When the black SUV crested the hill and stopped near a cluster of low buildings in the desolate Rwandan village of Rwinkwavu, a crowd of people cheered and the cameras started to roll. Showtime. Paul Kagame, the tall, cave-chested President of Rwanda, alighted from the driver's seat, and Bill Clinton, thinner than he used to be and ruddy in a brightly checked shirt, emerged from the passenger's side.
They were there to visit a hospital that treats people with HIV/AIDS, and Clinton was ... still Clinton. The former President was midway through a nine-day, seven-country African sprint meant to showcase the work of his William J. Clinton Foundation.
"We have a culture of getting s**t done. It is very empowering and very unforgiving," says Anil Soni, a former McKinsey consultant who is now COO of Clinton's HIV/AIDS initiative. "Clinton will say, 'People are going to die tomorrow if we don't do this.' And it's true."
The foundation doesn't have a clearly defined hierarchy or a detailed business plan. Its tentacles sprout from need, opportunity, and passion rather than design. "We don't have committees, we don't have processes," says foundation CEO Bruce Lindsey, who has been with Clinton since Arkansas. "If a decision needs to be made, we make it. If we can help, we help now, not tomorrow."
[Excerpt of an article by Bethany McLean, Fortune]
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