Category Archives: Uncategorized

At one point around the middle of my career, my scope of stewardship was broadened to include oversight of an interlibrary loan department. And I had what I thought was a pretty good idea: I told the ILL folks that … Continue reading →

One of the most common mistakes that leaders tend to make is rooted in some of our best human impulses. It is the mistake of stepping in and preventing the people we lead from experiencing the natural consequences of their … Continue reading →

One of the perennial complaints we hear in higher education is about what seems like a growing tendency among university administrators to think of students (and then to insist that we think of students) as “customers” – people who are … Continue reading →

One of the great dangers of leadership is the fact that the more power you have (or are believed to have), the better people will treat you. This phenomenon may take multiple forms, including: Shutting up. One of the great … Continue reading →

Last fall I wrote a post in which I argued for the importance of defaulting to openness and transparency, citing three reasons for such a stance: People really do need to know more than you might think they do. Remember … Continue reading →

Most of us are familiar with the important distinction between necessary and sufficient. For example, air is necessary to human life: without it, you’ll quickly die. However, air is not sufficient to sustain human life: if all you have is air, you’ll also … Continue reading →

For this entry in my ongoing “Two and a Half Cheers” series of posts, I’d like to take a look at the apology. No one likes apologizing. When you do so, you’re acknowledging not only that you made a mistake, … Continue reading →

Hi, all — I’m on a combination of overseas business travel and family vacation during the week of 14 July, so Vision & Balance is taking a brief break. I’ll be back in your inboxes on 21 July. Stay cool … Continue reading →

A common critique of the scholarly humanities is that it’s a system under which a very small number of tenured and tenure-track faculty turn out a large number of new PhDs every year, thus creating a constantly growing number of … Continue reading →

First of all, thanks so much for being a part of this ongoing experiment. I started Vision & Balance last September, unsure whether there would be enough interest to sustain it and with a bit of trepidation as to whether … Continue reading →