As a subscriber to this newsletter you have permission to make copies and distribute on your campus... a great aid for marketing committees! Make as many copies as you like (limited to your campus).

Someone recently asked me, "Bob, why do you keep on with your business of consulting and writing when you have reached the age of retirement and can just goof off?"

I have thought about this question very seriously. I HAVE spent about 40+ years working in higher education (at institutions from the East coast to the West coast). During that time I have intentionally moved around a lot to build my experience. I had a personal "rule" of moving every five years in order to gain broad knowledge and build personal experience in higher education. This was extremely valuable professionally. I am not sure it was good for my family, however. But, somehow, we all survived the experiences and each move was an adventure. We "traded up in real estate" on each move, except when the real estate market fell out from under us (in the 70s). We had to rent out our home (which we eventually sold to the renter).

LEARNING...
I realized, early on in my career (in the 50s) that there was a lot of deadwood thinking going on in higher education (that is putting it kindly)! "Radical" ideas (such as marketing) which I espoused, frequently led to some heated and angry discussions. These often occurred with faculty, Deans, Presidents, Board members and administrators. I was foolish enough to hold my ground. My frustrations found release through my speeches, books and consulting. This eventually led to my current business of consulting, publishing, lecturing and such. It is where I am now. Are you with me?

IMPORTANT THINGS...
What are some of the important things I have learned over the years? How can you use some of my experiences to assist you in your daily activities? What are some of the dangers and pitfalls? What are some of the "good" ideas?

GOOD IDEAS...
First, I learned that technological change (computers) is inevitable. Early on I had a choice: I could learn it, believe in it or I could shun it. I decided to aggressively embrace it. I was not a nerd (nor am I now!) but I recognized the value of new methods and techniques to get the job done better and better serve the customer. I found that change was inevitable and it did not scare me. That attitude has served me well over the decades. It prepared me for the information revolution we have faced the past couple of decades.

HUMANITY...
I learned that no matter what business you are in, you are in the PEOPLE business. Communications, conversation, listening, and loving your fellow humans is what much of it is all about. As I moved up through management and to more prestigious institutions (culminating at Stanford) I studied human relations (in the true sense). I found that there were many kinds of people on this earth...most of them good and well-intentioned. Most people want to succeed! But there were also some who would be quick to back stab. I found this to be true at every "level" of higher education. I learned to be discriminating. I chose friends and staff very, very carefully.

ASSIGNING BLAME...
When I was Director of Publications at Stanford I learned one of the most valuable lessons of my professional management life. The environment I found at Stanford (when I first moved there) included lots of "finger pointing" and blame assignment. This, of course, was a deterrent to creative production (design, writing, printing), stifling the investigation of new and unusual ideas. In fact, the VP of Public Affairs, to whom I reported, played a part in all the negative blaming. (He was dating one of my staffers whom I suspect fed him information about "problems" and mistakes--based on her limited perceptions). One day, when I met with my "boss" for a regular administrative meeting, we discussed a recent problem. He asked "Bob, Who was responsible for this?" (I suspect he already knew the answer and was testing me to see if I agreed). I quickly answered "I was." He looked astonished--shocked, and said "I am sure YOU were not responsible." But I said "Yes I was." He shot back, "I KNOW you were not responsible." But I quickly answered back, "Yes, I am director AND therefore I am ultimately responsible." He never again asked me about blaming!

The point of this is that you need to protect and support the people with whom you work. Don't fall into the trap of blaming! You will be the ultimate loser.

A LESSON LEARNED...
Just before I took the job at Stanford (Director of Publications) I was warned by the person hiring me (a VP) that I would face many problems. One of which was that "I would inherit an assistant director who had been at Stanford a long time, but had a reputation for being very often tardy and not well liked." Naively, I retorted, "no problem I will fire her." The VP said, "Bob, you can't do that. She is married to one of our most important Stanford Nobel Prize faculty ...and if I told you her last name you would know it immediately." (He did, and I did!)

This was a dilemma I faced for the first year I was director. I was constantly calling her home to find out why she was late and her Nobel Prize winning faculty husband would answer. I got to know him quite well just by phone conversations! His wife also had a habit of dropping into my office and saying "Bob, I will be away for a couple of months.. we are traveling and I need to be in Seoul with my husband." Needless to say this bugged me. But I persevered nevertheless.

Then one day this assistant director came into my office and said, "Bob, we need to talk."

I said "OK, let's go out to get a cup of coffee."

She startled me by saying "Bob, I want to quit." My husband has put many demands on me and I need to be available to help him."

I responded, "No, you can't."

She said NO? I thought you would be delighted to know I was quitting. I know you have been upset at my frequent tardiness and my travel with Arthur.

I said, No you can't quit. You have been at Stanford many years, long before you met your husband. You have a reputation to uphold. The only way you can quit is to go out "all guns blazing."

I continued, "I propose we have a celebration of your tenure here, invite your husband and his friends and hold it at the Stanford Faculty Club. Invite all your friends!" I will propose a toast to your success in your new ventures! (She wanted to paint.)

And that is what we did! It was a wonderful celebration. She saved face and her husband was delighted to be invited. I was happy to have new slot to fill.

