Will you achieve a breakthrough in the next 90 days? You may have a strategic plan for communicating your vision, but what about your tactical plan? This week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, a group of schools gathered in Atlanta to participate in our Innovation Workshop, developing a tactical plan to achieve remarkable results by September 30th.
A few things stood out in this workshop.
School Diversity
The participants included a Jewish school, a Greek Orthodox school, a Christian school, and a special needs school. Sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn't it? But actually this unique school diversity provided a high level of learning, with each group sharing openly about their target market, value proposition, and overall school design. Through the analysis of each program, we identified tensions in the school design that were limiting growth, along with ways to overcome those barriers.
Collaborative Learning
Since these participating schools don't compete for enrollment, the collaborative spirit in the room was especially strong. The candid conversations and feedback was beneficial, as they recognized the importance of becoming a school organization that learns faster and more effectively. That requires a faster feedback loop, willingness to listen more intently, and commitment to respond to faculty and family needs.
Aha! Moments
Learning is much more meaningful when Aha! moments are experienced. You know, when you learn something that surprises you because of it's truth and application. A few of these inspirations expressed by the participants included:
"I had never heard of Talent Quotient before, but I really like the idea of using that as a way to measure faculty quality and engagement."
"Understanding value proposition and how to continuously improve it has really changed my perspective on how to grow enrollment."
"Tactical planning makes so much sense--that just hasn't been part of our leadership process but I can see how important it is to learn and grow more intentionally."
KI Furniture
KI Furniture hosted this workshop in their Atlanta display center. The innovative design and functionality of the chairs, tables, desks, etc., contributed to the entrepreneurial culture we wanted to create for the workshop. The participants took advantage of the opportunity to test out the various furnishings and configurations to see what might work best for their classrooms. We're very grateful to KI and their commitment to helping schools grow.
