Is an independent school a business? I think the vast majority of trustees and heads would say “yes.” But if you listen to heads and trustees talk about their schools, if you examine their strategic plans, and if you lift the hood to see how all the parts of the engine work together… it’s clear that many independent schools don’t operate like businesses or at least, well-run businesses. I fear that in many of our schools, there is a mindset that pits the romantic aspirations of education against the practical considerations of revenue and costs. Imagination yields to a simple dichotomy; easy is preferable to hard.

I wrote Leading Through Strategy to demonstrate that mission and business do not have to be antithetical, that in fact, with a degree of creativity, they can support and reinforce each other. Please, don’t get me wrong; I am not an apologist for the unquestioning adoption of good business principles by independent schools. What makes sense in the for-profit world can often be a terrible move in the school business. How many schools have incurred long-term debt to construct buildings in the belief that enrollment will remain robust, only to have enrollment drop and debt service remain? But the ill effects of certain business principles should not mean that independent schools ignore them altogether. With softening enrollment and real questions about value proposition, independent schools need to aggressively embrace more sophisticated business practices if they want to thrive moving forward.

Let me give you two examples from my book.

First, I find no strategy in the vast majority of independent school strategic plans. These plans often represent a compilation of big problems that need to be solved. The problems are labeled strategic because it will probably take more than a year to solve them. There’s no vision, no attention to the market, no attempt to create value for all stakeholders, and no attempt to assess the capacity of the school to execute. Real strategy is a set of integrated choices designed to create value for all stakeholders. It’s both aspirational and practical because it is rooted in an unvarnished assessment of the school and its position in the market. Good strategy reverberates. It lifts the fundraising ceiling; it energizes the faculty; it leads to a virtuous cycle for the entire school. But it’s also hard. As Roger Martin points out, plans focus on inputs, actions within the power of the organization. Strategy, on the other hand, is about outputs- measurables that strengthen the value proposition of the school. The market doesn’t lie.

Second, it is appalling to me that the vast majority of independent schools do not align faculty behavior with the mission and strategy of the school. For most independent schools, the quality of the faculty matters; in fact, it is the most important tool a school has to fulfill its mission. And yet, a significant number of independent schools have no performance system. Most do not articulate the key behaviors and outcomes that define success at their respective schools. Most do not incentivize excellence by paying great teachers more, a lot more! Martin asks a simple question once a hypothetical vision has been created: if your school is to achieve its aspirations, what needs to be true? Only in the rarest of cases would credible answers to this question not involve superior faculty. And to some schools’ credit, they will establish a lofty goal of reaching some faculty average salary goal in comparison to other schools. Admirable as these efforts might be, they are not enough. Schools need to define what excellent teaching for their schools looks like and when it is achieved, find ways to reward it. Rewarding talent is good business. It’s much better than adding a bunch of “cool” programs featured in fancy brochures.

Leading Through Strategy details other ways in which business principles can be used or modified to help independent schools thrive. The enrollment sugar high that came with Covid is quickly fading. Value propositions are going to be more questioned in the market. Independent school leadership needs new ways of thinking in order to continue its wonderful impact on American education. Why not start with good business strategy?