The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) on September 18th, 2020, marked the end of a progressive legal legacy that shaped both federal and state legislation. Her death shined a light on her tenacity and steadfast commitment to justice for all. When examining her life and work, it is clear that RBG had a big picture, long-term strategy to accomplish her goals – guaranteeing equal protection under the law for women – even before she was on the Supreme Court bench. RBG’s approach to strategy, relationships, and decision-making is a case study for business leaders on how they can grow their organizations, optimize productivity, and thrive even in the face of adversity.
Strategic Thinking
From the onset of her career, RBG had a plan. Her big picture goal was to ensure that the constitutional clause “equal protection of the law” applied to women. The first part of her strategy that she employed to accomplish this goal was to take and argue cases that would, case-by-case, step-by-step, eliminate statutes that discriminated on the basis of gender (for both men and women). The second part of this strategy was to clarify, case after case, how women were treated since the nation’s inception, being branded, in her own words as “branded inferior.” In this way, RBG created a legal landscape that pointed towards systemic gender-based inequalities and formulated a precedent that the courts could look to in the future as these types of cases continued to be litigated. Kathleen Peratis of the ACLU Women’s Rights Project noted that RBG’s “conception of the strategy led to a whole string of litigations for the next decade.”
What is the take-away here, and how can you emulate RBG’s strategy to bolster your business? Here are some simple steps:
Before you put pen to paper or begin delegating executive orders, stop and think: What is the big picture goal? What does “winning” look like? What does success mean in a measurable way that connects to your firm’s core values and mission?
What is your firm’s vision and mission? What are your business’s core values and principles? How do you effectively communicate these things to the public?
Your company’s winning aspiration should highlight how you deliver value and where/to whom.
Once you have your big picture goal, reverse-engineer the process.
Getting from here to there. What steps, in order, need to be taken? Who will be responsible for each step?
Capabilities inventory. What capabilities need to be in place? What assets will you need to accomplish your big picture goal? More cash? More employees? Technological upgrades? External partnerships or alliances? Are the appropriate management systems in place?
Finding and filling the gaps. A strong strategy promotes integrated linkages between a firm’s business units and operations. Define the links in your organizational chain to create the best structure to achieve your goals. Are there gaps in your business? How can they be filled? What are your key roadblocks/obstacles? Are there gaps in the marketplace that you can fill with your new strategy?
In the words of RBG, “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” Pursuing large-scale strategic initiatives takes time, patience, consistency, and leadership.
Decision-Making
Effective strategy and effective leadership are not just about deciding what to do – it’s about deciding what not to do. RBG’s process for achieving her larger goal was driven by strategic decision-making – taking on only the cases that would propel her agenda forward. So often, businesses pursue a strategy of “more is better” when, in fact, such a methodology only pulls the organization away from its goals and makes it harder to create an optimal fit between its operations and delivering value to its customers.
Considerations for strategic decision-making:
Does the proposed strategy move the firm closer to its goal, further away, or create stagnation?
Does your firm have both the capability and desire to execute the necessary strategic steps to accomplish its big picture goal?
Are decisions being made in a vacuum, or are more inputs needed for optimal execution? Is there buy-in among key stakeholders? If other departments or business units are required, have they been allowed to be part of the discussion?
Only select the right tools and mechanisms that will help you accomplish your goals. At each decision point, ask yourself, “Does making this decision get me closer to my goal? Who will benefit from this decision, and who will be hurt by this decision (both internally and externally)? Is the cost of making this decision commensurate with the value it will create? Can I afford not to make this decision?
Dissent and Confrontation – Leveraging Obstacles and Failures
“Of course, I prefer to be in the majority, but, if necessary, I will write separately in dissent,” said RBG in a televised interview. As the Supreme Court shifted to the right with the additions of Justices Alito and Stevens, RBG found herself, more often, in the dissenting minority. However, she did not conceive of being in this position as a failure. On the contrary, she leveraged her power of dissent as a tool to continue moving her strategic goal forward. This is clearly seen in her response to the Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. employment discrimination decision of the Supreme Court in 2007. In a rare move, RBG read her dissent from the bench, arguing against applying the 180-day limit to pay discrimination because discrimination often occurs in small increments over large periods of time (Ledbetter, Ginsburg, J., dissenting).
And what did taking the time to voice her dissent accomplish? In 2007, Democratic members of Congress introduced the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which President Barak Obama eventually signed into law in 2009.
When faced with rejection or perceived failure, look for other ways to accomplish your goals. For RBG, that was using the power of dissent. For you, it may be
Pitching your idea to new ears.
Taking a fresh approach to building excitement and consensus around your project.
Looking at different departments that might be a better fit for what you’re proposing.
Re-purposing or re-packaging your product or service to better meet the needs of your target market.
No one enjoys failure. In our culture, in general, success is celebrated, and failure is deemed intolerable. However, failure can be a powerful learning tool for recognizing how to move forward successfully. From the notion of “failing forward,” we can learn to derive meaning from our failures and adversity and give them meaning and insight. RBG was not defined by her inability to win every case while on the bench; she was defined by how she navigated and responded to her position at any given time. She was no less confident and no less competent by being in the dissenting minority. Rather, she used being in that position as a chance to communicate why she found herself in that position – turning a seeming failure into an opportunity.
Relationships
“When a thoughtless or unkind word is spoken, best tune out. Reacting in anger or annoyance will not advance one’s ability to persuade,” Ginsburg said in a NYT Sunday Review article on October 2, 2016. RBG was known for her collegiality and the unlikely relationships she maintained across party lines. She and conservative judge, Antonin Scalia, considered themselves good friends. Though they did not often agree on legal matters, their collegiality enabled the court to function. “Despite our strong disagreements on cardinal issues – think, for example, of controls on political campaign spending, affirmative action, access to abortion – we genuinely respect one another, even enjoy one another’s company. Collegiality is crucial to the success of our mission. We could not do the job the Constitution assigns to us if we didn’t – to use one of Justice Antonin Scalia’s favorite expressions – “get over it!” (“Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Advice for Living” New York Times, September 20, 2020.)
You will not always agree with your colleagues. In these increasingly polarized times, it is becoming more difficult to have productive conversations with individuals we deem on the “other side.” However, I think we can all agree that such polarization and tribalism isn’t actually productive – it gets us no closer to our goals.
RBG left behind both a remarkable legal legacy and a roadmap for how we can be more strategic and thoughtful in both our business and personal lives. By keeping the big picture in mind, we can anchor ourselves to the strategies and important decisions to accomplish our goals.