Denver: We’re going to do Take Five with Martin Whittaker, the president and CEO of JUST Capital. Are you ready, Martin?
Martin: I’m ready.
Denver: What idea in philanthropy is ready for retirement?
Martin: Boy, that’s a hard one.
Denver: You can pass.
Martin: No, I don’t like to pass. We’ll come back to it.
Denver: What should we be worried about?
Martin: Division, anger, resentment.
Denver: What is one of your favorite documentaries or movies?
Martin: Well I love Star Wars. I love the whole series, I have to say. I like the Dark Side versus the Force. I like the tension, and I like that the good guys win.
Denver: What’s today’s most underreported story?
Martin: The health crisis in America.
Denver: What is something you believe that other people think is just insane?
Martin: That’s a complicated question. I’ll pass on that one.
Denver: Name some organization or person that you have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for.
Martin: Paul Tudor Jones with Robin Hood Foundation.
Martin Whittaker
Denver: What is the most important thing that makes for a health organizational culture?
Martin: Empathy.
Denver: What did you change your mind about in the last 10 years and why?
Martin: Denver, really. These are soul-searching questions.
Denver: They’re good questions.
Martin: What did I change my mind about? I’ve changed my mind about my priorities in life because I’ve gotten 10 years older. That’s what happens when you get older.
Denver: If you were a kitchen utensil, what would you be?
Martin: I want to be a knife.
Denver: What do you wish people were more open and honest about?
Martin: Their true motivations and feelings.
Denver: If you were to start your career all over again and do something completely different and away from this field, what would that be?
Martin: I would be a writer.
Denver: What is your super power?
Martin: I just get on with people.
Denver: If you could have one gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say?
Martin: Be nice. Do good.
Denver: What is something whether this is related to your work or not, that you are exceptionally excited about right now.
Martin: I’m very excited about the direction that Manchester United is going in in English soccer.
Denver: What are you currently reading?
Martin: The Ian Rankin detective series about Inspector Rebus in Edinburgh.
Denver: What is the one book you would give as a gift?
Martin: Great Expectations.
Denver: What topic would you speak about if you were asked to give a TED Talk on something outside of your main area of expertise?
Martin: How to survive as a parent when one of your children having leukemia.
Denver: What is something about you that very few other people know?
Martin: I have a black belt 2nd dan in taekwondo.
Denver: Given the choice of anyone famous in the world dead or alive that you could invite over for dinner, who would you invite?
Martin: That is really hard. There are so many people. I’d probably invite William Shakespeare.
Denver: What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
Martin: Do things faster.
Denver: Finally, do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?
Martin: I do, it’s a quote by Teddy Roosevelt. It says, “It’s not the critic who counts…” That’s how it begins. It’s a long quote. But that’s the one that I try to live my life by.
Denver: And we’ll just go back to this, what idea in philanthropy is ready for retirement?
Martin: That giving out more money faster is the best way to do things. It’s about outcomes, not inputs.