Everyone can point to some “Best Practices” they follow.\u00a0 For instance,\u00a0in the field of automotive\u00a0sales, it’s a best practice for the sales\u00a0consultant to give a follow-up call to the customer 3 days after taking delivery of a new car to see how satisfied the customer is, if\u00a0the customer has\u00a0any questions about it, and if any of the customer’s friends, family or neighbors\u00a0are in the market for a new vehicle.\u00a0 Then, another follow-up call should be placed two months after delivery date so the car’s first oil change can be scheduled.<\/p>\n
But “Best Practices” for one company may not be “Best Practices” for another.<\/p>\n
Author and speaker Stephen Shapiro has even written a best-selling book about “Best Practices,” titled, “Best Practices are Stupid.”<\/p>\n
Truthfully, if you’re seeking out “Best Practices,” that means you’ve come to the realization that what you’re currently doing at your school isn’t the best, or isn’t the best at everything it does.\u00a0 You may have a great school, as parents and community members may tell you, but you may know differently, based on the conversations with parents who can’t seem to pay their tuition bill when they drive their brand new pickup truck that’s more like a house on wheels, or board members who call you at 9 o’clock at night an tell you about a conversation they just had with a parent at a dinner they were having.<\/p>\n
And that type of incongruent feedback can make you feel uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
That’s not to say that’s a bad thing, for it’s only when we’re uncomfortable with the status quo that we become open to the prospect of change, and, more correctly, transition.<\/p>\n
Change is perceived as a “one-time” thing, since “changes” brings to mind a series of events.\u00a0 “Transition,” however, infers a process that may be necessary to move from one state of being to a “better” place…or, even the “best” place in the minds of your tuition-paying customers.<\/p>\n
And “best” is only best until the next best thing comes along.<\/p>\n
“Next Practice” Insights are a little different.\u00a0 They focus on “What’s coming up next.”\u00a0 Hockey great Wayne Gretzky was once asked about his secret to his success.\u00a0 His response: “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”<\/p>\n
Doing so requires vision.\u00a0 As a new school year is now underway, spend some time this weekend thinking about your vision for your school.\u00a0 Where do see your school 5 years down the road?\u00a0 Where do you see yourself 5 years down the road?<\/p>\n
Best is what’s happening now; Next is where your school needs to be.<\/p>\n
And with all the changes currently happening in our world when it comes to politics, wars, costs and AI, that can be a very difficult “next” to consider.<\/p>\n
Think of where you were 5 years ago.\u00a0 It was September of 2021.\u00a0 We were trying to understand how a mob could storm the Capitol Building in Washington DC in an act of treason and kill members of security forces who serve our nation.\u00a0 The 20-year remembrance of 9\/11 took place.\u00a0 We were emerging from a pandemic.\u00a0 Things were different than they were prior to 2020, but we were adjusting.\u00a0 There were opportunities.<\/p>\n
You may be thinking, “See, no one could have predicted everything that’s happened in the past 5 years, so it’s an exercise in futility.\u00a0 Why bother?”<\/p>\n
Because vision is rooted in Scripture – Proverbs 29:18…”Where there is no vision, the people perish.”<\/p>\n
Use the words from Habukkuk 2:2 as your inspiration:\u00a0 “Write the vision and make it plain.”<\/p>\n
It’s your first step of moving from “Best” to “Next.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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