Determining Relevance: Hanging on or Letting Go?
It doesn’t exactly come out of nowhere—the moment when an organization looks up from its daily operations and realizes that sales are down, or enrollments have dropped. A somber, institution-wide meeting is called to discuss the dismal results, and each person sitting in the conference room (or on Zoom) is left bewildered. How did it get to this point? Everyone looks back on past performance results and, while there may not have been evidence of sustained growth, the institution, overall, was holding its own. It might seem like this came out of nowhere, but I promise you it didn’t.
All organizations, whether in business or higher education, encounter growing pains. Regardless of “icon-status,” all organizations ultimately face a choice: hang on or let go. Most choose to hobble along until the marketplace makes the decision for them. Too often, big brands or giant industry leaders assume their relevance in the marketplace will continue. This is, unfortunately, a mindset that many institutions across higher education fall victim to as well.
The past three years have seen previously unimaginable challenges throughout higher education. Change, therefore, was not only beneficial, it was, in some cases, mandatory. With the growing pervasiveness of the “I guess we’ll just live with it” attitude towards COVID-19, many in higher education (understandably) just want to put the past behind them and return to business as usual. This is a mistake.
The pandemic did more than just disrupt higher education for a year, and more has happened over the past 3 years than just the pandemic. Change is messy like that. Here we are, approaching 2023, looking at huge and permanent changes within higher education: hybrid learning is rapidly becoming the new standard, public trust in higher education is slipping, and fewer and fewer high school graduates are immediately enrolling in college. If your institution’s response to these trends is to hope things will be “normal again,” you should be concerned.
What is it that makes institutions hang on when the evidence around them says “let go”? There are three types of organizations, those that refuse to learn, those that want to learn, and those that still have a lot to learn. Higher education cannot continue to assume its relevance. We either need to learn from the mistakes of others or risk making the same errors ourselves.
Make it a Blockbuster Night: We all remember those Friday night drives to the local Blockbuster around the corner because, once upon a time, they were everywhere. Debates on the night’s movie rental were based on our mood, favorite actor/actress, or which VHS tapes were still left on the shelves. Then, it happened. Not one, but two new players came to town and started treading on Blockbuster’s turf. Netflix started sending movies through the mail (because leaving the house is overrated), and Redbox started offering movie vending machines at gas stations and grocery stores—places their customers already were. Blockbuster, like so many companies before them, failed to embrace the changes in technology along with the consumers’ desire for flexibility and convenience. Ultimately, they failed to maintain their place as leaders in the home entertainment industry and, as a result, they were forced to let go. They refused to acknowledge the changes in their customers’ viewing habits and the rise of serious competition.
Whether they know it or not, many higher education institutions are in the same situation as mid-2000’s Blockbuster. While many students enjoy their four years of college-life, it’s not necessarily affordable, accessible, or practical for most people—especially when compared to flexible, customizable online programs. Colleges can no longer simply rely on their tradition and “rite of passage” status—especially as more and more of those “traditions” are being called into question. Students needs access to valuable, affordable education that meets their demanding schedules and that they can access from anywhere in the world. Today’s students are not going to leave work, get in their cars, and drive around the corner, if they can get the movie they want online.
The Apple Effect: Back in 1985, Apple fell on some hard times. Steve Jobs had been fired and news media publications were already talking of Apple in the past tense. By 1997, and after contributing to other successful companies, Steve Jobs returned to Apple and brought with him a paradigm-shift that created a vision for innovation which changed the world. Jobs’ innovative vision created the demand for Apple products that they needed to stay relevant. No one thought Steve Jobs could turn Apple around, but he knew that he would. Although there was a falling out, Apple committed to stay relevant and sought out the vision and leadership necessary to make that happen. They embraced a culture of learning and met the need that its consumers didn’t yet know they had. Apple created a marketplace niche for themselves and reinvented their relevance.
Higher education has the same opportunity right now. Every week, we read articles about how colleges across the nation are struggling to maintain enrollments. Then we turn the page to read about how employers are frustrated because the college graduates they hired lack the skills needed for 21st century employment. At what point does frustration with the status quo or fear of irrelevance drive the action needed to ensure that higher education meets the needs of the next generation?
Coke—Open Happiness: It’s a La Croix world, and we’re just living in it. Consumption of sugary drinks has been in decline for a while and Coke is facing a consumer base that has become resolutely more health conscious. Immediate access to nutrition information has caused consumers to pursue healthier options. Coke is losing its marketplace relevancy. Coke has the opportunity to focus on a paradigm-shift from the happiness gained from a caramel-colored, carbonated beverage to offer a product that meets the market needs and satisfies consumers’ cravings. Coke, much like higher education, still has a lot to learn.
Higher education shares a similar dilemma. While it doesn’t appear that either industry is out of the game just yet, they both risk losing touch with their changing consumer population. All the aggressive marketing strategies in the world will not overshadow the fact that consumers and students know what they want. Not too long ago, both Coke and higher education were setting the standards in their respective industries, but now they are experiencing a role reversal and neither has been able to adequately adjust.
There’s a quote often attributed to Henry Ford, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” I hate to break it to you, but this quote does not hold up. Higher education has gotten a lot—higher ed institutions have enjoyed world-wide prestige, led research and discovery, shaped the next generation of leaders—but if it wants to continue getting what it’s always gotten, it’s time to make some tough calls.
“Staying relevant is key. When you’re telling your story, you better have a modern story to tell. If I was still saying the same story I was saying 10 years ago, it would not be that interesting.” – Marc Benioff (co-Founder and co-CEO of Salesforce)
