Why Good Operations Are More Like a Waltz Than a Race

When I named my company The Optimum Department, I knew the word “optimum” might raise eyebrows. In a world obsessed with productivity hacks, relentless optimization, and squeezing every last drop of efficiency from every process, “optimum” can s...

I recently shared thoughts on applying the principles of High-Reliability Organizations (HROs) to research administration, framing our work as an adjacent high-reliability function. But what happens when you’re operating within a highly decentralized institution, school, or college where sweeping ch...

For years, research administration has been stuck in the same unproductive debates—centralization vs. decentralization, administrative burden vs. compliance, homegrown tech vs. third-party. We argue over structures and approaches as if one model will solve all problems when, in reality, the ground b...

Research administration is bogged down by outdated, manual processes. While other industries embrace innovation, universities and hospitals have lagged in tech solutions and hesitate to adopt third-party tech due to [valid?] financial data security concerns. But this caution comes at a cost: adminis...