How Microsoft Grants Executive Determines Greatest Need Company Donations Target
Populations in the Region Underserved by Technology
Lori Forman is Microsoft Corp.'s regional director of community affairs for Asia. From her base in Singapore she oversees the software giant's grants program, disaster relief and software donations in 16 countries where Microsoft has offices and in 30 other countries in the region.
In the past three years Microsoft, through her office, has disbursed $33 million to a total of 98 nonprofit organizations in 19 countries for programs aimed at bringing information technology to underserved communities.
Ms. Forman, 47 years old, took up her position at Microsoft in September 2003 after 22 years of working for the U.S. government and as a fund-raiser for a non-governmental organization, or NGO. After graduating with a bachelor of arts degree from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and a master's degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Ms. Forman became a senior political analyst in the Reagan White House. Subsequent government roles included assistant administrator for Asia and Near East at the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and Manila-based U.S. executive director on the Asian Development Bank's board of directors. At USAID, Ms. Forman oversaw U.S. government assistance in Asia totaling nearly $3 billion annually.
Stephen Wright interviewed Ms. Forman at her Microsoft office in Singapore.
WSJ: What was your first job and what lessons did you learn?
Ms. Forman: My first job was working for the presidential pollster in the Reagan White House as the senior political analyst. The realities of politics makes you grow up very quickly, and that applies whether it's the internal politics of a company or an NGO. The ability to get your point across quickly and in a compelling manner has been very important no matter where I have worked.
WSJ: In terms of what you do now, who gave you the best advice?
Ms. Forman: President Reagan said to me: "Just remember, logistics can kill you." You can have the best speech in the world but if something goes wrong, that is the thing people will remember. Yes, things have still gone wrong, but remembering this advice, I've tried to be prepared.
I recall giving remarks at the opening of a women's microfinance program in Jordan in September 2001. It was an outdoor event with a mild breeze. The other speaker was Jordan's Queen Rania, who was articulate, composed and gracious. When I stood up to speak, the breeze became a gale. My hair was in my face, and a page of my remarks flew into the audience.
Fortunately, I have used the "logistics can kill your message" advice to develop a habit: Even if I have written remarks, at a minimum I memorize the titles of the top three dignitaries and the top three points of the speech. So while the speech was much shorter than planned, and I only referred to the officials by title rather than risk mispronouncing their names, I was able to deliver relevant remarks. The only real loss of the event was the photographs, with my hair flying everywhere.
WSJ: Have you ever let your colleagues down?
Ms. Forman: When I was working for the Nature Conservancy in Japan, my primary responsibility was fund raising. I raised more than $40 million in about 10 years in Japan, but the expectations were much higher, and people who thought of Japan as an economic powerhouse were disappointed we couldn't get more.
WSJ: What were the toughest management decisions you've had to make?
Ms. Forman: Dealing with personnel issues is never easy. It's almost more difficult in an NGO because anybody who comes into an NGO has tremendous passion for the job and they really believe in the issues. But issues of cash flow are very big for NGOs. If people aren't performing, the NGO often doesn't have a choice [but to let them go]. It made me much more careful in the hiring process and very clear about the job expectations from the start.
WSJ: What are the attributes of a good manager?
Ms. Forman: No. 1 is listening to all points of view, and then making a decision. I've had the experience in other positions where key managers couldn't make a decision, and that eats people up more than anything else.
WSJ: How do you determine where to grant assistance?
Ms. Forman: Our focus is on people who have been underserved by technology, for instance, senior citizens in South Korea. But in Indonesia the issue is rural poverty, so we work with farmers. Farmers have been able to use the Internet to sell their products for higher prices.
WSJ: What factors go into that decision? Microsoft gives to senior citizens in South Korea, a rich, developed country, while there might be greater need in economically disadvantaged countries such as Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Ms. Forman: We do look at things in terms of impact and reach. It's also an issue of delivery channels. In a number of remote areas, there might not be any NGOs there that could undertake this type of program. We need to look at whether information-technology skills will make a difference for a community, and can we deliver it in an effective way with a partnership. We have to balance all of that.
WSJ: How do you turn down appeals for assistance?
Ms. Forman: Politely, clearly, consistently. I know from being a fund-raiser in an NGO that there's nothing worse than someone stringing you alone with a maybe or a non-answer just because they aren't willing to say no. Most NGO fund-raisers would prefer to hear a clear, "No, this isn't going to work" rather than, "Let me check on it, maybe there's a way."
