Frustrated with the quality of political debate in this country, I have some questions: “what do fully formed, competent politicians look like? Where might we find such people? What characteristics should politicians have regardless of party affiliation? How might we identify appropriate candidates?” I say this not as a condemnation of all people currently filling […]
Ross All Over the Map – blog
Avoiding a Strategy Archipelago: Pre-work for Strategic Planning
A well-constructed strategic plan, among other things is cohesive, and as I have written before in a post entitled Strategic Plans and Luxury Cars: They Look so Good on the Lot, schools create some lovely, shiny plans with muscled language and bold vision. The exercise of creating a plan–the detailed and focused process that leads […]
Place, Connection, and Expectation: Key Ingredients in a Progress Culture
We want kids to have the opportunity to live within and contribute to an extraordinary community of learners, artists, musicians, and athletes. In order to have this chance, students need three things from the school: Place, Connection, and Expectation. The success of a school in creating and maintaining a Progress Culture is rooted in these areas as much […]
Landing the Plane: Finding Clarity within Complexity
this is first in a series of re-posting of pieces I wrote Pre-covid19 that are more relevant than ever during this stunningly challenging time. The cockpit–all those screens and switches, too many to count, plus lights, blue, yellow-orange, red. If things are really rough, a buzzer might sound. The voices from the tower are muffled in the radio. […]
Foreshadowing and not Foreshadowing: Strategic Choices
In an environment of accelerated progress and challenge, foreshadowing is a key to good communication about organizational change. Leadership should think of foreshadowing as a necessary tool because communicating change too late can make strategic steps look like reactive ones. By giving community members glimpses of what may lie ahead, organizations can: Gauge the potential response […]
Zombies–Undead Colleges and Schools
When I was in seventh grade, I went to see Night of the Living Dead with a bunch of my classmates. It scared me something awful, and it was a bad place to be scared—news bulletin: seventh graders can be mercenary. One of my friends reached beneath my wooden folding seat in the school theater […]