Addressing systemic inequities is so incredibly hard. You’re essentially fighting the status quo, and the status quo will reassert itself at every turn. Whenever you’re pushing for change to such ingrained problems, you can of course expect a certain amount of overt resistance, but the more challenging part can be the passive resistance. When people have the status quo on their side, doing nothing is actually a very effective method of killing the change. So how do you combat that?

Many years ago, I took a class in the Bronx to get my motorcycle license. The lessons took place in a random, shabby parking lot with bottom of the line loaner bikes that didn’t even have sideview mirrors. Most of the other students, like me, had cheap, low tech gear, barely meeting the requirements. One guy, though, had the full kit. His jacket, pants, gloves, boots, and helmet must have cost thousands of dollars. He looked impressive. But he was also the worst student in class. He actually flunked out, because he couldn’t make simple turns without falling over. I’ve witnessed new government programs suffer the same fate.

We recently had a chance to join the Honorable Kathleen Kennedy Townsend at some important, innovation-oriented meetings in Washington DC, including the Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives’ gathering of states, and NAST. Join us we meet one on one to capture three retirement security priorities and other key nuggets.