Why Strategic Plans—and Other College Plans—Fail
Strategic plans don’t usually fail because they’re flawed. They fail because they’re ignored. After coaching nearly 60 colleges over 16 years, I’ve seen it over and over: institutions pour time and money into strategic plans, enrollment plans, equity plans, guided pathways workplans, and ed master plans—only to watch them gather dust.
Why? Because the day-to-day grind takes over: politics, personnel drama, bureaucratic inertia, tech issues, grievance fatigue—you name it.
Here’s what colleges need to do differently:
-They revisit their plans annually, align them so the right hand is talking to the left hand, and prioritize a small number of key strategies from all plans.
-They project manage the work. Implementation isn’t left to chance or hope.
-They build trust. There’s less blaming, more collaboration. (Too many colleges have personnel who turn on each other when things get hard.)
-They hire smart, kind, committed people. And let’s be real: while diversity is critical—I believe in it—hiring only for diversity without regard for quality and expertise hurts everyone. Toxic people come in every race and background.
-Their leadership—presidents, VPs, faculty, and classified professionals—don’t let the daily noise drown out strategic plan implementation. They know the president’s power is limited, so they cut through the politics and work together to get shit done.
-They have a clear north star. For example: “Double three-year completions in five years.”
Most colleges either choose—or are trapped by their culture into choosing—the grind. And they get exactly what that day-to-day grind delivers: substandard student success outcomes.
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