strategy

Welcome, now start slashing

On 10/22/2010, in dangers of the status quo, higher education, leadership, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Welcome, now start slashing — from InsideHigherEd.com by Jack Stripling
Hiring provosts who will be immediately charged with budget-cutting presents dilemma for presidents, who debate whether task is best suited for someone new.

The economic downturn presents a stark dilemma for colleges and universities seeking provosts, and presidents are somewhat split on whether to move forward. On the one hand, bringing in someone with fresh eyes who’s not attached to any sacred cows on campus makes sense. On the other hand, thrusting new chief academic officers into situations where they may be immediately tasked with cutting programs, increasing workloads or laying off employees sounds to some like a recipe for burnout or failure.

Tagged with: higher education • leadership • strategy

What’s going to happen when your leaders start retiring in the next five to 10 years?

On 10/21/2010, in leadership, organizational change, strategy, workplace, by Daniel Christian

What’s going to happen when your leaders start retiring in the next five to 10 years? — from ASTD.org by Tora Estep

Think about it: 78 million baby boomers are set to turn 65 over the next two decades, and they will crowd the doors as they start walking out. Think about your organization: What’s going to happen when Bob, the CFO, decides he’s done plenty in his career and is ready to move on and start a vineyard? What happens when Mary, the CEO, announces her retirement to sail around the world on a catamaran? What happens when your directors of training, marketing, production, R&D, and so forth leave? What will the day-to-day functioning of your organization look like, let alone your strategy? Is your organization ready to fill the gaps that those people are going to leave?

Tagged with: leadership • organizational change • strategy • workplace

CIOs are change agents for a more collaborative, virtual workplace

On 10/20/2010, in business, change, collaboration, game-changing environment, innovation, leadership, organizational change, strategy, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

CIOs are change agents for a more collaborative, virtual workplace — ASTD.org

(From PRNewswire) — Cognizant, a leading provider of consulting, technology, and business process outsourcing services, announced today the results of a research report, “Next-Generation CIOs: Change Agents for the Global Virtual Workplace.” The Economist Intelligence Unit conducted the research across Europe and North America and wrote the report, in cooperation with the Cognizant Business Consulting practice.

The report reveals the CIO’s role in restructuring how work is done throughout the organization. Among the more than 400 survey respondents, mostly CIO, CEO, vice president, and director-level, those who are moving toward more virtual, collaborative teams are benefitting from increased innovation, more effective talent recruitment and retention, and higher productivity. One in six said their companies are already seeing these results, and another one-fifth expect to garner benefits within a year.

Tagged with: change • collaboration • corporate / business world • game-changing environment • innovation • leadership • organizational change • strategy • web-based collaboration • workplace

Some perspectives on performance and results from Peter Drucker

On 10/20/2010, in business, leadership, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Defining one’s performance
Performance is not hitting the bull’s-eye with every shot, that is a circus act.

Performance is not hitting the bull’s-eye with every shot. Performance is rather the consistent ability to produce results over prolonged periods of time and in a variety of assignments. A performance record must include mistakes. It must include failures. It must reveal a person’s limitations as well as his strengths.

The one person to distrust is the one who never makes a mistake, never commits a blunder, never fails in what he tries to do. Either he is a phony, or he stays with the safe, the tried, and the trivial. The better a person is, the more mistakes he will make — for the more new things he will try.

From DSC:
This is not just true in the corporate/business world, but it is also true for all of us who create and deliver educational content — we will make mistakes, we need to be able to experiment and try things. We need to be able to mess up in front of our students and be ok with that. We are all learners…and in my mind, experts are a dying breed; the world’s spinning too fast to be an expert in most things anymore.

The faculty I really love to work with try things — they don’t care if they make mistakes, as they (and I) consider that a given. I don’t know everything about each tool, nor do I expect others to know even 25-50% of the features that any given tool offers (I list a range here due to the variety of learning curves and feature sets out there.)

Results That Make a Difference
What results have to be achieved to make a difference?

The decision about “What should my contribution be?” balances three elements. First comes the question: “What does the situation require?” Then comes the question: “How could I make the greatest contribution, with my strengths, my way of performing, my values, to what needs to be done?” Finally, there is the question: “What results have to be achieved to make a difference?” This then leads to the action conclusions: what to do, where to start, how to start, what goals and deadlines to set.

