working in public service and the values surrounding statesmanship. The series was co-sponsored by the Wheatley Institute, BYU’s Department of Political Science, the Marriott School of Business and the Romney Institute.
“Many of you were toddlers, or perhaps younger than toddlers, when the senator stepped away from a successful business career and engaged in public service,” said David Matkin, director of the George W. Romney Institute of Student Republic Service and Ethics.
2002 Olympic Games
“This is not designed to be an inspirational lecture on my part, but rather something that’s practical,” Romney said.
Romney began his first lecture by sharing stories from his early career, accompanied by anecdotes about his father’s business journey. Before he gained notoriety, he had forged his own path as a successful businessman.
“Work. Work. Work. My experience in business careers is that God is not gonna step in to make your business successful … He leaves that to you,” Romney said.
Romney went on to describe how his time in business was interrupted by a single phone call from his wife, Ann Romney. Her call was on behalf of a friend seeking his assistance to pull the 2002 Olympic Games out of controversy and scandal.
“She told me that the Olympics is the last great stage in the world that showcases the great qualities of the human spirit,” Romney said.
After some back and forth about the practicality of helping run the games, she described how these games had the potential to showcase teamwork, dedication and sacrifice.
“With that in mind, I took it up,” Romney said.
His experience with the 2002 Olympics was not an easy one.
“People would say it must be like hosting a Super Bowl. It’s not at all like hosting a Super Bowl. In the Super Bowl, you already have a stadium … This is multiple stadiums, in the mountains,” Romney said.
He described how his responsibilities got larger and larger to pull together every little detail for efficiency and funding.
“We wonder, with all the black eyes we had to endure, whether we could get people to sign up as volunteers," Romney said.
His lecture on the 2002 Olympics came to an end by making the point that his time with the Olympics was a massive learning experience in public service over business advancement.
“This is a service requirement. Not a chance to make it rich … It’s about serving those athletes who’ve come from around the world,” Romney said.
Public Service
Romney conducted his second lecture, focusing on public service, in the Hinckley Center on Nov. 12.
The assembly hall was filled with eager attendees. The crowd was joined by BYU President C. Shane Reese, former BYU president Kevin J. Worthen, Deseret Book CEO Sheri Dew and Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve.
“Senator Romney’s life personifies BYU’s motto, which is to enter to learn and go forth to serve,” President Reese said.
Romney started off his address by cracking jokes at himself, the Republican Party and how political officials are perceived.
“I thought they all hated each other, Republicans and Democrats fighting. But when the cameras are off, they get along wonderfully,” Romney said.
He went on to describe the Wednesday senator prayer breakfasts he had attended during his time in the Senate. His joking demeanor turned to reminiscent shock when he recalled how one of his fellow senators ranked their political priorities.
“I’m like, what? Number seven is ‘Is it good for the country?’ And number one is ‘Will it help me get re-elected?’” Romney recalled.
In light of this anecdote, Romney then focused on maintaining one’s personal values in their professional endeavors.
Romney developed his philosophy on personal values after an experience with a business psychologist. The psychologist had asked Romney’s group to individually write down five names of individuals they admired, three positive qualities each person exemplified and note any repeated qualities.
“I circled them and they were service, love and integrity. And (the business psychologist) said ‘these are your core values,'” Romney said.
Romney went on to tell various stories of people he admired who also lived in harmony with their core values, such as Jimmy John, Bill Marriott and those he worked with while running the 2002 Olympics.
“All the people I’ve described have qualities that I’d like to have,” Romney said.
These qualities then shifted to Romney’s hope for the United States’ political sphere.
“I actually think they could help heal our nation. We face, right now, some real challenges and are highly divided … If we share those values and live by those values, then we can bring ourselves back together,” Romney said.
Romney ended his lecture with a call to action for BYU’s staff and faculty.
“You who teach here and you who are leaders in various ways have, in my view, a responsibility and an opportunity to help lead the country to great unity and a greater integrity with our core values,” Romney said.
Statesmanship
Romney returned to the Kimball Tower to give his final lecture on statesmanship. This time around, every seat in the auditorium was filled with attendees overflowing from wall to wall. Newcomers were ushered to a separate auditorium where the lecture was streamed.
Romney’s discussion on statesmanship was focused on what’s known as the "60 Vote Rule" or the "Filibuster Rule."
“In my opinion, the 60 Vote Rule is something that is essential to the functioning of our democracy and our economy,” Romney said.
He went on to describe why he believed this rule is essential to America’s functioning.
“If one party, by a single majority, could do whatever they want, then that party is gonna want to make sure that they can keep that power forever,” Romney said.
Romney illustrated this concept by describing an occasion when the 60 Vote Rule was at risk of being bypassed in 2022. Romney then described former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema as an exemplary statesman for voting to keep the 60 Vote Rule in effect.
Though this anecdote was a critique of the Democratic Party while it was in power, he also criticized the similar attitudes the Republican Party has adopted to stay in power.
“We’d go from guard rail to guard rail as a country, and families wouldn’t be able to plan. They wouldn’t know where their social security would be, they wouldn’t know where their taxes would be,” Romney said.
Romney finished his lecture series with a final call to action to his listeners regarding the country’s future.
“There are some extraordinary statesmen in our country and in our government. We need more,” Romney said.
