Years ago when I was attending the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University, I had to read Malcolm Gladwell's book "The Tipping Point". I remember enjoying the book and being excited when I was able to hear Mr. Gladwell speak at an AOA convention, but other than that I think that I had forgotten the details of the book. But, just recently, I pulled this book off my shelves and reread it. It was really enjoyable and as it should, it sparked some connections with other things that I have learned in my career.
First, I'd tell recommend reading about "The Butterfly Effect". The butterfly effect in business is a concept in chaos theory that describes how small actions can have big consequences in a complex system. In business, the butterfly effect can mean that:
A simple marketing effort can lead to great results
A customer's warm treatment can lead to them promoting your brand
A small inconvenience can ruin your business's reputation
Keeping these concepts in mind when diving into Gladwell's book, you'll quickly understand the connectivity that people, places, and actions have upon each other. Of course, for me, bringing back these concepts to the forefront of my mind makes me think about optometric education. I think that without articulating why I was pursuing certain courses or actions, I knew that they could have profound impacts. I'll try to give you two examples here;
When I arrived at KYCO, the Mission statement was already created and submitted to the ACOE for approval. Honestly, I didn't like it at all. The Mission statement had terms in it that we ambiguous and outdated. How happy was I that we were able to undertake a year long project to rewrite the Mission, Goals and Objectives for KYCO? I was thrilled. One of the first things that I did was to create large canvases with the mission statement emblazoned across them. I put one on the 5th floor and one of the 4th floor where every faculty member would see it each day as they went to their offices. I believe that this was a "flap of the butterflies' wings". Having this new mission statement on the wall provided a subtle shift in the way that we did business. Another example happened over and over again in our developing College of Optometry and this had to do with student progress decisions. Every time that a student fails to progress in an academic program, there are a unique set of circumstances. After 20 years, I thought that I had heard them all, but each semester brought new situations. Our process was, an Academic Standards Committee of faculty members made a recommendation to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for a decision. Then, if and only if there were procedural issues, this decision could be referred to the dean. Anyone on my Administrative team can tell you that my question regarding each new recommendation or decision would be "what kind of precedence does this set?" I knew that each decision had a much larger and long-term impact than just the student at the table. Each decision we make would have connected effects down the timeline of the College. Therefore, it was critical to take time and consider the precedence that we might be setting for the future.
Did I learn these things from Malcolm Gladwell? I'm not sure, but I do know that I believe the concept of "the tipping point" and/or "the butterfly effect". It is clear to me that each decision you make can have a lasting impact on your success. So, each situation must be carefully considered. This goes for any business but I believe is especially true in higher education. When doing Strategic Planning, make sure that all of your daily steps align with the mission or long-term vision. Be sure to be flexible! Think about all of the pivots that we had to make during COVID-19. Minor shifts had to be done to keep focused on the long-term mission. Don't forget the details. Something as simple as a canvas picture on a wall or a tone of voice can impact the way your business/school develops. And finally, manage your risks by considering the precedence that each decision creates. Make sure you develop a risk assessment and mitigation strategy, but better still, avoid risks by making thoughtful decisions from the start.
Best wishes for the New Year!
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