A Failed Trendbook
As a consultant, I hear about (and see) lots of things in schools, from start-up schools and highly innovative approaches to learning to financial solvency crises and everything in-between. In the past, I often read the annual Trendbook with great anticipation, looking to devour its pages and come away the wiser. Anticipation changed to disappointment with this tome.
A Marketing Crisis in the Making: Are Schools Prepared?
Consumers are increasingly feeling distrustful—of companies, politics, even the news. They no longer know who or what to believe, and as a result, marketers must perform at the highest levels of integrity to build consumer trust. The ability to achieve this will be a huge differentiator for Quantum Marketers and their brands.
On Subtraction
In a May 2021 panel discussion on reimagining the K-12 educational experience, I proffered that we should consider a new type of leadership, what I termed 'subtractive leadership' at the time. In education, we are absolutely brilliant (and I mean brilliant) at addition. By contrast, we're awful at subtraction. I'm not talking about acumen in mathematics; rather, I'm talking about our propensity to add more and more to the plates of teachers, counselors, coaches, administrators...everyone.
Metrics for Sustainable Ecosystems
We talk a good deal about ecosystems in the education sector. Indeed, the use of the term has become common parlance over the last ten years. It can apply to an individual school, in terms of the school being its own ecosystem. Likewise, and more aligned to what one might call a business ecosystem, there are membership associations, which are groups of independent organizations (schools) that choose to work together in order to create and deliver coherent solutions to the members of the association.
On Rules
One wonders whether our 'school rules' (think: practices and processes) might benefit from updating, in order to keep schools fit for purpose. Let us keep in mind that rules (policies, procedures, processes) were put into place with the current, temporal context in mind: that was the backdrop, and the rules corresponded to it. Rules tend to be designed to address specific issues; the intent behind rule-making is that those rules will apply for years to come. Some rules may indeed stand the test of time (for how long, one wonders?), yet others have lingered beyond their usefulness.