Ode to the Red Sox Robert Behn grew up admiring the skills of Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese, but as the Dodgers moved west to Los Angeles, Behn headed north to college. He was at Fenway Park for the last game of the 1967 season, the year the Red Sox won the American League pennant, which fans had coined the “Impossible Dream.” Having been hooked on the Sox since that experience, in 1975 Behn published his first op-ed on baseball, “A Professor’s Ode to the Red Sox,” (The Wall Street Journal).

Outside the ballpark, Behn focuses on the challenge of improving the performance of public agencies. He is the author of Leadership Counts: Lessons for Public Managers (Harvard University Press) and Rethinking Democratic Accountability (Brookings Institution Press). He is the faculty chair of the Kennedy School’s Executive Education program, “Driving Government Performance: Leadership Strategies that Produce Results.” Behn is also author of the online monthly report Bob Behn’s Public Management Report.

Through the years, Behn has blended his two passions seamlessly; both his work e-mail address and his phone message pay homage to his team. Call his office, and you hear a broadcast from the last game of the 2004 World Series. A voice, muffled by thousands of screaming fans, roars, “…and the Boston Red Sox are the world champions…” beep.