From DSC:
This reminds me of the work of Marcus Buckingham, in which he stresses the need to go with one’s strengths.

Tagged with: business • leadership • philosophy • strategy

The world changed, colleges missed it — from edreformer.com by Tom Vander Ark

A bunch of colleges are going out of business, only they don’t know it. They pretend that trimming costs and jacking tuition is a solution. They haven’t come to terms with a world where anyone can learn anything almost anywhere for free or cheap. Art Levine, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, sees three major change forces: new competition, a convergence of knowledge producers, and changing demographics.
…
To Art’s list of three big change forces, add shrinking government support, the press for more accountability, and emerging technology…the next few decades will be marked by a lumpy move to competency-based learning…instant information and the ability to learn anything anywhere.
…
The shift to personal digital learning is on. Some colleges get that. Others will seek bailouts until they go out of business. Working adults are getting smart on their own terms.

From DSC:
Time will tell if Tom’s assertions are too harsh here, but personally, I think he’s right.

I have it that:

There is a bubble in higher ed
There also exists a perfect storm that’s been forming for years within higher ed and the waves are cresting
.
Institutions of higher education need to check themselves before they become the next Blockbuster
.
We must not discount the disruptive powers of technology nor the trends taking place today (for a list of some of these trends, see the work of Gary Marx, as well as Yankelovish’s (2005) Ferment and Change: Higher Education in 2015)
Innovation is not an option for those who want to survive and thrive in the future.

Specifically, I have it that we should be experimenting with:

Significantly lowering the price of getting an education (by 50%+)
Providing greater access (worldwide)
Offering content in as many different ways as we can afford to produce
Seeking to provide interactive, multimedia-based content that is created by teams of specialists — for anytime, anywhere, on any-device type of learning (24x7x365) — at any pace!
“Breaking down the walls” of the physical classroom
Pooling resources and creating consortiums
Reflecting on what it will mean if online-based exchanges are setup to help folks develop competencies
Working to change our cultures to be more willing to innovate and change
Thinking about how to become more nimble as organizations
Turning more control over to individual learner and having them create the content
Creating and implementing more cross-disciplinary assignments

Tagged with: 24x7x365 • adult learners/learning • budgetary • business side of he • competency-based learning/education • consortiums • cost of getting an education • cross-disciplinary assignments • culture • dangers of the status quo • Daniel S. Christian • disruption • educational technology • financial aid • game-changing environment • innovation • leadership • Lifelong learning • new business models in he • online learning • perfect storm • staying relevant • strategy • traditional • trends • United States • Using teams • Walmart of Education

Reinventing management for a networked world (Educause)

On 10/07/2010, in change, changing business models, dangers of the status quo, disruption, education technology, emerging technologies, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, internet, leadership, new business models, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Reinventing management for a networked world — one of topics/presentations at Educause 2010

From DSC:
The following summary of this presentation is a powerful message that I’m looking forward to hearing (emphasis mine):

Over the past decade, the Internet has had a profound impact on just about every organization around the world. It has enabled dramatic efficiency gains in core processes and has radically changed service delivery in industries as diverse as education, financial services, publishing, and entertainment.

However, the greatest impact of the Internet is likely to come over the next decade as it starts to reshape the traditional management processes and structures that are used to run large-scale institutions. The management practices found in most organizations today trace their roots back to the Industrial Age or to medieval religious orders. While this model was well suited to a world requiring conformance and discipline, it is woefully inadequate and even toxic in today’s world of accelerating change.

To thrive in the years ahead, every organization must become as nimble as change itself—a challenge that will require a fundamental rewiring of our tradition-bound management principles and practices.

Unlike most organizations, the web is a cauldron of innovation; it is extraordinarily malleable and highly adaptable. In these respects, it already exhibits exactly those qualities that will be most critical to organizational success in the years to come.

That’s why the management model of every organization will need to be rebuilt on the fundamental values of the web: freedom, openness, transparency, collaboration, flexibility, and meritocracy. In this provocative and practical presentation, Gary Hamel will lay out a blueprint for “Management 2.0” and outline the steps you can take to help your organization to become as adaptable as the times demand.

