SMART Goals for Strategic Planning Explained
Resolutions are a lot like cotton candy. They’re sweet ideas but will disappear under any kind of pressure (or in any kind of puddle). A SMART goal is the key to turning these ephemeral wishes into lasting change. Specificity, Measurability, Achievability, Relevance, and a Timeline give your goals the structure and shape you need in order to achieve them.
5 Timeless Lessons from Benjamin Franklin for Higher Education (and Life in General)
What can higher education learn from Benjamin Franklin's legacy? A lot! This blog examines Franklin's contributions, philosophy, and their implications for today's educational institutions. There’s a lot more to Philadelphia’s favorite historical figure than risky kite-flying.
Business Lessons From a First-Time Father
Even a version of her future where she eventually plays for the WNBA has to, ultimately, occur in reality. And reality has rules. In higher education, before I start telling everyone I’m opening the greatest University that New York City’s ever seen, I should probably check if the New York state licensure agency is even taking applications…
How (not) to make Strategic Plan: Jurassic Park Style
In their recent presentation, “Jurassic Strategy: What Not to Do When Choosing Goals, KPIs, and Benchmarks,” Susan and Emily used the fictional story of Jurassic Park to explore how choosing poor strategic goals, KPIs, and benchmarks can make an institution ineffective (or fill it with escaped, blood-thirsty, prehistoric reptiles, as the case may be.)
Demystifying Goals, KPIs, and Benchmarks
We see a lot of institutions struggle with differentiating between their goals, their KPIs (key performance indicators), and their benchmarks (achievement measures). This confusion is understandable because, although we all intuitively use and blend these concepts in our daily lives, we are rarely forced to separate, categorize, and define them by their specific purposes.
4 Secrets to Maximizing the Impact of Your Mission Statement
A wise man once said, “If you try to go in every direction, you’ll end up nowhere.” That man was my neighbor Carl, and he was explaining that I was mowing my lawn like an moron, but his prudent words apply to missions and landscaping alike.