Over the last 12 months, I have noticed a subtle shift in the willingness of boards and senior leaders at colleges and universities to take a realistic look at core issues of cost, mission, and economic sustainability.

Interestingly, while these conversations began some years ago with examinations of extracurricular, co-curricular, and administrative issues, they are now slowing, perhaps grudgingly, turning to issues of what is taught and how. This holy grail—or third rail, depending on your point of view of higher education—has avoided careful scrutiny and thoughtful conversation for too long. 

This increasing awareness of the need to thoughtfully and realistically address these core issues in a measured yet urgent manner represents, I believe, a sea change in leadership.

Of course, discussions about what is taught and how must begin with issues of mission and vision. But even these discussions have an edge to them that has not been there in the past. We have long heard the old saw “no mission without margin,” but serious conversations about what this means for the long-term financial health of our colleges and universities is finally beginning to occur.

It is not surprising that most people are change-averse. What is compounding the problem on many campuses, however, is that a surprising number of faculty and staff do not have any real understanding of higher education finance.

Sadly, many campus leaders allowed, encouraged, and even took advantage of this financial naiveté (there is some sense, too, that many faculty and staff took refuge in it). These administrators shirked their fiduciary and ethical responsibility to keep the campus community informed. In doing so, they imperiled the very institutions they are trying to lead. Many members of the leadership team were, I believe, simply hoping to retire or move on before the day of reckoning arrived. It is no surprise that new presidents cite “I had no idea our finances were this bad” as the primary surprise of their first year in office.

Fortunately, we are finally seeing a greater commitment to numerical fluency and administrative transparency (they are two parts of the same conversation) across vast numbers of campuses. However, we have a ways to go. In December, I attended a meeting in which a senior faculty member said, “Why should I care how much it costs to educate a student?” While we may be on the path, it is clear that the road is long.

You will have to forgive me this week as I have the distinct sense that I am about to start preaching to the choir, but I just don’t think I can stop myself.  I have just had a most disturbing conversation with a group of higher education professionals about the need to “keep quiet” about the work their school is doing in relation to serving adult students.  In this discussion, which was really a great celebration of some early success they are having with a recently launched adult student program, I was stunned when a key team member reminded everyone that while the entire campus community is benefiting from the additional revenue their adult program is bringing in, it will be important to not make too much of it.  For any of you who know me you can only imagine the, “I’m sorry WHAT?” that slipped out of my mouth.

I do need to acknowledge that this individual, and his colleagues, all recognized the lunacy of the statement but all supported the idea of keeping the success of this program quiet as not to upset the political climate of the campus.  When I questioned further, I heard what I was afraid I would hear.  That while the campus needed the additional revenue this program was bringing in, there were many negative feelings across campus about the institution serving the adult student population.  This team’s approach to this was to operate quietly, serve their adult student population well, and celebrate their success behind closed doors.  I was saddened for them and yet it brought home for me the continued reality that many (if not most) of the adult student programs in the country face – still underdogs, still serving a population that is somehow seen as illegitimate participants in higher education, still fighting to have their voice heard on campuses that have tunnel vision toward a traditional audience.

For whatever it is worth, I salute you.  I congratulate you for doing your best in spite of difficult circumstances, and even if you have to close your office door to do it – I urge you to celebrate LOUDLY with your team!

The other day I was eating dinner with a client and we wandered onto the topic of how organizational culture impacts change. Based on his long experience with planning and implementation, he made a profound statement: “Culture eats change for breakfast.”

In other words, no matter how good the idea, how important the need, or how clear the crisis, if you don’t acknowledge and deal with the organizational culture, there is little likelihood that the change effort will ever gain traction.

That evening I decided to take a look at the phrase “organizational culture” on Google. Here is some of what I found: “Culture is the sum of the beliefs and values that shape norms of behavior and dictate the ways things get done.”

At first blush, this seemed pretty straightforward.

It was tempting at this point to launch into a discussion on how to change organizational culture. With this in mind, I did a search on Amazon and Google. As I surveyed the literature, however, I realized that another article on organizational change is not what is needed. Rather, I wanted to take a different direction and make three observations about my quick search.

First, I was amazed at how often this topic has been addressed over the decades. There are thousands of books, articles, blogs, video, podcasts, and discussion groups on the impact of culture on organizational change. This suggests that the issue/challenge is both pervasive and enduring. It has been around as long as people have.