Tagged with: change • dangers of the status quo • disruption • educational technology • emerging technologies • future of higher education • game-changing environment • higher education • innovation • internet • leadership • strategy

Tagged with: K-12 • music • pedagogy • strategy

Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education

On 09/30/2010, in Africa, education, education technology, pedagogy, strategy, student-related, by Daniel Christian

Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education — from Ted Talks <– from DSC: This is well worth your time!
My thanks to Dr. Kate Byerwalter at Grand Rapids Community College for this item

Education scientist Sugata Mitra tackles one of the greatest problems of education — the best teachers and schools don’t exist where they’re needed most. In a series of real-life experiments from New Delhi to South Africa to Italy, he gave kids self-supervised access to the web and saw results that could revolutionize how we think about teaching.

Sugata Mitra’s “Hole in the Wall” experiments have shown that, in the absence of supervision or formal teaching, children can teach themselves and each other, if they’re motivated by curiosity…

Tagged with: educational technology • pedagogy • strategy

Business Model Generation — may be a good book to check out for the times we are in

On 09/27/2010, in business, business side of he, dangers of the status quo, economics, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, leadership, new business models, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: business side of he • dangers of the status quo • economics/business • future of higher education • game-changing environment • leadership • new business models • new business models in he • strategy

Watch out for the digital trees

On 09/20/2010, in education technology, pedagogy, relationships, strategy, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

Watch out for the digital trees — from odysseyware.com

For the first time ever, iNACOL (International Association for K-12 Online Learning) teamed up with the SREB (Southern Regional Education Board) to honor an “outstanding online teacher for exceptional contributions to online K-12 education as the nation’s K-12 Online Teacher of the Year.”

Teresa Dove, a Virginia math teacher, was chosen from more than 50 nominations of online educators in public schools and state virtual schools nationwide.

Dove said after receiving the award that teaching online allows her to spend much more time working individually with students than she did previously in a traditional classroom. Spending only a moment with students in a traditional classroom is “not enough, and our kids deserve better,” she said.

What struck me most about this award, was the advice Dove offered to online teachers as reported in an article from eClassroom News. When asked about her success, she didn’t talk about technology or the way to deliver information in an online format. She didn’t talk about how to create lessons that “translate” in the digital format.

She offered five lessons – practices – that make her effective. All of them were about relationships.

More here…

Tagged with: educational technology • pedagogy • relationships • strategy • teaching online

Cathy Davidson on Learning in a Digital Age

On 09/20/2010, in digital learning, education technology, multimedia, new media literacies, pedagogy, strategy, teaching & learning, writing, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Perspectives from an English professor at Duke University, who has also studied biology and neuroscience, and who has been working for years on a variety of items surrounding this topic.

Tagged with: cognitive psychology / computing • digital learning • educational technology • english • multimedia • new media literacies • pedagogy • strategy • teaching & learning

Four ‘business model’ scenarios for higher education: An introduction to strategic planning through storytelling

On 09/17/2010, in IT in HE, leadership, new business models, strategy, by Daniel Christian

Four ‘business model’ scenarios for higher education: An introduction to strategic planning through storytelling — from Gartner

This document and its related research has two purposes: (1) to equip higher education executives with a set of planning tools that enable actionable, institutionally aligned strategic planning through transparent communication and participation; and (2) to highlight several trends and technologies important in institutional strategic planning for the next 10 years.

Key Findings

According to Gartner experience, more than 60% of higher education IT strategic planning is isolated from the institutional strategic planning process, or the institution doesn’t have an institutional strategic plan, or strategic plans are not linked to the budget-planning process.

The technology of today is a disruptor of old business/institutional models as well as an enabler of new business/institutional models. Institution strategic planning cannot be done without considering the impact of IT.

Recommendations

Higher education CIOs who want to become the trusted business partner need to address the core mission of the institution in order to be able to make relevant contributions to the senior management and strategic planning.

Higher education CIOs should use scenario-planning methodology — strategic planning by storytelling — to involve, communicate with and align with institutional stakeholders.

Higher education CIOs should only use Gartner’s higher education “business model” scenarios as a context and guide in forming their own strategies, focusing as much on the collective journey as the end goal.

