Infinite Success

Happy 253^rd Birthday, CofC! What an impressive accomplishment, and it didn’t happen by accident. It happened because people like you cared and did what they could to advance our institution. As I think about what our future looks like, I can’t help but think about one of my favorite books – The Infinite Game, by Simon Sinek. He contends that leaders with infinite mindsets have five attributes:

• Advance a Just Cause
• Build Trusting Teams
• Study the Worthy Rival
• Prepare for Existential Flexibility
• Courage to Lead

I believe we have all those attributes in our School. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. If you would like, stop by the Dean’s Suite to borrow a copy from our growing leadership library (also feel free to contribute a book of your own). You can find a solid summary here.

Education is not a finite game. We aren’t playing to win; we are playing to keep playing. Success is not just making it to the end of the semester. Although, at times during the pandemic, it sure did feel that way. Success for us is infinite. There will never be a time when our educational mission is not needed. So, our goal is to be around another 253+ years.

So, how do we make that happen? Years ago, I made a note (sorry for lacking a citation) about the fundamentals of success. They are simply:

• Strategy
• Structure
• Systems
• Culture

We can sustain our success if we take care of these four elements. The elements can’t be addressed once but must be monitored and addressed regularly. How each is managed will change over time, but it must be intentional and not left to chance. We’ve addressed each of these over the years and will continue to adjust in the future. Next, we need to get back to our strategy and complete our updated strategic plan, which was started during COVID and put on pause. To do this, we would like to ask for as many insights as possible. Kristen has created a 20-question open-ended survey. You can answer all 20 questions or as many as you would like. The goal is to hear from as many people as possible. So, if you know someone who has valuable insights, please send them a link.

Finally, consider contributing to the School of Business or any area at CofC that aligns with your passion. It is CofC day, and #EveryGiftMatters.

YOU make a difference.

Remember: