Butte College and Rebuilding Communities

I spent the past two days on the Butte College campus in Oroville, California. It is a mid-sized community college of roughly 7500 students situated just south of Chico in Northern California. The campus rests on a wildlife refuge, and has been recognized as a national community college leader in sustainability, winning the grand prize 2008 National Wildlife Federation's Chill Out Contest and the 2009 National Campus Sustainability Leadership Award. It is a stunning and serene setting to bring together students from the throughout the region for training in applied learning programs.

But, you might know the region from the Camp Fire, the wildfire that burned in November 2018. The Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history and the most expensive natural disaster in the world in 2018 in terms of insured losses. It completely burned down multiple communities, destroying towns such as Paradise, California.

I am amazed by the resilience demonstrated by people in this community. Environmental disruption has been their recent five year history, from the Camp Fire to the pandemic, as the region tries to rebuild and reemerge stronger. Throughout Butte County, you see commemorations to the destruction around this time of year. And, community colleges such as Butte College are an integral part of that rebuilding process. Situated in the heart of the county, Butte College is among the most integral components of workforce development, creating career pathways in areas such as law enforcement, fire fighting, healthcare professionals that literally rebuild the region. I’m feeling grateful and inspired today after watching this resilient organization literally lift and elevate a community.

The Fallacy of Dualistic (Either/Or) Thinking

Why is it that we get stuck in a fallacy of dualistic thinking in the education sector? I have come to believe it is one of the most prevalent thinking challenges that plagues the education sector. It unnecessarily hinders progress and creates roadblocks to change in school and college cultures. Let me explain.

Just what is dualistic thinking? It is the type of binary thinking that promotes a singular position as an answer to a complex challenge. Some examples in education include topics such as educational identity (progressive or traditional) or academics (rigor or flexible) or modality (in person or online). These binary choices promote a false singular narrative and challenge us to believe that we have to be in either one camp or the other. And, what’s worse, is that they often create an oppositional view of the alternate choice, creating sort of a villain out of that choice.

The truth is - and has always been - that complex problems require a variety of well-designed solutions. There is rarely a one-size-fits-all solution to a complex problem. For example, consider the modality of learning. As educators, we know that certain disciplines promote stronger learning outcomes when taught in person, while others are more natural to be delivered online. And, not only should that be OK, but it should be celebrated that an educational institution can be flexible and adaptable to meet the needs of different learner profiles.

We have a lot to learn as educators about the cultural issues that emerge as roadblocks for change. In our experience, dualistic thinking looms as among the largest in this category. After all of the lessons the last 36 months have taught us in this industry, perhaps we have learned that we can be more creative, adaptable and have more flexible solutions to complex problems.

Does Independence Breed Innovation or Insularity?

I have often believed that the great asset of an independent school, college or university is held in their categorical name: independent. In fact, one might expect independent private schools and colleges to drive the most substantial change and emerge with the greatest advances in the education sector. They are independent, beholden to no one except their mission and stakeholders. As I said in our blog yesterday:

An independent school or college is defined by their ability to make their own choices, chose their own mission, and cultivate their own, self-perpetuating board members. In other words, these are organizations that have few limitations, other than those they impose on themselves.

I have come to believe, however, that independence can often be a breeding ground for two different ends of the spectrum. On the one hand, we do witness a small set of institutions that truly define innovation. They create the advances that drive our industry, whether it be in curriculum design, learning research, educational delivery or public purpose. They lead and others follow, sometimes reluctantly.

Experience has also taught me that independence also breeds insularity. Our industry sector - private, independent schools and colleges - often find themselves in a distinct category in their marketplaces. Or, at least they believe they are in a distinct category. They have a tendency to believe that what they do is actually unique to them, innovative to the core, and precious to the market. And, to be completely honest, it is not. Most of what they are doing is similar to many other schools and colleges. This inward thinking often drives resistance to change and, at the very core, a real limitation on their innovation.

I have often believed that independence is the most valuable asset of these organizations. Harnessing it to advance learning in a new world seems to me the task of the moment. Getting out of their own way is the primary challenge for many of these same schools and colleges.

Video: How Can Education Save Lives and Transform Communities?

Ian keynoted last week for the ISA #JustCause campaign on the transformational power of education. Joined by nearly 1000 attendees at the annual fundraiser for Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, Ian provided an inspiring progress update on the school and how education saves lives and transforms communities.

