# John White | Leadership, Opposing Opinions, & Balancing Work and Life

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2022-12-09
- Length: 1h 02m
- Episode: 47
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/john-white-opposing-opinions/

## Summary

John White, a former Dean of Engineering at Georgia Tech and Chancellor at the University of Arkansas, shares leadership lessons from his 50-year career spanning academia, industry (Eastman Kodak), and government (National Science Foundation). He discusses his book 'Why It Matters,' the importance of diverse teams, and specific mistakes like nearly closing the University of Arkansas Press. White emphasizes listening, benchmarking against top programs, and balancing work-life demands through family-centric decision-making.

## Chapters

- [0:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life#t=34) Introduction and Career Origins
- [6:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life#t=396) Industry, Academia, and NSF Experience
- [15:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life#t=932) Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at Georgia Tech
- [22:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life#t=1327) Writing 'Why It Matters' and Guest Leaders
- [27:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life#t=1623) Balancing Work and Family Life
- [36:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life#t=2192) Mistakes: Closing the University Press
- [43:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life#t=2585) Leadership Lessons: Listening and Diversity
- [44:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life#t=2699) Communication, Kudzu Management, and Goals
- [52:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life#t=3137) Final Advice: Strengths and Compromise

## Topics

- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- Eastman Kodak (company)
- National Science Foundation (company)
- Georgia Tech (company)
- University of Arkansas (company)
- University of Arkansas Press (company)
- Motorola (company)
- JB Hunt (company)
- Tyson Foods (company)
- MIT (company)
- Virginia Tech (company)
- Pipeline Design & Engineering (company)
- Why It Matters (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [338: Working With People Is Terrible](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2020-07-24-338-working-with-people-is-terrible) (Embedded.fm)
- [Books in the box redux](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2022-06-28-books-in-the-box-redux) (Oxide and Friends)
- [310 - Win at home first! w/ author Cory Carlson](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2025-05-06-310-win-at-home-first-w-author-cory-carlson) (People of Packaging)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-12-09-john-white-leadership-opposing-opinions-balancing-work-and-life. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Being an Engineer.