CEO Notebook

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

Announcing the 2022 NBOA Innovation Excellence Award Recipients

The selected schools have demonstrated creative new ways to approach maker spaces, endowments and a multi-campus business model.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Research

A New Collaborative Chapter for BIIS Illuminates the Path Forward

Last year’s collaboration between NAIS and NBOA has resulted in this year’s exceptionally robust set of clean financial and operations data in BIIS.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

When To Think Inside the Box

School business leaders can take a page out of improv actors’ rule book to generate creative solutions.
5 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

Pause To Celebrate 2021’s Successes

Your school’s extraordinary efforts have made an extraordinary impact on your school community.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

Lessons from a Musical Genius

Three takeaways from Stephen Sondheim’s storied career can help independent schools face another challenging year — with verve.
5 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Human Resources
  • | Leadership

The Hybrid Business Office Requires Candor and Care

Remote work isn’t in itself an obstacle to building trust among colleagues, but strong results require intentional bridge-building.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

Data Collection Made Easier

Collaboration between NBOA and NAIS will yield new insights that will help all schools plan strategically.
3 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

Every Kind of Leader Has a (Correctable) Blind Spot

Whatever your greatest leadership strength is, it can become a liability — that with sufficient attention, you can correct for and bolster.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • | Leadership

When Politics Knocks, Answer with Mission

Our schools’ missions and values are being put to the test. They should be our guide as we navigate contentious times. 
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

Collective Effervescence

We have been missing something in our professional development that I am hopeful we can now reclaim, with the appropriate precautions.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

A Long View on Leadership

Our schools will need strong business office leadership far beyond our current crises.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

The Future of Virtual Governance

We would do well to continue some aspects of digital meetings developed earlier in the pandemic — but not all of them.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

Burnout Is a Problem. Collaboration May Be the Answer.

We are facing another tenuous school year with the spread of the Delta variant, but we can lean on each other for support — and new ideas — to help our schools thrive. 
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • | Hiring
  • | Performance Management

3 “Reset” Opportunities for Business Officers

Recruitment and retention efforts are vital in a hot labor market.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Change Management
  • | Culture

New (Fiscal) Year, New Mindset

If we want to power forward with change and innovation, as we learned we could last year, we might try thinking more like a scientist.
5 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Culture
  • | Leadership

Until We Meet Again

The next generation of business officers is making connections virtually this week. How will we be meeting and learning from each other next year?
3 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Research
  • | Tuition

NBOA Schools Netting 82 Cents on Sticker Price

The data in NBOA’s new Tuition Discounting Report for PK-12 Independent Schools may not be as troubling as related data in higher education, but it is trending in the same direction.
5 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Leadership

The Cost of Perfectionism

Delegating can expand your strategic capacity and promote creativity and skill development among your team.
5 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Communication

Communicating Financials: Context and Clarity Matter

Relaying your financial story while building trust and buy-in is more than an essential skill, it’s good stewardship.
4 min read

CEO Notebook  

  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • | Leadership

What the Chauvin Verdict Means to Me

To eradicate persistent racial inequities, we need transformative solutions. Many are already in motion, but more needs to happen.
4 min read