It's often said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. I say it myself because I firmly believe the "right strategy" can be paralyzed or its efficacy greatly diminished if it misaligns with a school's culture. In the
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Not many people closely link the work of the business officer and marketing, but I do. Whether your school employs a dedicated marketing professional or embeds the marketing function within the advancement or admissions
3 min read
Independent school business officers tend to be hard on themselves when it comes to determining optimal pricing models for their schools. You often ask, with a critical tone in your voice, "Why haven't we figured out the
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Our profession is experiencing a generational shift that is both exciting and troubling.
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CEO Notebook
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Leadership
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Risk Management
After last week's heartbreaking shootings in Orlando, it's comforting to be spending this week among what I consider to be the best kind of professional company: independent school business officers and business office s
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CEO Notebook
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Boards and Trustees
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Governance
As you wrap up what I hope has been another successful year and develop your summer to-do list, NBOA is planning ahead as well. Part of that process involves identifying individuals within the national independent school
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Last month, more than 20 of your peers and colleagues spent 90 minutes asking one question after another of Grace Lee, NBOA Vice President Legal Affairs. The following week, some 360 schools participated in an NBOA webin
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CEO Notebook
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Boards and Trustees
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Leadership
"I'm afraid that schools the size of mine are on the verge of extinction." Last week, while I was on the road in Denver, a business officer from a small independent school (enrollment less than 200 students) confided thi
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Every city has a story, but few illustrate important leadership lessons like the story of Chattanooga, Tennessee. That's right, the city that many of us know for a catchy tune about a choo choo is so much more—and
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I saw the transformation firsthand in higher education. As technology played a larger role within academic programs, and colleges and universities migrated more operations online, technology directors—who typically repor
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With the spring thaw comes the inevitable rush of construction activity on independent school campuses. This year, the shadow of financial sustainability might make those mounting expenditures even more concerning than u
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Many NBOA members tell me that if they have one great takeaway from a professional development program—a new idea, a solution to a problem, a sample form—then their investment of time and money is worthwhile.
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STEM, STEAM, making, tinkering. Innovators, collaborators, self-directed learners. Idea labs, learning commons, makerspaces. The maker movement is a big deal for independent schools, an exciting reality playing out in ne
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Each year we have a unique opportunity to recognize two colleagues who reflect our highest professional standards and our community's aspirations for excellence within independent school business and financial operations
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CEO Notebook
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Culture
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Parent Organizations
As a trustee at my daughter's school, I get a lot of "feedback" from other parents. It ranges from concern over ERB scores to "can't we get more comfortable chairs for parents to sit in at assemblies?" I listen, smile an
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The financial lens of independent school leaders is about to get a lot sharper. As you begin 2016 at your school, I'm very pleased to share that NBOA is also beginning an exciting new endeavor—one that promises to
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With today's unseasonably warm weather in Washington, D.C., I recall that freezing morning in Boston like it was yesterday. The 2015 Annual Meeting Fun Run, in fact, is one of my favorite memories from NBOA's last 12 mon
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CEO Notebook
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Boards and Trustees
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Governance
A dynamic group of volunteers, a hard-working staff and a well-defined mission to which both groups are committed: This is the unique ideal of nonprofit governance, but it is not easily achieved. In fact, nonprofit leade
2 min read
It has been a week of tremendous loss for the independent school community and the world. Like all of you, I was shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of NAIS President John Chubb on November 12. He was a friend a
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Last week I was honored to be featured in an online Q&A about school leadership with Rob DiMartino of Finalsite , which provides web solutions to schools. This week I have invited Rob to respond to some of the mos
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