Toward the end of my first meeting in Washington, D.C., about running the public school system, I was trying to figure out how to break it to the city administrator that I didn’t want the job. A trim fellow with a shaved head walked in. “Hi, I’m Adrian Fenty,” he said. “How are you?” “Fine, sir, it’s an honor to meet you.” The new mayor of the nation’s capital seemed young and energetic but not particularly impressive. He was wearing a white shirt, blue tie, blazer, and rumpled khakis. He looked like a mayoral aide, rather than the chief executive of a city with a $10 billion budget. “As you know, I’m taking over the schools and I’m looking for a chancellor to lead the district. I don’t want one of the usual suspects. I’m looking for someone with a different profile.” He looked around a lot and seemed distracted. He had two BlackBerrys going at once. “We went up to New York, and I was incredibly impressed by Joel Klein,” he continued. “I told him I needed someone like him, and he recommended you.”
