Agreeing on Success

Recently, while addressing the five-campus kickoff meeting to celebrate the beginning of our joint student administration software implementation, I had a minor epiphany (right in mid-sentence). How had these campuses with a simple MOU (memorandum of understanding) and some previous history working together (with mixed results) been able to agree on a vendor, agree on an approach to the implementation, and agree on locations, and principles, and ideals, and on and on? How had this five-campus collaborative agreed on anything?

Answer: The same way that any group of two or more find agreement – we literally found agreement – we searched for it. Without going into great detail, we began with a common goal that we defined together. Then, throughout each step, we looked for those universal elements that bound us together. Sometimes the process was a little bumpy – even with a common goal, we had differences of opinion as to how we might reach it. Then we would refocus, not on the differences, but on those fundamental points where we agreed. With each agreement came an increasing sense of mutual success…and trust.

Not ignoring the differences, we have been able to address them by defining success as success of the whole in addition to success of each individual campus. With so much in common and so much agreement, the differences somehow seem small and manageable. I am personally proud to be a part of this collaborative and even though we are at the beginning stages of the actual implementation, we know that we will be successful. We know it because we have already been successful.

So what have I learned about working together toward success? I have learned that having a common purpose and vision provides a foundation upon which we can build agreement and mutual understanding. I have learned that agreement and mutual understanding help us recognize that differences and diversity make us stronger and provide better outcomes. I have learned that being stronger and having better outcomes defines “success” and makes us want to repeat that success over and over again.

Looking forward to all of our many successes…