Contagious
Being brave is not a risk. After all, that’s how you stand out. “It’s more of a risk to blend in because nobody notices you.” So goes the seemingly counter-intuitive advice in The Contagious Commandments, co-authored by Paul Kemp-Robertson and Chris Barth. Schools would do well to heed the risk of blending in. The tome is full of ‘commandments,’ a series of admonitions that result in a positive impact, whether that is increased brand awareness, attitudes toward a brand, or performance.
The Stream of Now
Curriculum providers, accreditation agencies, and recruitment agencies need to pay attention to the stream of now as well, as should those commercial enterprises that provide products and services to schools. The stream of now isn’t some notion from science fiction; it is already available. It is the nature of our age that everyone is already in the stream of now. Question: how are we responding to it?
The Changing Face of Competition for Schools
You may not be aware of the next-generation challengers to the traditional international school model. A recent report from SSATB (now: The Enrollment Management Association) highlights a number of new models to ponder from the perspective of competition. These are not putative or theoretical models of how we might do school -- they exist and they're gaining ground. They are expanding. They have proof of concept.