Five Fast Facts About the Value of Education

Ian is speaking in Chattanooga at a fundraiser for a client in our #JustCause campaign today. We want to use this opportunity to share some simple facts about the value of educational attainment in America. We campaign a lot about the value of education through our Just Cause effort simply because the facts are startling.

No matter how you slice it, education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.

Depending upon the measure, roughly 15% of America lives in poverty. What impact does educational attainment have on moving individuals and communities out of poverty? According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, here are Five Fast Facts about educational attainment that you might not have known.

1. Median earnings of college graduates are nearly double high school graduates.

2. Unemployment is nearly double for non-college graduates.

3. A four year college degree more than doubles average lifetime earnings.

4. Education historically offers a better investment return than the stock market, real estate, gold, or housing.

5. The rate of poverty dramatically increases without a college degree.

The truth is, the cost of not going to college is absurdly high in America. The value of a college degree has shown time and time again to perform as the gold standard for employment, earnings, and paths to prosperity. And, if these facts are to be taken literally, then the greatest challenge we have is increasing access to high quality education through programs, initiatives, and grants.

Education = Hope. We would argue that is the most Just Cause.

Seven Steps to Getting Organizational Identity Right

Why do many organizations fail to articulate their purpose effectively? There are lots of potential reasons, but the most common is that they fail to follow a proven process to understand themselves, their organizational ethos, and belief system. Instead, they simply jump right into marketing, messaging, and design elements, completely missing the larger point. Your organizational identity is much more than that.

Here is a trusted process that we follow to help organizations better identify, understand, and communicate their identity. There are seven simple steps clarifying identity using an inside-out process, meaning that it starts inside the organization and moves to external messaging. Remember, if you don’t know who you are, it is impossible to communicate your identity to others.

Visioning is the most important aspect of any organizational exercise. It all starts with vision, and great visions are long-term, ambitious, and bigger than the organization. It is the answer to why you exist, not what you do.

Great positioning is the result of a strong vision. Positioning is finding that which is singular and differentiating about your organization. And, keep in mind that positioning is competitor-centric.

Strategic planning is the work of creating a three or five year plan that helps operationalize the vision and positioning platform for the current short term chapter of an organization.

Marketing is the art of creating value for the client by turning that vision, position, and plan into a short-term strategic marketing focus. And, keep in mind that value is in the eyes of the beholder, so marketing is a client-centric process.

Branding is the cultural expression of organizational values.

Identity is the visual expression of those values.

Messaging is getting the talk points down.

Try it on for size. Next time your organization is trying to better articulate elements of identity, start with this process. Don’t simply jump to messaging and miss the larger opportunity to better define yourself.

What We've Learned About Trust

Trust is a diminishing asset in America. This is not a political statement - it is both a cultural observation and generational fact. We are experiencing a generational degradation and disillusionment of trust in this country. And, I suspect it will have reverberation for years in many industries.

Consumers - and, especially Millennials and Gen Z’s - have large trust issues. And, they should. These two generations specifically have witnessed the first-hand collapse of many long-standing assumptions in American culture. They saw terrorism on American soil, the collapse of the mortgage lending industry, the downfall of retirement and investment accounts, the school shooting epidemic, crisis in the Catholic church, as well as many others too countless to name. It only makes sense that they have trust issues.

The American academy, or the school or college, has historically been an oasis of trust. It has been part of the DNA of education. It has been seen as a place in American life that can be trusted to serve public interest, advance knowledge and research, and provide each generation an opportunity to advance further than those before it. Trust has historically been on the side of the academy.

I believe that trust is the greatest asset any school or college can cultivate today. It is more important than a mighty endowment, large application pools and waitlists, or national television contracts. I am convinced that the future will favor organizations that cultivate and engender trust among their students, parents, faculty, staff, and supporters. Trust is badly needed in our culture and my guess is that it will continue to grow in value in the future.

Some questions to ponder.

• How is your school or college cultivating trust?

• How do you demonstrate trust through communication, processes, and policies?

• How does your school manage breaches of trust and what does the response tell others about your organization?

• When trust in communication and sharing is so highly valued among new consumer groups, does your school or college demonstrate the transparency they need?