Strategic Readiness – A Way to Measure Your Capacity for Visionary Strategy

Why do some schools and colleges seem to be the first — or the best — at creating innovative solutions to the problems we face? They seem to drive the market — and others to change in the process. And, why do some other schools and colleges always seem to be a step behind, always playing proverbial “catch up” the changing trends of the market? Our experience tells us that there are clear indicators of what we call “strategic readiness”, or the general posture an organization possesses to design and implement distinct strategy.

Ian shared this concept for the first time at a keynote in Miami for the American International Schools in South American last month. The framework outlines the key indicators — from demand, finance, culture and organizational focus — that drive schools and colleges toward innovative change. An axis of “existence” runs as a thread throughout the model, outlining four different states — or camps — of an organizations’ readiness for creative strategy.

We will be integrating this framework into much of our speaking and consulting engagements moving forward, hoping that it better explains why some schools and colleges behave in certain ways as it relates to strategy.