GERGEN & VANOUREK: From corner office to classroom

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By Christopher Gergen and Gregg Vanourek

Former H&R Block Chief Executive Officer Thomas Bloch details his journey from the corner office to a Kansas City classroom in his new book, "Stand for the Best: What I Learned After Leaving My Job as CEO of H&R Block to Become a Teacher and Founder of an Inner-City Charter School."

The contrast is striking. H&R Block generates $4.4 billion in revenue annually through its nationwide network of about 13,000 company-owned and franchised offices. The company has served more than 400 million clients since 1955.

Mr. Bloch's current organization, University Academy, a college preparatory public charter school, enrolls about 1,000 students - about 93 percent of whom qualify for the federal school lunch program, a common proxy for poverty - in kindergarten through grade 12 and has a budget of less than $10 million.

Nonetheless, Mr. Bloch says he is happier than ever and delighted to have embarked on a second career that he finds fulfilling and meaningful - and that benefits so much from the lessons of his extraordinary first career.

After joining the family business in 1976, he rose to prominence by introducing automation to its office network and then overseeing its innovative practice of filing tax returns electronically, which revolutionized the industry. In 1992, he succeeded his father as CEO.

After nearly two decades with the company, he launched his new career as a middle school math teacher at St. Francis Xavier, an inner-city parochial school. Five years later, he co-founded University Academy, whose mission is to prepare students to succeed in college and participate as leaders in society. The school emphasizes college preparation, career development, community service and leadership. Over the past five years, all but two of its graduates have gone on to attend college.

By all external measures, his life as a business executive was remarkable. It's safe to say that few people would walk away from a seven-figure salary and the accompanying prestige. Mr. Bloch, however, wasn't happy, and his wife worried he wouldn't make it to his 50th birthday with all the stress and pressure. On too many occasions, he would come home from work distracted and not really able to connect with his family.

"I realized we all have one life, and we've got to make sure we use it in such a way that it's a happy life and a useful life," Mr. Bloch said in an interview last month with Entrepreneur.com.

He is now operating on two levels. On one hand, he is there to give his students the tools, guidance and support to craft better lives. In the Entrepreneur.com article, he said he finds "the greatest reward as a teacher - to connect with students, to make a difference in their lives and to find out years later that the impact was significant."

On the other hand, he also is working to renew his community and change the world. In the Entrepreneur.com interview, Mr. Bloch spoke with the vision and passion of a bona fide social entrepreneur: "My goal is to see many of these kids not just get a job, but become really productive entrepreneurs. Ideally, they will create companies in the urban core that will provide tens if not hundreds of jobs for other people."

The lessons from Mr. Bloch's journey - on the importance of courage, risk-taking, passion and service in our lives - are valuable to us all as citizens, leaders, social-change agents and human beings. Mr. Bloch summed it up for Entrepreneur.com through the unique perspective of a CEO-turned-teacher and social entrepreneur:

"It's so important to figure out not only what you're good at, but what you really enjoy doing, and not to be afraid to launch something that's different and may involve some risk. If you don't do it, you may always regret not having taken that step. ... I had a lot of people second-guessing my choice. ... Sometimes we have to not listen to what others say. ... We live in a very work-oriented culture, and sometimes we might want to pursue things that don't necessarily make sense from a career-building point of view, but which will bring us greater satisfaction down the road."

• Christopher Gergen and Gregg Vanourek are co-authors of "Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives" and founding partners of New Mountain Ventures, an entrepreneurial leadership development company. They can be reached at authors@lif entrepreneurs.com.