Change or DIE

About five years ago, one of the principals' meetings in the Diocese for which I was worked was an all day seminar on the principle of "Marketing IS Education."  Marketing is not sales - it is an educational process, and since we are educators, we have the basic abilities to effectively market our schools.  The purpose of marketing our schools?  To attract additional INQUIRIES from prospective parents, since additional inquiries can lead to enrollment increases.  Great marketing doesn't mean that enrollment will automatically increase.  Marketing is education, and enrollment is sales.  We have to do both, since in order for our schools to survive, enrollment must increase.  Decreases in enrollment provide the springboard to events that cause a school to close.

Schools across the country are realizing this, yet still feel powerless to do anything about it.  Ten to 15 years ago, it was thought that additional funding would save our schools, which gave rise to development as an important function.  We have since learned that development is more than money; developing relationships with school, parents, community and businesses will lead to involvement with the school, which will lead to the desire for individuals to support the school.  "Development" is actually the process of developing those relationships.  "Advancement" has now become the term within the non-profit sector that combines all those activities (marketing, development, promotion, event coordination, public relations and corporate communications) to allow the organization to advance, or, more correctly, to grow.

And, it's not enough for simply enrollment to grow, OR development relationships to grow, OR additional funds to grow - it ALL has to grow!!  That makes sense, doesn't it?

If you said "Yes," that's where the problem lies!  Sounds simple, logical...cognitive in fact.  As educators, we're  good at changing thinking - however, we need to change emotions. 

For some really interesting reading, check out the May 2005 edition of FAST COMPANY magazine.  The cover story - CHANGE OR DIE - has some significant implications for the situations our schools find themselves in.  It also has an article about Harvard's Divinity School as the "Hottest Ticket in Management Education."  Some business executives are finally realizing that they can't divorce the businessperson from the whole person possessing a spiritual component.

So let us take a moment to be energized, and be touched emotionally so that we can do likewise.  This is from Living Faith, published 4/11/2005):

"Staying in control is important to us; it makes us feel safe.  But most of the things that happen to us are really beyond our control, and it is very frightening to realize how little control we actually have in our lives.  We would like to control salvation as well.  We think, "If I work hard enough, I can achieve heaven." And what could be more frightening that to think that our eternal future is beyond our control?  Followers of Jesus wanted to know what they should do to accomplish the work of God.  Jesus' response was a bit surprising.  He said it is not so much what we do; rather, our first response is to believe.  Our "work" is to surrender ourselves to God.  God does the real work, if only we let him.  God is the one who is in control.  Our "work" is to let go of the illusion of control, and surrender ourselves in faith to Him.  Faith can be a very scary step." - Fr. Stephen J. Rossetti (a priest of the Diocese of Syracuse).

Indeed, we walk by faith, for if we were to walk by sight, all the rational arguments say that our schools should have been closed long ago.  We need to energetically and emotionally engage those parents who are seeking the best educational environment for their children.  We know where that it - now we have to feel it to truly believe it.

© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2010 (Original Publication Date: 20050411)