I’m honored to be here tonight, but the truth is I’m probably more humbled.

While I speak often in public, I’ve never particularly considered myself an accomplished speaker.

Certainly not when compared to some of your former honorees, such as my friends President Carter, Andrew Young and Johnnetta Cole.

But whether it was during my days at Home Depot, or now as the owner of the Atlanta Falcons, or as a philanthropist and civic leader, one thing I have always strived for is to be an honest communicator.

I believe that – to do that – you first need to listen. Speaking is only half of the equation. The other half – perhaps the more important half – is listening – truly hearing what others have to say.

When Bernie Marcus and I started Home Depot, we began with six core values that were the foundation of our business. These values continue to guide all of our businesses today.

1. Put People First
2. Listen and Respond
3. Include Everyone
4. Innovate Continuously
5. Lead by Example
6. Give Back to Others

We could have an inspiring dialogue around any of these six concepts. But the one that seems especially relevant tonight is the second one: Listen and respond.

Listening is a cornerstone of success because it's one of the pillars of the foundation for building relationships.

And relationships are the path to open and honest dialogue – being comfortable in sharing thoughts and opinions, identifying issues and solving problems.

A company like Home Depot isn't in the transaction business — it's in the relationship business. We knew that transactions are but a moment in time. Relationships last a lifetime.

The same principle holds true in the football world. The first thing we did after buying the Atlanta Falcons was to listen to our fans — our customers.

We asked them to tell us the good and the bad. We asked them to tell us what they wanted.

And they did.

They told us they wanted a consistently winning team – one that was in the hunt every year – and ownership that would do what it takes to support a winner.

They wanted a great game day experience and affordable ticket prices. They wanted convenient parking.

So, we addressed every item on their list.

It worked and it's still working.

We have made great progress in developing stronger relationships with our fans – as measured by 54 consecutive sell-out games, and the first season ticket waiting list in the history of the team.

And a fan base and community that supported us when we had to start over in 2008 following a multitude of issues in 2007.

This approach is equally successful in our family foundation.

We know we can’t sit in our Buckhead offices and determine community needs. We need to hear from the people on the ground.

For example, in December, we brought in four leaders from regional nonprofits whose clienteles have been particularly affected by the current economic downturn.

The CEOs of the Metro Atlanta United Way, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Consumer Credit Counseling Services and the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency spent the day with us, because we wanted to understand the real impact of this unprecedented economy on individuals and families, and the role philanthropy might play – financially and as leaders in the community.

Two things happened:

First, we learned a lot from these individuals and got a lot of good ideas.

And second, we discovered the work that we were already doing in the community was more relevant than ever – and that we needed to use more of our influence and advocacy to get these initiatives up to scale.

While my experience and expertise lie in the worlds of business, football and philanthropy, the need to listen and respond applies to every dimension of our lives and society.

In a world that’s as polarized and fractured as ours is right now, it’s only when we can understand both sides of an issue that we can begin to see what we share, what we have in common.

Former President Jimmy Carter has said, “Unless both sides win, no agreement can be permanent.”

To create win-win situations whether in business, in international affairs, or in our own families, we have to be able to see both sides.

That means we must first listen.

Why am I so focused on listening tonight, when the Barkley Forum is about providing debate training to young people?

Because – as a foundation supporter of the Atlanta Urban Debate League since 2001 – we believe that the art of debate helps young people develop a wide range of skills – not only academic skills, but life skills.

While rhetoric may be the most obvious of those proficiencies, it’s not necessarily the most important to the young person’s development.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to diminish the talent displayed at the podium.

Rather, I want to emphasize the many other foundational skills that are cultivated by debate training – skills that allow us to relate effectively in our families, our businesses, and in political settings.

Such as:

• The passion to dig into a topic and study it until you understand it from top to bottom.
• The analytical thinking required to synthesize that knowledge and turn it into a compelling argument.
• The ability to problem solve on your feet when an opponent faces you with a new counter-argument.
• The skill to articulate your thoughts in writing, as well as verbally.
• And, the training to be able to make the case for both sides of an issue.

Only if we can see both sides of an issue can we begin to come to common understanding.

And that requires that we listen to others, that we hear them, that we understand them – and in the best case, that we develop the ability to walk in their shoes.

Let me close this evening by making two key points.

First, true “listening” means we will sometimes have to confront information and ideas that we don’t want to hear.

Pro Football Hall of Famer and Coach John Madden once said, "Coaches have to watch for what they don't want to see and listen to what they don't want to hear."

We all need to be able to develop Coach Madden’s talent for hearing what we don’t want to hear.

And, as our new president has emphasized, we need to learn to “disagree without being disagreeable.” He has set an example for all of us to build bridges, cross over party lines, and listen to those with whom we might disagree.

The second key point is that our words don’t live in a vacuum. They are directly connected to our actions and behaviors.

We’ve just celebrated the holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. Dr. King’s powerful words were given meaning by his willingness not just to speak out against evil, but to go to jail for his beliefs.

It’s not enough to speak eloquently.

We must mean what we say – and say what we mean.

We must keep our promises – to our families, to our employees, to the society in which we live.

Late in his life, the industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie said, “As I grow older I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.”

I appreciate your recognition this evening, particularly because those honored here before me at this event spoke as loudly through their actions as through their words.

That’s terrific company to be in.

Thank you very much.