Unfortunately, too many institutions are fueled by fear of failure. That fear will drive innovation off a university campus more quickly than COVID-19. Singularly, risk aversion in leadership creates fear. Thomas Watson, the brains behind IBM, said, “The fastest way to succeed is to double your failure rate.” Organizations that need to change to successfully survive, fail to do so 70% of the time. The COVID-19 outbreak will drive the need for institutional change like no other event in modern history. Failure, blindly guided by inflexibility, will drive the bus off the cliff. The changing nature of student demographics, government’s relationship to higher education, student indebtedness and the public expectations makes it fact, not fiction. Additionally, commercial and industrial enterprises of every kind will have to adapt at a speed hitherto unknown—or bust. Oversimplification? I don’t think so. Oscar Muniz demonstrated the power of organizational leadership and how working members of any organization at any level overcome any challenge— even arranging chairs. Flexibility and focus create responsiveness. When organizational priorities are kept to the forefront, flexibility follows in response to the loftiest goals of the enterprise.
Unfortunately, too many institutions are fueled by fear of failure. That fear will drive innovation off a university campus more quickly than COVID-19. Singularly, risk aversion in leadership creates fear. Thomas Watson, the brains behind IBM, said, “The fastest way to succeed is to double your failure rate.”
Circumstances are simply that and nothing more.
While it may be difficult to see through promotional fog and sales chimera, seek a university where people are flexible in response to needs and aspirations through circumstances. If you sense a reluctance for people to bend to the task at hand while keeping their eyes on first purpose— educational attainment, look elsewhere.
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