Former SJSD board president debuts new book

By Charles Christian

A former St. Joseph School District Board of Education president has written a new book meant to help organizations achieve harmony.

David Foster, who was elected to the school board in 2021 served as president for 2022-23, said the idea of this book came two years ago when he was president of the board. He said both the positive and negative experiences he had on the board caused him to reflect on ways that organizations could work with respect and harmony to accomplish important goals.

“Early on you realize that everything you want to do you may not be able to accomplish,” Foster said. “It has to be a collective effort — a team effort. In order for that to happen, it all begins with respect.”

The book is titled “The Complexity of Harmony,” with the first chapter called “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” drawing inspiration from the Aretha Franklin song.

“Really the first chapter sets the tone for the rest of the book,” Foster said. “When people can listen respectfully to each other and treat each other with respect, it sets a positive tone, even in disagreement.”

Foster said the book is also about both the challenges and importance of diversity. The subtitle is “Polarized Viewpoints Achieving a Common Goal.” Foster said the importance of working together as a diverse group cannot be overstated, and this was a lesson he first learned from his father.

“My dad was a unique individual,” Foster said. “He taught me I could disagree with others without hating them or being disrespectful. He modeled that to me.”

Foster added that the book allowed him to reflect honestly on his own strengths and weakness, and he hopes others within a group or on a team can do the same as they read the book and work through the team-building exercises that are included.

“I can’t tell anyone else what to do,” Foster said. “But for me it was very helpful and therapeutic to think about the things I did right and the things I did wrong. I think we can all benefit from that, especially as we try to work together to accomplish a common goal.”

Whitney Lanning, who served on the school board with Foster, said that even though her leadership style and Foster’s are different, much can be gained from reading this book.

“I think that anybody looking for a book about how you can kind of keep things together with a group of different people if probably going to enjoy this book,” Lanning said. “I can definitely say that David values harmony …”

Lanning added that she found the group exercises particularly useful and said that despite challenges, she felt that Foster really made a consistent effort to bring diverse people together in his leadership style. She said that the idea of “harmony” is particularly fitting for Foster, given his vast background in music.

Foster describes harmony as “different notes playing in the same key.” He added that since people do not always see eye to eye, nor should they, the concept of harmony allows them to be who they are as individuals while finding ways to add to the collective goal.

The book debuted on Amazon on Oct. 8 and is seeing initial sales success in the category of “Local and State Government.” Foster said the book is not just for boards, though. He said its principles can benefit a wide range of groups.

“Whether you’re on a board, whether you’re in politics, or whether you serve on a church committee, the book is going to be very helpful,” he said.

The book can be found on Amazon.