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1)
Change happens in mysterious, diffuse ways that defy plans. In
the end, the unintended outcomes of projects are often more important
than specified, goals, and objectives.
2)
Flexibility and a good vision are worth more than time lines
and Gant charts.
3)
Faculty as a whole, are more resistant to change than
administrators.
4)
You can’t pay faculty or administrator enough to produce
strong commitments. We
should cherish our committed volunteers.
5)
Many a dormant volunteer has transformed herself into a
champion when the right moment arose.
We should hesitate before passing judgment about commitment.
6)
Praise is an excellent motivator in higher education.
Criticism kills initiative.
7)
Universities have a great ability to absorb both internal and
external stimuli without reacting, but touch a nerve and watch them
jump.
8)
When universities are highly conservative they are predisposed
to change.
9)
When trying to move a mountains there will always be boulders
that when given a push will roll down hill on their own.
Why haul dirt?
10)
If all of us spent most of our time running around looking for
new project money, who would be left to run the projects?
11)
How can you manage a wave?
You can either surf it, let it go by, or get out of the water.
12)
Leaders can be trained but great leaders have to be identified.
13)
Going up hill, engine provides impulse to the rest of the
train. Going down gravity
provides the train cars with impulse and the engine must essentially
get out of the way or risk derailment.
14)
At the highest levels of university administration management
skills are scarcer than leadership skills.
At faculty level those who see the big picture are scarcer
still. This means there
is a natural niche, at all levels,
for leaders, who have management skills and see the big
picture.
15)
Outstanding university leaders tend to get promoted and move to
other states.
16)
We are living in the idea age,
not the information age. Ideas
have lives of their own. But
action still speaks louder than words!
17)
Too much information leads to gridlock.
Too little information leaders to isolation.
18)
When choosing projects we should pick ripe fruit within easy
reach. Success attracts
support!
19)
Even a small mouse can cause an elephant to change his
behavior. But it may get
stepped on in the process.
20)
Communication leads to focus, focus leads to action, and action
leads to change.
21)
Institutions don’t partner, people do.
22)
Partnering is the conscious decision to make life more
complicated
23)
Joint projects should emerge out of long-term relationships.
Multiple projects can spin off a long-term relationship so long
as everyone contributes and everyone benefits.
24)
Good fences make good neighbors but they don’t need to be
made out of stone.
25)
If people can’t determine whom you work for, they can’t
send your boss nasty letters.
26)
Kellogg sponsorship opens many doors.
27)
Small amounts of money supporting champions create more impact
than large amounts of money funding participants.
28)
The university is not a “mono-versity” but a very large
number of independent communities connected by computers, phone lines.
The “community” is not a community at all but a large number of
independent communities. Thus
“the university” cannot really work with “the community.”
29)
In collaborative change
projects it is difficult to determine cause and effect but easy to
share credit.
30)
Persistence
is the key to success. Persistence
without tolerance is mere fanaticism, and nobody likes a fanatic!
31)
Diversity means team
members must having sin-covering eyes.
A fault in one environment is a talent in another.
Continually changing environments give us ample opportunity to
use diverse talents.
32)
Change is a natural process.
If you do nothing, things will change.
Therefore, people tend to spend most of their energy trying to
get things to stay the same. The
result is undirected change and a lot of unhappiness/discomfort.
But, if that same energy can be refocused on directing the
change, interesting things will happen.
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