In Parts 1 and 2, we explored why traditional strategic planning often fails: long lists of objectives, abstract values-based pillars, and a tendency to overemphasize prestige metrics or unit-level plans. We also discussed the power of trade-offs and strategic bets as a way to surface priorities, ma...

In Part 1, I distinguished between strategy, planning, and strategic planning. Not because those distinctions are academic, but because collapsing them into a single exercise often leads to a substantial misinvestment of time and attention. In practice, strategic planning in higher education often p...

Killing Sacred Cows — Part 2 of a series examining the unspoken norms, taboos, and protected assumptions in academic research that are rarely questioned, even when they undermine effectiveness and resilience. This series names those assumptions, puts them up for debate, and asks whether they still d...

There’s plenty to be said about the current volatility in federally funded research: unpredictable executive orders, shifting rules and compliance notices, and open threats of budget cuts or clawbacks. These developments are destabilizing and distracting.

Even without the recent noise from Washingt...