Second, leaders consistently underestimate the impact organizational culture will have on change initiatives. Almost every article I read had a “if I knew then, what I know now” theme. It appears that, in our rush to affect change, we consistently do not give culture the attention it deserves.

Finally, while there are dozens of different approaches on how to impact culture, almost all authors indicated that the specific process you choose depends on the larger organization context. This makes sense. But what was really striking is that all the processes shared one common admonition: It will take much longer than you think. The need to address culture is not a one and done; it is ongoing and continual and will require much more time than you imagined.

One writer summed up everything I read when he said, “Ignoring organizational culture is like turning your back on the ocean. Sooner or later a big wave will hit you.”

Thoughts? Reactions? Let me know. Bob

I have this fantasy. I am a member of a flying squad, a group of highly trained people who travel to emergencies and quickly resolve the situation. If you are a fan of English murder mysteries (which I am), you know that most flying squads involve highly trained police: The best forensics people, the best interviewers, the crime scene investigators. Each person is highly trained, highly motivated, and given wide latitude to solve the crime and bring the malefactor to justice.

 In my fantasy, I don’t investigate crimes. Instead, I work with colleges in trouble. I lead a flying squad that includes the best CFO, the best fundraiser, the best academic dean, the best recruiter, the best student services person, and the best marketer. I serve as the president (I did say it’s a fantasy, didn’t  I?).

Our flying squad is hired by boards to swoop in and save colleges that are deep in trouble. We make the decisions. We streamline. We make the hires. We release people that need to go. We help identify new talent. We right the ship. And then we leave.

 I think academic flying squads have merit for several reasons.

 First, many of the major challenges are far too political and non-survivable for presidents, senior staff, and even board members that are interested in a long-term relationship with that school . I have often written of third-rail issues and how many senior teams avoid them because they are career killers. Flying squads are insulated from the effects of third rails. Their focus is decidedly near-term.

 Second, the flying squad is a well-honed team comprised of people who have worked together in a variety of circumstances over a number of years. They trust one another and enjoy working together.  And while they bring individual skill sets to the campus, they think and act like a team with one overarching goal: Save the school.

 Third, flying squads are loaded with talent, but it is a particular blend of talent that is one part theoretical and at least two parts experiential.  They know how to get things done and they take great pride in doing so.

 Finally, flying squads move quickly. Their goal is to identify the truly critical issues and opportunities, and then address those issues as expeditiously as possible.

 While this may be my fantasy, like most fantasies it contains at least a modicum of reality: Too many colleges are in trouble, and the standard fixes just don’t seem up to task.

Last week I was called by a headhunter who was helping a client find a new president. I get these calls a lot and they usually begin like this, “What are the four or five most important qualities we should look for?”

 I invariably tell them to look for someone who is:

• A visionary
• A leader
• A team builder
• A fundraiser

I’ve addressed most of these qualities in past, so let me be brief.

 First, a visionary. There’s been lots of stuff written about the importance of vision. Most of it really isn’t that helpful. Here’s how I define a great vision: It attracts talented faculty, staff, students, and donated dollars. While visionaries might do a lot of other things, they must attract the resources you need.

 Second, a leader. Higher education is aching for leaders who envision, inspire, and enable.

 Third, a team builder. Let me say it again: The job of the president is to build the team; the job of the team is to run the school. Great leaders with true teams are virtually unstoppable.

 Finally, a fundraiser. Some 25 years ago I took a higher ed finance class as part of my Ph.D. The professor said that tuition revenue keeps the doors open, but donated dollars are what makes a school special. She was right then; she is more right now. Great visions attract great students and great donors. And great presidents understand that they must be the chief fundraiser.

 The paragraphs above outlined four qualities you should look for. Now let’s flip the coin. Here are four characteristics you want to avoid:

• Someone who dithers
• Someone who ducks the tough decisions
• Someone who denies marketplace realities 
• Someone who spends more time worrying about the budget than the vision

That’s it in a nutshell.