Tagged with: IT • leadership • new business models in he • strategy

Tagged with: 1:1 • 24x7x365 • budgetary • cost of getting an education • course redesign • curriculum • dangers of the status quo • Daniel S. Christian • disruption • education reform • educational technology • engaging students • future of higher education • game-changing environment • Global learning • higher education • information overload • Keeping students engaged • leadership • learning ecosystem • Mobile learning • multimedia • new business models in he • ocw • online learning • open • Open Learning Network (OLN) • perfect storm • strategy • student expectations • student-related • surviving • traditional • ubiquitous learning • United States • willingness

We have to turn this situation around…

On 09/09/2010, in community colleges, creativity, education, education reform, engagement / engaging students, passions, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, United States, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:

Here in the United States, the waste continues…

As I was reading the article mentioned below, I was reminded of a graphic I saw a while back after the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion:

This graphic reminds me of a very valuable resource that still isn’t being “realized” — and, as a result, the leakage continues to cause a mess. And that has to do with the amazing amount of talents, abilities, and gifts that are being wasted daily when students drop out of school or college.

So I appreciated hearing about what some of the community colleges are doing to try to “cap the spill” — to stop this waste of talent.

We must help students find and develop their passions. Should we look at changing some of the requirements/curriculums out there? If an emphasis on STEM isn’t working, is it time to try something else like arts, music, game design, shop/woodworking, automotive work, or something else that many of these same students might be more passionate about?

Addendum 4/5/11:

Great graphic that illustrates the COST to us when students drop out of school

Also see:

Community Colleges Get Creative With Remedial Education — from edweek.org by Caralee Adams

Record numbers of students are arriving on community college campuses this fall, but a majority of them—nearly 60 percent—aren’t academically prepared to handle the classwork.

Three out of every five community college students need at least one remedial course, and fewer than 25 percent of those students successfully earn a degree within eight years, according to the National Education Longitudinal Study.

“We really have to figure out how to get developmental education right, or any dream that we have of increasing the number of college graduates in this country or eliminating disparities across racial and ethnic groups—that dream is going to tank,” said Kay McClenney, the director of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement and an adjunct faculty member in the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin.

Pushed by federal expectations, tightening budgets, expanding enrollments, and what the foundation-supported Strong American Schools campaign estimatedRequires Adobe Acrobat Reader to be a $2 billion-and-rising annual cost for remedial education, community colleges have started experimenting with a range of strategies to address those numbers.

Tagged with: community college • creativity • education • education reform • engaging students • innovation • passions • staying relevant • strategy • student-related • surviving • United States

Campus technology leaders: Before and after — by Joshua Kim

On 09/02/2010, in cost of getting a degree, education technology, IT in HE, leadership, strategy, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Campus technology leaders: Before and after — from InsideHigherEd.com by Joshua Kim

Before	After
Implements Strategic Vision	Develops Strategic Vision
Reports to a Top Academic Official	Is a Top Academic Official
Background in Technology	Background in Education or Libraries
Focus is on Systems and Technology	Focus is on Learning
Supports Faculty Teaching	Enables Active Learning
Manages Local Technology Infrastructure	Manages Cloud Based Technology Infrastructure
Manages Enterprise Systems	Manages Integration of Enterprise with Consumer Systems
Technical and Managerial Intelligence	Social and Emotional Intelligence
Has To Do More with Less	Has To Do More with Even Less
Focus is on Implementation	Focus is on Implementation and Experimentation
Presides Over Expensive Services	Key Driver of New Revenues and Increased Productivity
Manages Technology Infrastructure	Evangelizes Potential of Technology for Educational Transformation

.
From DSC:
This caught my eye because I am a firm believer that all decision-making boards at each and every college and university (across the entire world) must now have a visionary, informed technology leader on them — as such technologists will be able to provide important strategic direction to their organizations. It’s not just about keeping the systems running anymore (which is a tough enough job by the way) — it’s also about setting strategic direction and using technology to increase the number of students one can assist/develop (while aiming to decrease the price of such offerings).

Tagged with: cost of getting an education • educational technology • IT • leadership • strategy • vision

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