Gardner discussed some of the ingredients of a community which he has identified in his book Building Community. Organizations should use their own newsletters, and need to clearly state their missions to attract support. Another ingredient in building community is finding common tasks. Gardner said communities must have ways of finding leaders. The self centeredness that keeps people from civic involvement is not an innate characteristic, it is created by our education system which emphasizes individual accomplishment, beginning in the first grade.
Leadership development is a career long effort rather than simply one training seminar or program.
He noted that the US military recognizes this and provides continual training to its current and future leaders. He pointed out that the elected public office sector is neglected by those who want to get involved. He thinks this is due to the difficulty of reconciling the many conflicting demands on elected officials. Reflecting on his career, John Gardner said that he regretted that he did not run for office. No one in the audience doubted that it was not too late for him to run for office.