Series on Strategy & Planning: When the Board Owns Planning

As we outlined in the start of our new series, among the most frequent questions I get asked from current and prospective clients is "who actually owns strategic planning?"  In other words, it is under the ownership of the board of trustees as a governance process?  Or, is the ownership of the head of school or college president, as an act of hired personnel ownership?  Or, perhaps it is some combination or hybrid of these scenarios, working together to create a long term vision of the organization.  It turns out that the answer to this question will tell you a lot about the maturity and function of the organization that is asking.  

So, what is the Board of Trustees role in strategy and planning?  Best practices of governance of non-profit organizations indicate that the board of trustees should play a vital role in setting the strategic direction of an organization.  Therefore, they must be involved in strategic planning.  How that is manifested, though, is a different story.  

Our experience tells us that when a board of trustees owns strategic planning as their primary role, there might be an issue with institutional maturity.  When the board conducts the process in an isolated, non-inclusive way, completing strategic plans independent of the broader community, it generally reflects a larger symptom.  The general issue is that the school or college is far too immature to have a more inclusive, directed, and shared process.  This happens often in young independent schools that are starring off in their first decade or two of growth and maturation.  As a result, the board steps in a plays the primary role in managing the strategic - and occasionally operational - direction of the organization.

A key theme that we will focus on throughout this series is that the "client" or the focus of strategic planning is always the organization.  It is not the board, the president, or anyone other party.  The organization exists in its own right, with leadership structures appointed to support it. 

Next up?  When the president or head owns planning. 

Ian to Keynote at Sacred Heart Network National Conference

Ian has been invited to deliver a keynote at the International Network of Sacred Heart Schools in St. Louis, Missouri.  The event will feature heads of schools and trustees from network schools throughout the US, North America, and international members.  The conference runs in late October and Ian will speak on October 27, 2017.   Guided by the global vision of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, the Network of Sacred Heart Schools is an association of Catholic independent schools and the Province, which advances the mission of the Society of the Sacred Heart. The Network provides services and programs that promote and stimulate creative education and leadership framed by the Goals and Criteria for Sacred Heart Schools in the United States and Canada.  For more information, visit the Network of Sacred Heart Schools website. 

New Series: Who Owns Strategy & Planning?

Among the most frequent questions I get asked from current and prospective clients is "who actually owns strategic planning?"  In other words, it is under the ownership of the board of trustees as a governance process?  Or, is the ownership of the head of school or college president, as an act of hired personnel ownership?  Or, perhaps it is some combination or hybrid of these scenarios, working together to create a long term vision of the organization.  It turns out that the answer to this question will tell you a lot about the maturity and function of the organization that is asking.  

Throughout the next ten days, we are going to outline different scenarios for strategic planning based upon the maturity of the organization.  And, we are going to start with who the client actually is in the strategic planning process.  Keep watching our blog, Twitter, and Facebook feeds to follow along in the series. 

New Hope Christian Academy Selects ISA Again

New Hope Christian Academy in Memphis, Tennessee has selected Ian Symmonds & Associates to lead a positioning and messaging program.  ISA completed the strategic plan for the school launched two years ago.  Our positioning work and messaging structure work will commence this spring and move through the summer months, working closely with the administrative team and board of trustees. 

New Hope Christian Academy is an urban, college-preparatory elementary school providing students with a challenging intellectual and Christ-centered education.  Serving over 400 children from three-years-old to sixth grade, New Hope Christian Academy is rooted in the heart of the Frayser community of Memphis and built upon the core ideas of teaching, learning, and discipleship.  New Hope is an active member of various regional independent school associations (including MAIS, TAIS and SAIS) and is accredited by AdvancEd and SAIS.  

Academy of the Sacred Heart Launches Strategic Plan

Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans has just published and launched their strategic plan.  Ian Symmonds & Associates worked collaboratively with the school over the past 12 to 14 months to complete the comprehensive strategic plan, the first of its kind at Academy of the Sacred Sacred Heart.  You can check out a glimpse of their completed strategic plan on our strategic plan "Work" page. 

​The Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, founded in 1867, is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for girls offering education an instructional services from pre-kindergarten school through grade 12. Little Hearts, a separate Early Learning Program for ages 1 through 3 year-old girls, is also a division of the school.

Sacred Heart challenges their girls with an education attuned to the circumstances and times in which we live, and we express an exceptional spirit of love – for their traditions, our students and our city.  Customs and traditions that characterize Sacred Heart schools evolve over the years, but the vital force always remains the same: a deep personal love of God. This love inspires their students to share their gifts with others through lives of concern and service.

St. Michael's Episcopal School Selects ISA

St. Michael's Episcopal School in Richmond, Virginia has selected Ian Symmonds & Associates to provide counsel through their strategic planning process this spring.  Established in 1957 by St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, St. Michael’s is accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS) and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). Their kindergarten through eighth grade co-educational program draws students from 30 different zipcodes from Richmond City and the surrounding counties of Henrico, Hanover, Goochland, Chesterfield and Powhatan.  Our work will commence in February and continue through the spring.  