 Bob

Photo By: Jim Bowen

Managing a web redesign project  can be compared to attempting to herd cats! For starters, there are a lot of cats involved: strategists, graphic designers, writers, developers, and managers. At a bare minimum, cats in these roles will be involved in redesigning your web site.  And, that group is only comprised of the agency side. On your end, you have administrators, faculty, students, alumni, and other interested parties who all want to weigh in on what the web site should look like, whom it will serve, and what bells and whistles it should incorporate. Then, there is all of the vocabulary: HTML, XHTML, DHTML, Java Script, CSS, Site Architecture, Content Inventory, Wireframes – no easy meows to decipher. To complicate things even further, you will be dealing with cats in different roles during the distinct phases of work necessary to build your site, some of which overlap and some of which don’t. Sounds like fun, right?! Here is the good news: while not easy, these cats can be herded. To manage a web project, it is first important to understand who the various cats are, what they do, when they do it, what you will receive when they do it, what you are responsible for, and how to translate their odd jargon of incomprehensible meows into a language that you speak.

At Stamats, we divide our web projects into the following primary phases:

• Discovery
• Architecture
• Web Design
• Content Development
• Template Development
• Transfer, Training, and Support

It is important to reiterate that some of these phases are dependent upon the completion of another phase, while parts of different phases can occur in lockstep.

This series will focus on each phase of work that goes into a web redesign project, beginning with discovery -  the focus of this post. In each post, we will define each phase of work, the cats involved, what they do, when they do it, what you get, what you need to do, what remains, and what it all means.

Discovery is the first phase of a web redesign. It lays the strategic foundation for the rest of the project. The word “strategic” cannot be overemphasized. For, without a sound strategy that emanates from your institutional goals, all you will end up with is expensive window dressing that might look great, but ultimately does not serve you well. Every decision involved in your web site redesign must be based on strategy.

To kick off the discovery phase, you and the other key decision makers from your institution will participate in a conference call with the cats who will be working on your web redesign from Stamats: the project manager, digital marketing strategist, writer, graphic designer, developer, and user experience designer. This is a meet-and-greet combined with a discussion of the project and how it will proceed.

Next, the cat known as the digital marketing strategist will send you a questionnaire that will help you define and articulate your goals, the technical requirements involved in building your site, and who is involved. After you complete and send back this questionnaire, the digital marketing strategist will synthesize the information that you have provided in preparation for a visit to your campus.

On this visit, a team of cats will show up on your doorstep: the digital marketing strategist, a project manager, and at least one or two creative cats (typically, a cat who can draw and a cat who can write). This visit is intended to help the team of cats responsible for delivering your web site gain an understanding of your institution, its constituents, its goals, its strengths and weaknesses, where it wants to go, and what it wants to be. Activities that take place during these visits include interviews with students, faculty, and administrators, a tour of the campus, technical discussions among nerdy cats who speak in computer code, etc.

After our team of cats visits your campus, the digital marketing strategist will write a strategic brief. This document summarizes the recent visit and provides detailed information about your institution, its goals, how the website will help the institution achieve its goals, and how the ensuing process of the web redesign will unfold. Next, your team of cats will review the strategic brief and provide feedback. After a couple of conference calls and a set of revisions or two, you will be in possession of the first major project deliverable (and roadmap for the remainder of the project) – the approved strategic brief.

The project is now ready to move into phase two: Architecture.

And now, a question for all of you cats out there in the blogosphere: What has been your experience managing web projects? Specific challenges? Things you found rewarding?

It’s been a challenging year for all of us…so I’m not going to bore you with the details. Instead, I wanted to end the year on a positive note and share with you the best things I heard this year. These quotes cover a range of issues that affect all of us, from marketing to coming up with ideas and designing technology. And though many come from the corporate world, their application to higher education is unmistakable.

1. “The choice of media is irrelevant.”—from Hugh MacLeod, creator of gapinvoid.com, one of the best blogs on the social Web, emphasizing strategy over tactics.

2. “Marketing now is listening.”—from Eric Sickler, Stamats thought leader, talking about something we should all be doing much more of.

3. “Advertisers…can no longer rely on consumers to behave like the passive receivers they once were. We are harder to pin down, more demanding, less predictable.”—from Will Colin, founding partner of Naked Communications, an agency that is redefining marketing.

4. “A culture that believes it is better to ask forgiveness afterward rather than permission before, that rewards people for success but gives them permission to fail, has removed one of the main obstacles to the formation of new ideas.” –from Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, ranked as one of the ten most innovative companies in the world, on how organizational culture influences success.

5. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a company or a campaign; you build around commonality. If it’s real people and real communities, then it’s valuable. Otherwise, it’s just playing around online.”—from Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook and the genius behind the Obama social media campaign, talking about how to build social networks.*

6. “We will not be managed out of this crisis; we must lead.”—from Bob Sevier, Stamats higher education marketing guru, and his Webinar, Wise Moves in Tough Times.

7. “We’re leveraging design to drive innovation and to win at the point of sale, which is fundamental to our business.”—from David Butler, vice president for global design, Coke, speaking about the power of creativity.

8. “Value is the new black.”—from Derrick Daye and Brad Van Auken of the Branding Strategy Insider blog, talking about how true brand differentiation is now built on authenticity.

9. “If you don’t think names matter, yours may be forgotten.”— from Marketing guru Al Ries, on the importance of name in marketing and how your name needs to be linked to a positive idea in the prospect’s mind.*

10. “Never give in. Be willing to change tactics, but never give up your core purpose.”—from Jim Collins on what it takes to survive difficult times.*

 I hope all my readers have a restful and joyful holiday…thanks for sticking with me. We’ll resume this conversation next year, but in the meantime, what great quotes or ideas have you heard this year?

 *Big thanks to:

Christine Huang, “Four tips for brands embracing the new methods of storytelling,” Advertising Age 12/30/09

Ellen McGirt, “Boy Wonder: the untold story of how Chris Hughes, today only 25 years old, helped create two of the most successful startups in modern history, Facebook and the Barack Obama campaign,” Fast Company, April 2009

Al Ries, “If You Don’t Think Names Matter, Yours May Be Forgotten,” Advertising Age 12/7/09

Hugh MacLeod, “Ignore Everybody: And 39 Other Keys to Creativity,” Portfolio, 2009

Jim Collins, How the Mighty Fall, HarperCollins 2009.

Photo by: Cavin

I just finished preparing a presentation for a board retreat. This particular board was interested in exploring options for how the university might make and implement decisions more quickly. The board chair said it best, “There appears to be no sense of urgency around here.”

As part of my preparation I reviewed one of my all-time favorite Harvard Business Review articles. It first ran in 1986 and is entitled “Hustle as Strategy” by Amar Bhide.[1]

I have mentioned this article in previous issues of QuickTakes but it seems like the lesson still has currency so I thought I would mention it again.

While Bhide’s comments are directed at the financial services industry, I think they have direct application for higher education (or any organization for that matter). Says Bhide, “Strategy, its High-Church theologians insist, is about outflanking competitors with big plays…It is questionable whether this proposition is itself sustainable. Strategy involves a lot more and also a lot less. The competitive scriptures almost systematically ignore the importance of hustle and energy. While they preach strategic planning, competitive strategy, and competitive advantage, they overlook the record of a surprisingly large number of very successful companies that vigorously practice a different religion. These companies don’t have long-term strategic plans… They concentrate (instead) on operating details and doing things well. Hustle is their style and their strategy. They move fast, and they get it right.”

Bhide goes on, “Are executives in these companies living in the managerial dark ages? Wouldn’t they do even better if they linked their hustle to big, powerful strategic plans? I believe the answer is ‘no.’ Opportunities to gain lasting advantage through blockbuster strategic moves are rare in any business. What mostly counts are vigor and nimbleness. These traits are always needed and always important, yet strategic planning theologians largely ignore them.

“Countless companies, [Bob adds: as well as colleges and universities]…are finally learning the limits of strategy and concentrating on tactics and execution. In a world where there are no secrets, where innovations are quickly imitated or become obsolete, the theory of competitive advantage may have had its day.”

Though Bhide wrote those words nearly 25 years ago they are more poignant than ever before.

Increasingly, slow is a death wish. Let’s hustle.

Photo by: wavemaker.com

Every now and then a president or board member asks me, “What are the keys to institutional success in the years to come?” I love this question and after some reflection, I want to share seven things colleges need to get right.

1. Develop a compelling vision
2. Build the senior team
3. Diversify and expand your revenue stream
4. Sharpen, not broaden your academic offerings
5. Cut deeply but narrowly
6. Decide quickly
7. Execute

I have addressed many of these themes in various ways in the past so I won’t belabor them here. Instead, I want to make a couple of quick observations and then move on. In some instances I also included a resource or two to help.

 Develop a compelling, differentiating vision

 Most visions are pretty much the same. Few are compelling and few differentiate. The acid test of a great vision is simple: does it help you stand out in the marketplace and does it attract the students, talented staff, and donated dollars you need to thrive? If it doesn’t it’s not a great vision.

