Transactional or Transformational?

After consulting for 1300 schools and colleges over 20 years, I have come to a basic conclusion. Schools and colleges fall into two camps, either transactional or transformational.

Transactional learning organizations exist to meet the essential needs of the customer and market. Whether it be good college placement, the right job, or some other market need, these schools and colleges meet customer stated needs. And, they market themselves that way, focusing on clear functional benefits of the investment.

Transformational learning organizations exist to address some cultural or societal issue that is greater than themselves. It may be to unlock individual innovation or creativity, to solve challenging global problems, or to change the actual process of learning, they march to a higher calling.

An interesting point that comes with this observation. Transformational learning organizations always possess a vision statement, where transactional ones typically do not. Remember that a vision is an answer to “why” your organization exists, rather than “what it does”. And, the few transactional learning organizations that possess vision statements invariably make their vision about themselves.