Ex-Alliant exec reflects on journey to the top

Former Alliant Energy chairman Erroll Davis, one of Madison's most prominent black leaders, was recently named chancellor of the University System of Georgia. He is to take the reins in late January or early February and will lead a 35-campus system with a $2 billion annual budget.

Advertisement

Q. What positions did you hold before becoming CEO at Alliant Energy?

A. I joined Alliant in 1978 as vice president of finance. I worked my way up to CEO of WPO Holdings and then became CEO of Alliant when WPO merged with Wisconsin Power and Light. Prior to coming to Wisconsin I worked for both Ford and Xerox. While at Xerox I was in the finance area with a focus on strategic planning.

Q. What is your degree in?

A. My undergraduate degree in electrical engineering is from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. My graduate degree in finance is from the University of Chicago business school.

Q. How did your experiences lead you to your CEO position?

A. I never planned on being CEO; I didn't take any particular steps that were focused on being CEO. My focus was to do the job I was given to the best of my ability. I continued to do well in my positions and continued to get promoted.

Q. Why is diversity important in the private sector?

A. It is important because our customer base is becoming more diverse. You cannot afford to overlook the potential of any portion of the population. It makes good business sense for us to consider all people. We have made so much progress that in hiring female employees we have reached a critical mass of them. We have female managers that are not slow to hire other female employees. We now have a competitive advantage because we do not have to spend money on recruiting programs for women.

Q. Alliant received an award for being one of the top companies for diversity. Diversity Inc. listed it as among the top 50 companies in the country. What did Alliant do to achieve that recognition?

A. We are not doing things remarkably different with regard to state commitments to diversity. But success will depend on the beliefs of the CEO and the upper management team. Part of our management decisions rely on a commitment to diversity. We look to recruit a diverse workforce. We are hiring from pools of professional employees, and as CEO I stated that a pool is not a pool unless it is diverse. We do not impose quotas or things of that nature, and I don't tell people how many people to hire or who to hire. But we do expect and have a clear commitment to building a diverse workforce.

Q. Does Alliant have a procurement program for minority businesses?

A. We have a minority procurement program and we have a target goal to increase the percentage of services and goods we purchase from minority businesses each year. When I spoke at the secretary of Commerce's conference in Waukesha, I spoke some about our programs there. They are designed to ensure that those who are traditionally barriered get certified and get a percent of our procurement pie every year.

The minority procurement program definitely requires the leadership of the CEO and senior management. We make it clear that we are intolerant of failure. We make sure people understand that if we don't meet our goals, those that were responsible for them will have to pay the price.

Q. How important is it for historically disadvantaged folks to be at the table in a senior management position?

A. It is important that people achieve their full potential. I have no doubt that females and minorities can rise just as high as others and when they get to those positions, they will be more sensitive to diversity issues. Since they faced the issues while they were coming up, they are more sensitive than their white male colleagues. We have studiously resisted saying that we have to have "X females" and "X minorities." We have hired and fired minorities in high positions. If they don't get the job done, they have to go elsewhere. Those that do well progress and those that don't do well don't progress.

Clearly it is important if you are looking up and you don't see any females or people of color. You begin to wonder if you can achieve your best at that company or if there are barriers to your success and growth. People are not promoted because they are female or black, but because they are good. We have diverse pools and it takes all colors and all sexes and all shapes and sizes. We just want people to achieve their potential.

Q. Do you think that as a successful African-American man, you have inspired younger folks to want to become CEOs?

A. I don't know if I have inspired anyone. But I hope people look at me and think "it can be done." At the very least, I hope I have set the example that people of color can lead in senior positions at my company.

Q. What do you think can be done to help people of color feel more welcome in the Greater Madison area?

A. We cannot solve the problem of society. We don't want to be part of the problem of society either, though. We must be very sensitive about achieving welcoming atmospheres at work. We must make it clear that we are quickly intolerant of bad behavior on the part of people. We also must have use mentor programs to help people integrate into the community.

At our company, we realize that retention is more challenging than recruiting for minorities. We hire minorities at a much greater rate than their representation of the population, but their turnover rate is much higher than we would like. No one can solve that problem though, no one. Some blame it on a high demand for a small supply, implying that people of color can easily find other jobs. However, in many ways, I see that as an easy excuse.

Q. What advice do you have for people of color who would like to be in your position?

A. I would give them a lot of advice. I think they need to be well trained and well educated. I think a good, rigorous liberal arts education is a good basis. If you look at our company, it is very technical, but the people that surrounded me were all liberal arts graduates. You also have to have good critical thinking skills. I would encourage people not to fixate on timetables; they don't need to be at certain places at certain times. I would also tell young people to make sure that everything they do is done with the highest ethical standards. You are not going to make it by being dishonest or stabbing people in the back. It just doesn't happen that way. Seek positive feedback. Seek real feedback and don't allow people to say "you are doing just fine." When people said that to me I would ask them, "Does that mean I am ready for your job?" And when they said "no," then I would ask them, "What do I have to do to get ready?"

You have to be committed to improving yourself and changing over time. I would not worry about making grandiose plans to be a CEO or something of that nature. I think people of color have a particular concern, to be candid, and that is we know racism exists, but we have to resist being victims to it. We can't look in the mirror and say "but for being black I would be president" or "but for being female I would be president." You have challenges in your environment and you need to learn from them. If you need to move on you need to move on. Don't complain about being black or female; it's not going to change, so you just have to learn to deal with it.

One of the things that I would also suggest - something that I may not have done as well at - is to strive for balance. You cannot neglect your family, and you must have a group of supportive partners as you take your career track.