When the Congressional Super Committee recently failed to reach consensus on major budget cuts, pundits were quick to accuse them of “kicking the can” down the road. An oft-used phrase that basically translates as deferring a decision in favor of a future date. Before you dismiss this malaise as a disease unique to bureaucrats, consider that it is, in my opinion at least, the number one cause of failures in virtually every type of organization, including higher education.

It is estimated that up to 50 percent of all businesses fail within five years of inception. But there are also many long-time companies like Woolworth’s and Border’s that have gone the way of the dodo bird. American Airlines just filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.  And it seems like every week, financial institutions like Washington Mutual Bank go belly up.

When one looks beneath the hood for the root causes of these failures, a litany of excuses are offered. We tend to think these downward spirals occur over a short period of time, like a week or a month. But in most cases, they occur over a much longer period, one deferred decision at a time. One of my favorite examples is the news business. The majority of newspapers in this country are struggling to stay afloat. Why? Because they ignored the warning signs of television and the Internet over the past decades and continued to sell their product, just as they have since the country was founded: one driveway at a time.

So how does this affect higher education? Directly in the cross hairs! Institutions today, both public and private, are struggling with budgets and accountability. Tough decisions about closing programs, deferring maintenance and even selling off assets must be made every day. And yet, administrators continue to kick the proverbial can down the road in hopes the problems might just fade away.

Sadly, this erosion in higher education has been percolating for a very long time. In fact, it occurs at the rate of one student at a time, what we call retention. And while we may realize this decision avoidance behavior is not a good idea, we’re lulled into thinking that there will always be time to take corrective action, perhaps next semester or next year. We’re like the lobster in the pot of tepid water. We wait to fix the problem until it’s too late to fix the problem.

Why do we choose to defer many of these decisions? Because there are no simple answers. The solutions are complicated and varied. But confronting the challenges head on reduces their complexity. Facing the difficulties and choosing a plan of action that can always be modified later makes the issues less difficult.

So here’s the takeaway: making no decision and kicking the can down the road is a decision. And more often than not, it is the least desirable option. That’s true for Congress, and it’s true for each one of us.

Nov. 23 marks the first anniversary of a car accident that left me hospitalized for the better part of a month. Recovery was slow, but I’m glad to report that I am now almost completely healed.

Upon returning home from the hospital last December, our daughter informed me that paying bills and accomplishing other mundane tasks I normally take care of was made easier by the fact that my files were organized and clearly labeled.  But while walking this morning, I got to thinking about what else I could have done to enable my family to perform those many perfunctory tasks in my absence.

If you’re responsible for your organization’s marketing and communications, I’m guessing you have prepared an operational plan that’s aligned with institutional goals. You also may have an up-to-date crisis communication plan. But what about a current succession plan? How successfully would your team be able to carry on in your absence?

Here are five suggestions to get you started:

• ·         Create a detailed plan that lists what tasks need to be completed, how often, and by whom. Make sure the list includes contact information for individuals outside your organization who may possess information and/or be helpful in completing each task
• ·         Make sure each key member of your organization has access to the plan, not only your subordinates who will be responsible for accomplishing the tasks, but also your superiors so they will know who to contact should they have questions or need assistance with follow-up tasks
• ·         Review the plan with your supervisors to ensure they agree with and are comfortable with the choices you propose.  Seek their input and suggestions on any other tasks that need to be included
• ·         Review your succession plan on a regular basis to ensure that it’s up to date. Both people and responsibilities change frequently and your plan needs to reflect that. If possible, you might want to consider posting the plan in a secure, online shared file which will not only make updating it easier, but also will provide other members of your team with instant, easy access to it
• ·         Make sure your succession plan is specific enough to enable your team to operate in your absence for at least six months. By so doing, it will provide your colleagues enough time to conduct more long-range planning and will keep operations flowing without fear of interruption

Most of us don’t consider the need for succession plans because we believe there will be plenty of time to create one should the need ever arise. But take it from someone who never saw “it” coming: chances are, you’ll never see it coming. Do yourself a favor and create one today.

Last Tuesday, Nov. 15, was National Teach-In Day and, as I have for the past several years, I spent the day talking with 7^th graders at a nearby middle school. I picked author trivia as a theme for our discussion. I selected about nine celebrated authors for us to talk about, writers like Dickens, Austen, and Poe, and a few Florida writers like Zora Neale Hurston (pictured here) and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. As always, I enjoyed the time I spent with these young people. They were, for the most part, polite and eager to learn. But I left the school this time realizing that something is happening in our schools and it’s not good.

When I pointed to the picture of Hurston, who grew up about 10 miles from where they were sitting, they said they thought it was Queen Latifah. When I pointed to a picture of Maya Angelou, they thought it was Oprah’s mother. When I asked them who were some of their favorite authors, of the hundred or so students I talked with that day, only one name surfaced: Dr. Seuss. One boy, sitting on the first row, said with a big smile: “You know, I really don’t like to read.” It was obvious he’s not alone.

The English teacher I was paired with for the day has been in the classroom for 29 years. He is devoted to his calling and genuinely cares about the young men and women he’s been tasked with educating. But make no mistake, his objective is clear: to prepare students for Florida’s Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). If it’s not on the test, there’s no point in covering it. Fundamentals like spelling, for example, are not taught. Teachers are compensated and schools are funded on how well their students score on the test. As for the students, if it’s not on television, why bother to learn it?

I certainly don’t mean to pick on Florida. This is a national phenomenon. And I don’t disagree with the intention of creating some accountability in our schools. But learning involves much more than how well we score on a test. It also is determined by what value we place on formal learning (teachers in Florida, for example, have not received a pay raise in five years and I can’t recall seeing any politicians in our schools lately, extolling the virtues of those who work for low wages in order to prepare our children, the next generation, for leadership). And let us not forget the responsibility of parents to set the example by turning off the television sets and engaging in a little learning of their own.

This isn’t a conservative issue or a liberal problem. It’s a fundamental threat to the future of our nation. We can’t put America back to work if our citizens don’t possess the skills necessary to do the work. How do we go about correcting this problem and getting American education back on the right course? By first focusing attention on it. Secondly, committing resources to it. And thirdly, devising a proven system that adequately measures the teaching and learning process.

Perhaps Dr. Seuss said it best: “Sometimes, the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

Growing up in Ohio, we lived in a former apple orchard. As a result, our home was ringed by beautiful old apple trees. The blossoms in spring were beautiful, but the fallen apples in fall my brother and I had to pick up, not so much.

One memory I especially savor is the family of chipmunks that lived in and around one of those trees in our back yard. I fed the furry little fellas every day. At first, I would leave them food nearby and then disappear. I gradually started throwing the food in their direction, and over time, the distance between us grew shorter. Eventually, they would take the grain right out of my hand. By being patient, I came to win their trust. But by observing them up close, I also began to notice the differences in both their appearance and their behavior. I was able to give each one of them a special name that seemed to fit their personalities.

Human beings are no different. It’s unrealistic to think we’re going to win their trust in a single sales call or a marketing letter. In order to win their trust, we need to be willing to invest the time to reach out to them on a regular basis. We need to be patient in letting them decide when to increase that level of trust. And we need to be ever mindful of the fact that trust will not exist without mutual respect for one another and the fact that neither will gain if both parties do not win. Selling, as I’ve said before, is largely an emotional decision. And emotions, to a great extent, are based on intuition.

Those chipmunks taught me a good lesson about building trusting relationships. Good luck in building yours.