Meeting the Moment or Meeting the Future?

It seems that many organizations, including schools and colleges, find themselves between meeting the needs of the pandemic moment and thinking clearly about the long term future. While it is a bit of a false dichotomy, the current moment in time seems to reinforce more operational thinking and planning. It somehow blinds us from thinking about the light speed change that is happening and how we need to prepare and plan for it.

Here is what we know from history: crisis moments lead to disruptive change. Leading schools and colleges – the smart and nimble ones – will plan now to meet the needs of a changing future. While they are busy meeting the current moment, they will be busy anticipating where the world will stand when the dust settles. And, the next 36 months is critical in building this new muscle. The best organizations will not wait to see how things will sort out because they know that now is the time to make crucial moves in the development of a new reality, whether it be business model, program development, and price point.

While the day to day toil of the pandemic sucks (and, it really sucks), it will end up being a short-lived, industry-shifting event in which nothing will be the same afterward.

Design, strategize, and implement now.