Jul 7th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Target Fixation: Don’t be Oblivious to Hazards

A friend of mine used to train helicopter pilots during the first Gulf War. He used a term, “target fixation,” in which pilots would focus so completely on the target that they were completely oblivious to other obstacles or hazards. I think many colleges are suffering from higher education’s version of target fixation with an enlarged devotion to evaluating and enhancing their academic core.... read more

Jun 23rd 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Lewin’s “Facing Cuts in Federal Aid, For-Profit Colleges Are in a Fight”

Tamar Lewin’s NYT article, “Facing Cuts in Federal Aid, For-Profit Colleges Are in a Fight,” offers a glimpse into a scary future for all of higher education, not just the for-profit sector. She writes, “The regulations, known as the ‘gainful employment’ rules, are an effort to rein in the high debt loads students take on when they enroll in for-profit colleges that offer certificates or... read more

May 26th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Beyond Dialogue: Dealing With Some of Higher Education’s Most Intractable Challenges

There is no shortage of articles and seminars on the challenges facing higher education. At the same time, there is a clear shortage of significant conversations on how to deal with these challenges. Based on hundreds of conversations with campus leaders, I know why these conversations are so scarce: people are afraid. They fear they will be ostracized by the higher education community of which they... read more

May 6th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Stamats Integrated Marketing Conference: Back to the Basics.

There is no shortage of challenges facing higher education. As a result, getting the right information you need to make the decisions you must has never been more important. If there was a mission statement for our annual Strategic Integrated Marketing (SIM) Conference, I suspect that would be it. Each year, we bring together some of the smartest and most innovative people in the country to help colleges... read more

Apr 30th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

A Response to “The Coming Meltdown”

I wanted to post a response to Seth Godin’s post: “The coming meltdown in higher education (as seen from a market)” All in all, Godin has some great points. While I don’t agree that most colleges are organized to give an average education and that the link between education and success is tenuous, I do concur that cost, a lack of differentiation, and accreditation are problematic. Not... read more

Apr 28th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Leadership In Crisis

A Harvard Business Review article from last summer (HBR, July–August 2009) offered an interesting article entitled, “Leadership in a (Permanent) Crisis” by Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky. I have often felt that until higher education has its first heart attack, there will be a powerful temptation to maintain the status quo. Of course, over the last year or so, higher education... read more

Apr 14th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Hit Doubles – Six Ingredients to Institutional Success

I was chatting with a board chair who is also a CEO of a publicly held company. He mentioned that in difficult times, organizations believe that their salvation will come from hitting a home run, and they spend an inordinate amount of time trying to find that fat pitch. It’s seldom that easy, he said. I concur. Hitting a home run is difficult, particularly for institutions that do not have a recent... read more

Mar 17th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Marketing Lesson: Korean BBQ & Twitter

I recently had lunch with a social media director from a large private college on the West Coast. He was waxing eloquent about how Twitter was responsible for the amazing success of Kogi Korean BBQ. In case you don’t know the story, Kogi Korean BBQ is a blend of Korean and Mexican flavors that is sold from trucks on the streets of LA. What makes the Kogi story so incredible, said my lunch mate, was... read more

Mar 3rd 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

Brown M&Ms

In the March 2010 issue of Fast Company, Dan and Chip Heath (the authors of Made to Stick) make an interesting observation about Van Halen, brown M&Ms, and the importance of managing all the details. Most of us know the tale of the brown M&Ms, or at least thought we did. Heath and Heath write, “In its 1980s heyday, the band became notorious for a clause in its touring contract that demanded... read more

Feb 4th 10 Posted by Bob Sevier

The Elements of Institutional Success

At the annual NAICU meeting in early February I had the opportunity to ask a number of college presidents this question: What are the ingredients to institutional success? I had lots of responses, but during the course of the day the following common themes occurred repeatedly. First, leadership. Someone needs to take charge, frame the issues, and make the tough decisions. Second, a strong senior team.... read more