George Braxton has the easy confidence of an athlete who successfully has made the transition to the business world. Some corporate leaders and politicians exude a nervous, kinetic energy that can be as off-putting as it is attracting. Not so with former athletes who move into public or corporate roles -- early in life they had to harness that energy and direct it.

When Braxton walks in the room, you know he's there -- and not just because he has maintained the imposing physical build of the football player he used to be. It's because he has presence.

Yet despite the fact that Braxton is the chairman of the School Board in a city constantly discussing that body and the policies it oversees, most people know surprisingly little about him -- not to mention the fact that there is no one in Richmond better equipped with the temperament and skills necessary to run the board or set the tone for the system.

Braxton's understanding of the Richmond Public Schools largely seems to stem from the fact that he is a product of it, most fondly Chimborazo Elementary. He grew up in Church Hill, the son of two parents who divorced before he could form memories of their marriage. Fortunately, in his words, "I saw them both every day," because they lived only blocks apart and raised their son together. His mother gave him an "entrepreneurial" nature, and his father "believed in education and hard work" above all (so much so that the elder Braxton never saw his football-playing son in a high school game).

When he was in the eighth grade his mom moved young Braxton to Glen Allen. It was there that he added the game of football to his hours spent in the library. Eventually he found himself as an undergrad at the University of Maryland, and later a law student at UVa.

These days, his library habits have him incessantly quoting Jim Collins' masterpiece on leadership, Good to Great. To any hiring managers reading this column: If you ever find a job candidate intimately familiar with this book, hire said person and hang on to him with every ounce of your being. That person will be the future of your organization.

At the heart of Good to Great is Collins' finding that there is no silver-bullet maneuver for building a successful business. Discipline is the key. Businesses that have made the leap from merely good to great promoted disciplined people to run the organization in a disciplined manner. That's what Braxton wants for RPS -- and what he thinks Deborah Jewell-Sherman has achieved during her time as superintendent. The school system has been disciplined in its almost single-minded desire to raise academic achievement (which has resulted in 42 of 49 schools being fully accredited, the dropout rate decreasing, and graduation rates rising). Much work is left to be done with academics, but Braxton feels the system has moved beyond the "crisis" that existed when Jewell-Sherman became the city schools' leader. Now it is time to turn to shoring up the financial side of the house. According to Braxton, "To keep costs down, we may have put too much into one person's lap," referring to Jewell-Sherman.

For all the positives Braxton found in Good to Great, it may have ill-served him in his relationship with Mayor Doug Wilder. Braxton pulled a Winston Churchill/World War II analogy from the book for his 2007 State of the Schools address. Some interpreted the reference as though Braxton had compared Wilder's concern for the school system to the danger posed by Nazi Germany. Wilder was sitting in the front row for the remarks.

In addressing the analogy, Braxton states -- in no uncertain terms -- he was "not comparing Douglas Wilder to the Nazis." He says he wasn't aware the mayor would attend the speech, and he merely pulled a passage from Collins' book to illustrate the general challenge before RPS as an urban school system, and the need to accept bad news. "Doug Wilder has been a mentor to me -- along with Henry Marsh, Ben Lambert, and Dwight Jones. These are the native Richmonders who shepherded me." Braxton says, "I regret saying it if it brought hardship on the schools."

There is no mistaking that Braxton and Wilder do not share the warmest relationship. Yet they have many of the same aspirations for RPS. Here is Braxton's list of goals as board chairman:

(1) Right-size the system (i.e., he wants unnecessary schools closed and new, ADA-compliant facilities built).

(2) Consolidate services with the city to end wasteful duplication, and create a more efficient administration. About this, Braxton calls the scathing report issued by City Auditor Umesh Dalal this spring "very helpful. It points to places where the schools and the city can consolidate for efficiency. We have a long way to go."

(3) Create the model urban school system. He points to the fact that Fairfax County -- touted as one of the nation's premier school districts -- has reached out to Richmond for advice on how to educate black students.

Wilder could have written the list himself. Both Braxton and the mayor have the same goals. Their breach is about the pace of reform and who leads the system. That's different from having two distinct visions of what constitutes reform. With a common vision -- added to the fact that Braxton has the full confidence of a majority of the School Board -- the board chairman and Wilder could have, and should have, accomplished more.

Braxton and Wilder even agree on one very big issue: moving RPS out of City Hall. "No one wanted to leave more than I," Braxton asserts. In his mind, the issue was how and when the administration would leave, not whether it should. Braxton says the school system likely needs "more than City Hall can provide." He would like to see the schools' headquarters be "more accessible to parents" and have more space. For the time being, though, the City Council has determined finances will not allow it, so RPS stays put.

Lamenting the fact that Braxton will retire after this term as a board member and chairman, fellow board member Kim Bridges says of her colleague, "George leaves a good core of people to run the system after his departure -- and in the end that's the sign of a good leader." It's also advice Braxton followed directly from Good to Great. Bridges points out that Braxton promised Richmond eight years in return for the time it invested in him during his education as an RPS student. After four on the School Board, Bridges jokingly says, "He owes us four more years of some type of service!"

She's right, and here's how a perfect world would work: Braxton would give those years back to Richmond as its next mayor. He grimaced when I suggested that at the end of our interview in May. I assure all my dear readers he's grimacing again after reading it now -- he just wants to spend time with his wife, Kelly, and sons for a while.
Cordel Faulk is The Times-Dispatch's Commentary editor. Contact him at (804) 649-6480 or cfaulk@timesdispatch.com.