Anita, Dee Anne and I are excited to be back with you as September starts. Those of you who work in higher education have campuses full of people and students ready to learn. Even if you don’t work in higher ed there is a feeling in the air of energy, anticipation and excitement as a new season begins. It is time for action and that is the change topic we will be exploring with you this month.
Change requires action, but thinking about action does not guarantee successful change. You need to be ready and willing to act. If you are like me, or my daughter as you will see, you may put off action until a deadline forces your hand. On Monday night my daughter was caught on the local news school shopping, the night before her junior year started! In the story she describes how she put her backpack in the corner and ignored it all summer. To no one’s surprise, most of the supplies she needed were sold out. Many change efforts also ignore the need to take action.
The six elements of change we have discussed so far this year will make sure your change effort is ready for action:
- Assess current state
- Articulate vision for the future state
- Set strategy and goals
- Engage stakeholders
- Build accountability and commitment
- Develop capacity
After you have done the planning and are ready for action there is still more to do for the change to stick. Successful action requires both rigor and discipline. Over the next month we will share ideas and examples of how you can introduce rigor and discipline into your change actions and bring this Chinese proverb to life:
“Vision without action is merely a dream”
“Action without vision merely passes the time”
“Vision with action can change the world”
As always, we welcome your insights and ideas as we explore Taking Action this month.
Todd Thorsgaard
If you are interested you can view the news story that includes my daughter by clicking here.
Higher EDge 