Geography is Destiny

Boston - In town to meet with Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE) heads this evening.  Our topic is going to be how, in classic Kurt Lewin terms, the current spate of crises can be used to catalyze an "unfreezing" moment opening the way for mission-based change.  If, as we keep saying, the "new normal" is not the "old normal" in most respects, and the old normal is not likely to reappear anytime soon, then finding a mission-consonant way forward is essential.  More on this later.

My travels recently are leading me to conclude that, for the moment, geography is destiny.  Some regions and even neighborhoods are in pretty terrific shape, while some--South Florida comes to mind--are reeling.  Like the flu pandemic bursting forth around us, economic disease is not uniformly distributed.  

For those of us with enrollment pressure, price-allergic students and families, and drastic endowment reductions, it all adds up to more work to get the same or a -2% result.  Not fair, but it's what we are dealing with.