St. Michael’s Episcopal School strives to provide children with superior academic instruction in an environment that acknowledges and develops Christian values.  St. Michael’s is an independent school where academic achievement, religious affiliation with the Episcopal Church and participation by their students and parents are all highly valued. Their academic community is small enough for adults and children to know one another, but large enough to provide exciting opportunities in performing arts, sports, clubs and robotics.  The Lower School, which serves approximately 230 kindergarten through fifth graders, is located on the fourteen acre Bon Air Campus in Chesterfield County. The Middle School, which serves approximately 140 sixth through eighth graders, is located just 10 minutes away on the scenic eighty acre W.E. and Dale Harman Singleton Campus.  St. Michael’s offers two classes per grade with a faculty ratio of 11:1. Most classes average 20 students.

Enhance Quality First Before Pulling the Price Trigger

Financial sustainability, tuition discounting, financial aid leveraging, and indexed tuition are topics of constant dialogue at independent schools across the country.  For good reason, too, as demonstrated by same conversations held at the higher education sector for two decades or more.  This is not a new conversation, just a renewed challenge for independent schools.

What is missing in the conversation that I am witnessing among schools today is about enhancing product quality first.  When enrollment takes a tumble and demand goes south, it seems the first lever that schools want to pull is the price lever.  I suspect it is a normal reaction, as we try to remove barriers to enrollment persistence and fill up our pipeline with high quality students.  But, it seems that it takes out the quality component out of the conversation.  

Great products invariably find a way to provide an intangible, invaluable service, experience, and outcome to their clients.  This means program developers are preoccupied with investing into the quality of the experience.  While examining different strategies for price optimization is always a good idea, I suggest that first your school or college exhaust innovative ways to enhance quality before pulling the price trigger.  It is too easy to jump to the pricing conversation without placing the total program experience into context. 

Strategy with Friends

It's a busy week as we continue strategic planning processes with two noted leaders in Quaker education.  Ian is traveling to Durham, North Carolina to launch the strategic planning process with Carolina Friends School. He will then head up to Washington DC to continue planning exercises with Sidwell Friends School.  

We have a long history with schools from the Society of Friends, or Quakers'  as they are often referred to in common language. Their collaborative spirit, desire for deep inquiry, and intentional process orientation makes them uniquely suited for strategic planning. They join additional ISA clients Friends Central and Abington Friends in Philadelphia, Friends Academy in New York, Tandem Friends School in Virginia, and Friends School in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Independent Schools of Northern New England Keynote

Ian shared a keynote on the "Future of Education" at the Independent Schools Association of Northern New England today in Portland, Maine.  Attendees can download his presentation in PDF file here. Many thanks to the sponsors, conference planners, and attendees for putting together a great event and inviting us to Portland. 

A Primer on Strategic Enrollment Management

We've had a lot of clients and colleagues as for a presentation summary on the topic of strategic enrollment management.  While I've spoken and taught many conference sessions and keynotes on the topic, each possessing their own slide deck, we have not published a quick summary of the salient principles of SEM.  Here is a PDF Keynote that outlines the seven essential elements of strategic enrollment management, followed by some axioms.  Feel free to download and share with others. 

The Future of Educational Leadership

Most indicators tell us that the future of independent education will closely mirror the challenges in other industry sectors, such as retail, transportation, and entertainment.  These include public demand for alternative delivery models, lower cost yet high quality alternatives, and hybrid approaches to teaching and learning using an evolving classroom model.  It seems to me that the schools that are in current leadership roles - with healthy enrollment, strong fiscal management, deep demand, and high public respect - may be the ones that actually have the brand, capacity, and competency to meet the changing needs of the marketplace. 

Saint Mary's Hall Selects ISA

Saint Mary's Hall in San Antonio, Texas has selected ISA for strategic planning services.  This is an especially exciting appointment as ISA returns to Saint Mary's Hall in the role of strategy and research firm nearly 20 years after Ian served as director of enrollment management in the mid 1990's.  Saint Mary's Hall was founded in 1879 on the principles of knowledge, self-confidence, and respect for others. Originally organized by the Episcopal Church, Saint Mary's Hall is now an independent and coeducational campus for approximately 1000 students and their families of all faiths.

North Yarmouth Academy Selects ISA

North Yarmouth Academy in Maine has selected Ian Symmonds & Associates for strategy and research services.  Established in 1814, North Yarmouth Academy is a coeducational college preparatory school for toddlers to students in grade 12. Their 25-acre campus is located in the coastal town of Yarmouth, Maine just ten minutes from Portland.  NYA is a traditional New England prep school with a campus dotted with traditional brick buildings, a modern science center, playing fields, and their own ice arena where our ice hockey teams compete in the Prep League (NESCAC). NYA attracts students who value new and challenging academic experiences and who seek the satisfaction and reward that come from dedication, commitment, and hard work.

Happy Holidays from ISA

ISA wishes you the very best of the holiday season.  In an effort to afford ourselves the opportunity to refresh and reflect, ISA will be closed from December 16th through January 2nd.  During this time, ISA staff members will be checking email, voicemail, and our Basecamp collaboration feeds only periodically.  We wish you a safe and enjoyable holiday season and look forward to our work together in the New Year!