公益事业的管理之道
罗丽?福曼(Lori Forman)是微软公司(Microsoft Corp.)亚洲地区公益事业的负责人。她目前在新加坡工作，负责微软在16个国家（微软在这些国家设有办事处）以及该地区其他30个国家的基金赠与、减灾以及软件捐赠项目等。
在过去的三年中，微软通过福曼的办公室向19个国家的总计98个非营利机构支付了3,300万美元，用于支持旨在将信息技术传播到发展水平低下的地区的各类项目。
现年47岁的福曼自2003年9月开始担任现职，在此前的22年中，她曾经为美国政府工作，并为一家非政府组织(NGO)担任筹款人。她在南达科他州奥古斯塔纳学院(Augustana College)获得了文学士学位，并在哈佛大学(Harvard University)的约翰肯尼迪政府学院(John F. Kennedy School of Government)获得了公共政策方面的硕士学位。毕业后，福曼开始为里根(Reagan)政府担任高级政治分析师。她担任的政府职位还包括美国国际开发署(U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID)亚洲及近东地区的助理主管，以及亚洲发展银行(Asian Development Bank)董事会驻迈阿密的美国执行董事。在USAID，福曼负责美国政府对亚洲每年总额将近30亿美元的援助。
日前福曼在新加坡办公室接受了《华尔街日报》记者史蒂芬?怀特(Stephen Wright)的采访。
《华尔街日报》（以下简称WSJ）：你的第一份工作是什么？从中你学到了什么？
福曼：我的第一份工作是为里根政府的总统民意调查事务担任高级政治分析师。政治中的种种现实会让你迅速地成长起来，而且不管是公司的内部政治还是NGO的，这个道理都适用。不论在哪里工作，能够把自己的观点快速且强有力地传递出去是非常重要的。
WSJ：就你现在从事的工作而言，谁给了你最好的建议？
福曼：前总统里根曾对我说：“记住，细节准备是致命性的。”你的演讲或许是世界上最棒的，不过，如果期间发生了什么差错，人们只会记得这个败笔。 实是，问题仍会时时出现，但是我牢记了这条忠告，努力使自己有备无患。
我记得2001年9月在约旦举行了一个妇女小额贷款项目的开幕仪式，这个活动是在户外举行的，那天微风拂面。约旦王后瑞尼亚(Rania)在仪式上进行了演讲，她口才非常好，举止沉着、优雅。但是当我站起来讲话的时候，微风变成了大风。我的头发被吹到了脸上，演讲稿中的一页也被吹到了观众席。
幸运的是，我在“细节准备是致命性的”的忠告下已经养成了一个习惯：即使有演讲稿，我也至少会记住三位首要人物的头衔以及演讲内容的三个要点。因此，那天我的演讲虽然比预想的简短了很多，我也只是提到了这些官员的职位，而没有冒险说出他们的名字，但是起码我能够就此作一些相关的发言。这个活动真正的损失是拍的照片，因为我的头发被吹得乱飞。
WSJ：你曾让自己的同事失望吗？
福曼：当我为大自然保护基金(Nature Conservancy)驻日本工作的时候，我的主要职责是筹款。我在大约10年里在日本筹得了4,000多万美元，但是大家的期望却更高，他们认为日本是一个经济强国，因此对于我们没有筹到更多的资金感到失望。
WSJ：你在管理上必须作的最艰难的决定是什么？
福曼：处理人事问题从来都不简单。在NGO中处理此类问题更加困难，因为所有来NGO工作的人都是对这份工作怀着巨大的热情，而且他们认为这个事业非常有价值。但是，流动资金是NGO面临的一个特别大的问题。如果有人无法达到工作既定目标，NGO别无选择（只能让他们走）。这也让我在招聘过程中十分小心，从最开始就把工作目标讲得十分清楚。
WSJ：一个好经理人的品质是什么？
福曼：首先，能够听取所有意见观点，其次，能够作出决定。我曾在其他职位上有过这样的经历：主要的负责人不能作出决定，这一点比其他任何问题都更耗人。
WSJ：你如何决定向哪里提供援助？
福曼：我们的重点是那些很难接触到新技术的人们，比如韩国的老年人。但是印度尼西亚的问题在于贫困的农村地区，因此我们向那里的农民提供帮助。现在，农民已经可以通过互联网以更高的价格出售他们的农产品。
WSJ：做决定要考虑的因素有哪些？微软向韩国这样一个富裕、发达国家的老年人提供帮助，但是阿富汗以及孟加拉等经济欠发达的国家可能更加需要帮助。
福曼：我们做决定的时候也会考虑影响及范围。但是同样要考虑输送渠道。在一些偏远地区，或许根本没有任何NGO能够开展此类项目。我们必须认真考虑信息技术是否能给这个社区带来变化，以及是否能够通过合作伙伴有效地将它送达。我们必须平衡所有因素。
WSJ：你如何拒绝援助请求？
福曼：礼貌地、清楚地且坚决予以回绝。从我在NGO担任筹资人的经验中，我理解到，最糟糕的事情莫过于某些人为了一个不确定的问题或者根本没有答案的问题一直吊着你的胃口，只是因为他们不愿意说不。大多数NGO的筹资人都愿意听到明确的回答“不行，这行不通”，而不是“让我再看看，或许还有办法。”
Stephen Wright
