Insights

I often refer to that classic story of the man who spent his life in search of riches only to discover that his own home sat over a diamond mine. The lesson from the story popularized in the late 19th century by Russell Conwell, founder of Temple University, suggests that what we seek, particularly in…Read more

An enduring brand strategy requires more than just stakeholder buy-in. But is buy-in enough?

I’m thinking about the importance of parents. I have good friends who just became first time parents. They’re young and energetic and the birth of Olive Kay thrills and amazes them. In this first week of parenthood, the exhaustion and weight of responsibility is just starting to show itself. They have a lot of that…Read more

Securing an excellent relationship with your board may be the most valuable investment you can make. Of course, relationships with major donors may yield worthy substantial results, yet developing shared understandings with board members will advance the institution toward a successful future. We are called upon from time to time to present to trustees about…Read more

One of the benefits of consulting is the opportunity to see patterns among a cross section of the industry. Higher education shares common opportunities and obstacles across the spectrum of institutions: public/private; two-year/four-year; liberal arts/vocational; colleges/universities and the like. I heard Howard Gardner, the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard’s Graduate School of…Read more

Like every good learning experience, I walked away with questions. Here we are at the start of 2019. IMHO, 2018 passed entirely too quickly. Still, it’s great to have yet another opportunity to celebrate a fresh start. Assuming you are reading this on a college campus, you may celebrate “new year’s” more significantly on July…Read more