Category: The Future of Higher Education

As we head into Fall

Posted on by BobC

The change of seasons is upon us and the life-cycle of the tomato plants at the farm center has me thinking about life-cycles in general. I have been doing  some reading lately about the life-cycles of organizations. I found this great GIF on the web that illustrates the challenges faced by maturing organizations.

 

product-life-cycle-r0505e_a

 

http://suifaijohnmak.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/product-life-cycle-r0505e_a.g

The real question I have is where are we on this curve? I suspect that we are reaching maturity, which in and of itself is not problematic if addressed properly. The key to success in the future will be actually tracking where we are on this curve and crafting a strategy to move forward.

There is a great deal being written recently in various publications about the topic of Design Thinking. Roger Martin has a great book that is a quick read: http://www.amazon.ca/Design-Business-Thinking-Competitive-Advantage/dp/1422177807

The book is a good primer on the subject and one that I would recommend. We will all soon be involved in the planning of the College’s future. New research around ideas like Design Thinking will help us to answer the tough questions as we move forward and allow Hampshire to once again become disruptive in the marketplace.

Bob C

Educause Keynote speaker Gary Hamel

Posted on by BobC

Gary Hamel is a writer and visiting professor of strategic and international management at the London Business School. He was the keynote speaker at Educause 10 and spoke about the future of Higher Education , in a talk titled  Reinventing Management of a Networked World.  At first glance  it seemed to be possibly and interesting session , but after viewing it we were blow away by his concepts and vision.  Unfortunately they could not tape his keynote .  Here is an link to a preview phone  interview that gives you an idea of his direction and ideas.   Gary Hamel.    He is certainly worth following.

Bob C