Think Like a Start-Up

By: Dr. Suzette Lovely, ESS Consultant

Once seen as relatively neutral institutions, schools have become battlegrounds for broader cultural and political debates — over issues like teaching history, addressing race, and public health. Superintendents and school boards are regularly confronted by passionate parents who object to curricular content or organized groups advocating for a specific change. Whether it’s a small cadre of parents or a larger community effort, opposition to most decisions is unavoidable. Like it or not, schools and school districts no longer have a monopoly on the education of America’s children.

At what point should educational leaders relinquish sole ownership of planning, introducing and assessing curriculum? How can we open our tent to new ideas without feeling like we’re giving up the farm? A look at history reveals many organizations that have failed to embrace consumer trends, resisted technological advancements or ignored social realities are no longer with us.

In nearly every industry, most breakthroughs come from start-ups with almost no money, experience or resources. In contrast, business giants with more cashflow, knowledge and high-paid CEOs are beaten to the punch. Consider how Craigslist sunk the PennySaver. Or how UBER drove over the taxi industry. Or what about Red Bull guzzling up Coca Cola’s market shares, putting the soft drink giant on the ropes?

No matter the enterprise, organizations that resist customer demands or ignore public sentiment have a short shelf life. People, strategies, and best practices shift quickly. Despite myriad differences between start-ups and education, a few aspects are universal – paying attention to market trends, listening to what consumers say and staying ahead of the competition.

To build a sustainable environment, educational leaders need to engage in start-up thinking. Consider five essential practices to cultivate a start-up mindset across your district.

1.     Appoint champions: Start-ups recognize that without internal champions there is no discovery of new lands. Although failure is a possibility, with it comes valuable learning experiences. Find the trailblazers in your organization who are willing to take calculated risks. Give them permission to work outside established norms and protocols. Reward them as they break new ground and blaze a trail for pioneers and settlers to follow.

2.     Make it a sprint: Time and again we hear, “Learning is a journey not a race.” Yet in schools, adults spend so much time studying, planning, collecting data, and reflecting that our students rarely benefit from impactful changes. Start-ups are inspired by a sense of urgency. They use speed to their advantage.  Slow and steady is good when you have a lifetime to make a difference. But, with only 180 days a year to change a life, educators need to pick up the pace.

3.     Encourage moonshot thinking: Start-ups devote the bulk of their time and energy pondering what could be instead of what is or was. They aim for transformative changes over incremental improvements. How much time does your organization spend fixing problems or talking about the past? Is your district's vision bursting at the seams with possibilities or a muddled word salad? Educators cannot create moonshot schools with earthly visions and hundred-page plans.

4.     Build the right team: Future casters – executives who believe in what’s possible – lead start-ups. They hire team members who predict the things that will have a significant impact on future business. While cabinet members and principals may have different ideals, working with an eye on the future should be non-negotiable. Tap into collaborators who are open-minded, resilient, adaptable, and possess an entrepreneurial spirit.

5.     Create a start-upesque environment: As start-ups develop and validate new ideas, employees are supported by mentor networks, training, and resources. Workers at all levels ‘scale-up’ good ideas to achieve a larger impact and higher value. At one point, every program, service or building in your district was a start-up. To recapture some of that original spark, stretch people beyond their regular duties. StoryMap the best version of us in ten years and see what staff comes up with. If you can dream it, you can be it!