                 A recommended source: Nanus’ Visionary Leadership or Kotter’s Leading Change

Build an exceptional senior team

 Today’s president has one overarching job: the building of an exceptional senior team. Today, the president leads the team and the team runs the school. It’s that simple and that tough.

As a motivator, consider whether or not you have an exceptional team. Is the vision clear and compelling? Do the VPs share resources? Are they candid? Do they support one another? Do they support the decisions that the team makes? 

 An exceptional senior team is both precious and rare.

                     A recommended source: Katzenbach’s The Wisdom of Teams. Also, request a copy of my presentation: Building the Senior Team.

Diversify and expand your revenue stream

 There are only seven sources of revenue:

•  Student recruiting
• Fundraising
• Retention 
• Sponsored research
• Earmarks
• Auxiliary services
• Grant writing

Oddly, almost all the attention is being paid to recruiting, but there are six other opportunities.

Do you have the best possible people working in these areas? Are you supporting them with the resources they need to be successful? Do you have metrics in place to measure progress?

 Sharpen, not broaden your academic offerings

 The words “more” and “better” have largely bankrupted higher education. In today’s marketplace we don’t need more and better academic programs. What we desperately need are programs that are in demand by students and not offered by your competitors. Do you have the ability to identify and create these programs? Are you willing to deal with the political fallout? If you’re not, then you will likely soon be dealing with the economic fallout. 

                      A recommended source: Dickeson’s Prioritizing Academic Programs and Services: Reallocating Resources to Achieve Strategic Balance. Also, ask for a copy of my session on Increasing the Marketability of Your Academic Programs. 

 Cut deeply but narrowly

 In today’s economic times, many colleges have sought across the board cuts rather than cut deeply in areas that most people could identify as either underperforming or of little missional value. While across the board cuts are fair, they are not strategic and seldom truly serve the institution. In fact, by “punishing” everyone equally, you are sending a disturbing message that success and quality are not overly valued. A smarter move is to cut deeply in a few areas and free up resources for areas that are successful or capable of being more successful if more dollars were available.

 Decide quickly

 Jim Collins, in How the Mighty Fall, makes the case that organizations fail not because of what the marketplace does to them, but because of what they do to themselves. One of the biggest organizational failures, he writes, is the inability to decide. Conversation after conversation and meeting after meeting and no progress.

                          A recommended source:  Collins’ Good to Great or How the Mighty Fall

Execute     

 Russel L. Honoré is a retired lieutenant general who served as the 33rd commanding general of the U.S. First Army at Fort Gillem, Georgia. He is best known for serving as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the Gulf Coast.

Frustrated during one meeting, he shouted at his subordinates, “You’re looking at your calendars and I’m looking at my wrist watch.”

 Colleges are not known for doing a particularly good job executing, and it seems like it is getting worse as administrators and others worry about making an expensive mistake.

                       A recommended source:  Bossidy: Execution.

 The good news is that almost any college can flourish in today’s marketplace. The economic reality, however, is that all cannot. Acting on these six admonitions may likely give you the edge you need to be one of the ones that does well in the years to come.

Picture by: Tim Scott

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 has had its first heart attack.

This article expanded my analogy a bit. Instead of a first heart attack, what if the heart attack is ongoing? The authors posit that when the economy recovers, things won’t return to normal—and a different mode of leadership will be required.

They write, “It would be profoundly reassuring to view the current economic crisis as simply another rough spell that we need to get through.  Unfortunately, though, today’s mix of urgency, high stakes, and uncertainty will continue as the norm even after the recession ends.”

“The task of leading during a sustained crisis is treacherous.  Crisis leadership has two distinct phases.  First is that emergency phase, when your task is to stabilize the situation and buy time.  Second is the adaptive phase, when you tackle the underlying causes of the crisis and build the capacity to thrive in a new reality.  The adaptive phase is especially tricky:  People put enormous pressure on you to respond to their anxieties with authoritative certainty, even if doing so means overselling what you know and discounting what you don’t.  As you ask them to make necessary but uncomfortable adaptive changes in their behavior or work, they may try to bring you down.  People clamor for direction, while you are faced with a way forward that isn’t at all obvious.  Twists and turns are the only certainty.”

It’s kind of like triage and long-term care all at the same time.

Photo by maxmana