I learned a lot from that experience. I learned that "love is reflected in love."

The lady in this story has since passed on. I feel good about the way I handled that potentially disastrous situation. I hope you can learn from it as well.

A CONFESSION...
I first read about the job at Stanford when I was working in San Diego. I applied and was rejected. About a MONTH LATER, I got a phone call from the Stanford VP to whom I would eventually report. He offered me the job! Apparently he had talked to a professional acquaintance of mine who had recommended me for the job! (I never told anyone ---except now--that I was originally rejected!)

What does this tell you? It tells ME that it doesn't matter what you know... it is WHO you know. Networking should be one of your many objectives. Think about it!

It also tells me that institutions comprise people and that often people make mistakes. (I know I do!) So I have learned to be lenient in my attitude; not judgmental.

This "attitude" is critically important for me. It helps me relieve stress, work more effectively and efficiently. It makes for a much better "home life." I learned to "take out my work brain" and put in my "home brain" when I left my office. It helped preserve personal sanity and improved my home life.

MISTAKES...
You may think I never screwed up but that is far from the truth. Along the way I made decisions I now regret. It is very difficult to admit them. I want to tell you about some of them. First, I believe it is not a problem to make a mistake. I believe it is a sin to not learn from it!

Here are some of the worst mistakes I made:

Once, in a staff meeting, I lost it... (my temper flared) and I pounded the table with my fist (like Kruschev!) and made an ass of myself. I now realize how stupid that was. I regret having done it. It was dumb.

Another time I made a dumb comment about gays, despite the fact I have a gay son! That was stupid and I apologized to my staff. I made that mistake only once!

The fact is we all make mistakes. We need to learn from them! I think I did!

If you are afraid of making a mistake you will never be truly creative. Creativity requires risk taking...trying new things. I learned to tell my staff... you will never be punished for making a mistake. However, you will be punished if you repeat it! I expected folks to learn from their mistakes, as I did.

This article is available for use at your institution IF you are a subscriber to Marketing Higher Education e-newsletter.

A couple of years ago I was doing a talk about marketing higher education for the American Marketing Association. On the agenda with me was a very bright lady. I was fascinated by her talk about retention in higher education. She had many sound ideas...ones which I found very helpful. Later, I ran into her at the airport and introduced myself. A professional friendship began which carries on to this day. A year or so later, when I got a call from her about her intent to publish a book she had written, I was delighted to contribute a marketing planning form I had developed. The person who wrote this book, titled "A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO ENROLLMENT AND RETENTION MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION" is Marguerite Dennis, Vice President of Suffolk University in Boston.

Through special arrangement with the publisher, Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. I am happy to offer you a discount of 20% on the regular price of $55.00 and the 20% discount would make the price $44.00. The source code for this discount is F227. You can order the 160 page book by calling 1-800-225-5800.

I receive no remuneration from this. I just think it is a very worthy book...one which will help you and your admissions staff immeasurably.

If you haven't been to the library/books section of Bob's site please stop by and see the changes. We are in the process of cleaning up the section and making more of Bob's books available by the more convenient electronic download. There will be even more changes made within this coming month.

This site is to assist you in your marketing efforts and we value your comments and suggestions.

The following extract is from my book titled "Institutional Image-How to Define, Improve, Market It." I believe this is one of the most important books I have written. It is now available in its second, revised edition. It is now in electronic form. (The original was published by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in Washington, D.C.) You can download the new version from my web site at http://www.marketinged.com.

As a subscriber to this newsletter you have permission to make unlimited copies for use on your campus (only!) Copyright law prevents the reproduction of this work. However, as copyright holder I can give you permission to make copies for use on your campus at low cost. You can make copies at your print shop or copy machine for only $10 per copy, P.O. or check sent to me...

This allows you to make copies for your marketing committee, your administrative staff, academic leaders, etc. The copyright law is very specific in how you can (or can not) copy this work. Please know the law and its limitations and protections for authors like me!

A BOOK TO HELP YOU...

A few years ago you couldn't use the word marketing on campus. And image was entirely unheard of. People would say "We educate. We don't market. Image is of no concern! That's left up to commercial, for PROFIT businesses." Today we're coming from a perspective in higher education that is well understood in the for-profit world...image and marketing image!

One of the most important books I ever wrote was "Institutional Image-How to Define, Improve, Market It," originally published in hard copy by CASE (The Council for Advancement and Support of Education( in Washington D.C.

This book, describes in simple and easy to understand fashion, how to evaluate your school's image and includes a glossary and bibliography to assist you in that endeavor. This is "must" reading for the long-time professional and the neophyte to marketing higher education.

I am delighted to offer the second edition, completely revised and updated, in electronic form from my web site (http://www.marketinged.com). Thanks to Mike Webb, my web master, this book is now available for down loading to your computer. It is 80 pages long with illustrations to help you and your colleagues focus attention on your school's image.. a key to marketing success.

The book is priced at $49.95. Simply follow the directions at my web site to accomplish the purchase (download to your computer). You will need a credit card to do this.

If, once downloaded you want to make copies for your admissions or your marketing committee, you can make copies at your print shop or copy machine for only $10 per copy, PO or check sent to me...