I enjoyed some conversations recently about technology in higher education with the chief information officers of a couple prestigious American universities. I’ve been mulling over their observations and thought I would share a couple:

Tim Chester, the CIO at Pepperdine University, remarked that technology is higher education. “If you don’t believe that,” he said, “just turn off the computers for 24 hours and see what happens.” Tim wasn’t suggesting that technology has somehow replaced or overshadowed the learning experience. The interchange that takes place between the teacher and student is still core to the mission of our institutions. His point, which I happen to share, is that information technology has become more than just a convenient tool in the educational process. It is pervasive, omnipresent and critical to learning. It continues to change the way in which our professors teach and our students learn. For example, consider this statistic: a recent study by the Pew Research Center discovered that 26 percent of American adults now read news on their cell phones. And not surprisingly, about 43 percent of those under 50 said they are mobile news consumers, compared with 15 percent of older respondents.

Which leads to something Steve Landry, CIO at Seton Hall University, said that stuck in my brain. He said that when professors tell him they are fearful that they might one day be replaced by a computer, his response is: “If you can be replaced by a computer, you should be.” His point is that if they (which relates to all of us) are still performing transactional tasks that can be performed by a machine, what value are they bringing to the learning process? Technology isn’t a threat. It does for mankind what it mostly has done throughout the ages: it frees us from the mundane tasks to redirect our energy on more strategic pursuits.

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Great advice from the Renaissance writer and philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli: “Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.”

For most great leaders, impossible is not in their vocabulary. They are able to view every obstacle through the lens of “it’s possible.” Yes, they need to be realistic and willing to take calculated risks. But they keep moving in the direction of accomplishment. Otherwise, innovation and productivity grind to a halt.

In his book, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do, Robert Schuller offers up the following observation: “Understand the power of this word: impossibility. When uttered aloud, this word is devastating in its effect. Thinking stops. Progress is halted. Doors slam shut. Research comes to a screeching halt. Further experimentation is torpedoed. Projects are abandoned. Dreams are discarded. The brightest and the best of creative brain cells turn off. In this defensive maneuver, the brain shelters itself against the painful sting of insulting disappointments, brutal rejections, and dashed hopes.

“But let someone utter the magic words, it’s possible. Buried dreams are resurrected. Sparks of fresh enthusiasm flicker. Tabled motions are brought back to the floor. Dusty files are reopened. Lights go on again in the darkened laboratories. Telephones start ringing. Typewriters make clattering music. Budgets are revised and adopted. ‘Help wanted’ signs are hung out. Factories are retooled and reopened. New products appear. New markets open. The recession has ended. A great new era of adventure, experimentation, expansion and prosperity is born.”

I’ll bet there is some possibility thinking taking place somewhere on your campus right now. How about in your office?

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