East Bay Association of Independent Schools Selects ISA

East Bay Association of Independent Schools has selected Ian Symmonds & Associates to complete strategic planning for the organization during the winter and spring 2017.  EBISA (East Bay Independent Schools Association) is an alliance of over 40 independent K-8 schools located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay region. Dedicated to academic excellence, the association represents a wide range of educational choices. Common to all is the commitment to establishing and maintaining a diverse population of families and students, including differences in race, nationality, culture, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, family structure, physical abilities and modes of learning. EBISA schools do not tolerate discriminatory behavior toward any children, families, faculty or staff. Their shared goal for children is that they develop a passion for education along with a strong sense of self-esteem and value of diversity.

Putting Stakes in the Ground

Anyone who has spent a weekend camping in a tent understands the importance of putting stakes in the ground.  The stakes placed in the ground promote a firm foundation for the stability of the tent, giving it structure and sustainability.  And, second only to selecting the campsite, it is one of the first things that must be done to set up camp. 

The same is true with creating strategy.  At the outset, an organization has to determine where it is starting from and what strategies will drive it forward.  I often find myself providing counsel to organizations that have a hard time separating tactic from strategy.  Strategies are the small collection of drivers that move an organization forward.  They are the "what" of a solution and they must be created first prior to any action planning.  Tactics are simply the chronological and operational steps that need to be undertaken to support and accomplish the strategies.  They are the "how" of a solution. 

It turns out that most people would rather debate "how" the organization should respond to future needs than "what" strategies will drive it forward.  Putting stakes in the ground is a visible reminder that you can't move forward without the tent firmly in place.  Focus on the "what" and the "how" will become obvious. 

Next up?  "Why" did we go camping in the first place?

Use Intelligent Design to Solve for "X"

I just watched a recent TED Talk featuring the founder of AirBNB.  The talk was inspirational, as always, but focused upon the importance of using design to solve a problem.  Normally, when we hear or read the word "design", many of us think of creative communication or architectural elements.  In this context, however, was the notion of using intelligent product design to overcome a problem.  

It turns out that AirBNB had to overcome an enormous obstacle: trust.  We have been taught not to let strangers into our homes since childhood.  Many of us have used the words "stranger danger" in our own parenting.  How could it be that we could see a thriving industry based upon complete strangers sharing their personal homes?

Intelligent design - using the right amount of information, personal reciprocity of data, and open exchange of information - overcame this obstacle.  A thoughtfully designed and well engineered system of information flow and coordinated communication between parties allowed trust to be built and credibility to be gained.  AirBNB quickly learned that credibility was the quickest solution to overcoming trust issues.

We all need to use intelligent design in our work.  But, the question to ponder is "what problem are you trying to solve?"  Great design only begins with understanding what we are seeking to solve. 

Position Opportunity > Francis Parker School (San Diego)

Francis Parker School in San Diego seeks a Director of Marketing and Communications.  The Director of Marketing and Communications is responsible for the planning, development and implementation of all of the School’s marketing strategies, communications, and public relations activities, both external and internal. The Director coordinates with the admissions, advancement, and the academic offices on the editorial direction, design, production and distribution of all School’s publications and messaging at both the strategic and tactical level.

Francis Parker School is a coeducational independent day school in San Diego, California with 1235 students in grades JK-12. Founded in 1912, two separate campuses serve students in Lower School – junior kindergarten through 5th grade; Middle School – 6th grade through 8th grade and Upper School – 9th grade through 12th grade. As a college preparatory school Parker offers a comprehensive program that includes twenty-five advanced placement courses as well as a rich palette of electives – all designed to meet the individual needs of students.

For more information, please visit the Francis Parker School website at http://www.francisparker.org.

Ian to Speak on the Future of Education at ISANNE

What do thought leaders across the world identify as the top trends facing education today? Join ed-activist, researcher and consultant Ian Symmonds as he gives a not-so-typical, 30,000 foot view of future trends facing private education today with a decidedly business application twist. Ian will present a fresh and provocative look at what thought leaders are saying about the future of education from a business strategy standpoint. His talk will be a featured talk at the Independent Schools Association of Northern New England Business Officers Conference in Portland, Maine on January 11, 2017.  Business officers attending will get critical takeaways and practical applications for their work and school planning.   For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.isanne.org. 

Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart Selects ISA

Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Omaha, Nebraska has selected Ian Symmonds & Associates for strategic planning services.  We welcome the school to the ISA client family.  We are also excited to work with another school in the Sacred Heart Network, complimenting our prior work in Bellevue and New Orleans, among others. 

Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart is an independent, Catholic, college-preparatory high school for girls in grades 9 through 12.  The school was established in Omaha in 1881 and is one of 24 Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States and Canada.  Ducesne Academy is also a Blue Ribon School of Excellence.  

We will commence our work with research and analysis this winter and expect to complete the strategic planning process in the early fall of 2017.  We are excited to welcome the Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart to our client family.