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MONTHLY NEWSLETTER: NOVEMBER 2008 ISSUE
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A WORD TO EXECUTIVES: FOCUS LIKE A LASER ON YOUR “20 PERCENTERS”
BY BRIAN CARPENTER
NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOLS INSTITUTE
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A few years ago, I had the privilege of working for a man named Joe Overton, then senior vice president of a premiere state-based think tank. (Yes, it was fun, and no, we did not sit around in tweed blazers smoking cigars, just thinking—well, not during work hours anyway.) Joe was a remarkable leader, but tragically died young flying his ultra-light. He made such an enduring impression on me, however, that I’ve dedicated my new book to his memory: The Seven Outs: Strategic Planning Made Easy for Charter Schools (available in June).
Although I never heard him call it as such, I realize in retrospect that Joe lived by the 80/20 principle—one of the so-called mathematically demonstrable Power Curve Laws—in which a mere 20 percent of inputs produce 80 percent of related outcomes (or some other heavily imbalanced ratio like 90/10 or 50/1). Joe knew that when you try to do everything, you become ineffective. For this reason, the dedication in the new book reads, “he urged those of us who reported to him to focus like a laser.”
In truth, part of me used to chuckle whenever he would say that, because, well, it sounded like a cliché. In actuality, by focusing like a laser on the right 20 percent of inputs—I call them “20 percenters”—you can achieve remarkable results. Joe was spot on.
Think about your charter school. Thousands of operational details, right? If we started listing inputs pertaining to Accounting, we could work our way alphabetically down to Zoo (as in, field trips) and come up with dozens of details for each letter. The problem is, very few of these details produce disproportionately beneficial outcomes. At best, most of them produce only a one-to-one trade-off (usually your time in exchange for some trivial outcome).
But charter school leaders that consistently achieve phenomenal outcomes don’t squander their time on the myriad of trivial details that produce little or no benefits for the kids. Rather, they focus like a laser on the right vital few inputs. What are those inputs? At the risk of seeming immodest, let me quote from my new
book: “picking the right teachers to teach the right things in the right way, a process that is continuously informed through the right kinds of assessment.” (Important note: All of these things are properly delegated to the executive. In other words, the board should define the student outcomes it wants, and leave the operational hows to its executive (within the boundaries of what is prudent and right, of course). Anything else is just plain-vanilla board meddling.)
Yes, executives need to handle the money properly, and by all means, make sure you run a safe school. But beyond instruction and assessment, there are few inputs that require your time that can generate the kind of astounding results you are after. What about the rest of the details? Delegate, outsource, or just stop doing them. That’s the best counsel I can give you.
In encouraging you to achieve great things, Joe would’ve urged the same thing.
Special Offer: To receive a free deck of 28 cards containing the key points in Brian’s new book, The Seven Outs Model: Strategic Planning Made Easy for Charter Schools, send an email to resources@nationalcharterschools.org. Please include your name, position, the name of your school, and the name of the publication in which you read this article.
For questions, or information on engaging Brian to work with your board, call the National Charter Schools Institute at (989) 774-2999.
©2008 National Charter Schools Institute
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