San Diego
We heard from Dickinson College President William Durden today, who can only be described as a force of nature. What a remarkable man who seems intuitively and cognitively to understand the role a great leader plays in personifying the brand, modeling brand behaviors, and serving as a relentless communicator-in-chief. This makes him very rare, indeed.
Durden was a keynote speaker on what he calls "deep marketing" at the American Marketing Association's annual Higher Education conference. Put simply, he stole the show. The long-sleepy Dickinson has become a much more vibrant, visible, and vigorous place since Durden assumed the presidency in 1999. He owes much of this success, he says, to the disciplined development and implementation of a bold and comprehensive brand strategy. Dickinson certainly owes much of this success, as well, for having chosen a high-energy, creative, humorous, and highly substantive leader with Renaissance qualities that come from being a scholar, administrator, businessman, diplomat, soldier, and linguist. Too many boards of trustees play it safe when selecting leaders and that's what they get in return - safe and average.
Durden believes that successful institutions with compelling brands are engaged in a powerful narrative, complete with protagonists, antagonists, plots, and resolutions. He says that the "messaging should be so passionate that people want to be part of your narrative." It is the rare client with whom I would ever even speak these words, and yet Durden's point is absolutely correct. Great leaders know how to embrace narratives and position themselves, their colleagues, and their institution in a drama designed to achieve something important. In Dickinson's case, it is to ensure a high-quality liberal education at a time of preoccupation with careerism and triviality. Ideally, the chosen narrative uses institutional history to provide context for future vision and current operations. In Dickinson's case, this has meant the restoration of the school's founder, Dr. Benjamin Rush, who is also one of our nation's founding fathers.
When considering the future of liberal education in America, Durden rightly reminds us that the founding fathers bet this country's future on an engaged, energized, and informed citizenry. This objective "demanded an education far different from the isolated, monkish, ivory-tower model" prevalent in Europe. Instead, an enlightened America was to have "an education that eagerly traversed the boundaries between classroom and community." ("Reclaiming the Distinctiveness of American Higher Education," Liberal Education, Spring 2007)
The revolution in American higher education envisioned by Rush, Jefferson, and their colleagues found comfort in the academy and in practice communities alike, which is all too rare these days. It underscores the confidence that comes from appreciating multiple perspective and participating in multiple communities, defying the insularity that Yale President Richard Levin has criticized (See entry for November 10, 2007). It is embodied by Renaissance leaders such as Durden who are able to portray their authentic selves, demonstrate comfort across diverse sectors, and be allowed to get the job done unafraid of being different.
Durden certainly personifies the useful role of humor in successful leadership and storytelling. His funny, seemingly unassuming style warmly invites people into the Dickinson College story. I have seen far too many people use arrogance and personal insecurity to chase people away from working and doing business with the organizations they are asked to lead. My only suggestion for this terrific leader is that he make sure in future presentations that audience members understand he didn't craft the Dickinson story alone. By its very nature, an institutional narrative must have more than one character.
We heard from Dickinson College President William Durden today, who can only be described as a force of nature. What a remarkable man who seems intuitively and cognitively to understand the role a great leader plays in personifying the brand, modeling brand behaviors, and serving as a relentless communicator-in-chief. This makes him very rare, indeed.
Durden was a keynote speaker on what he calls "deep marketing" at the American Marketing Association's annual Higher Education conference. Put simply, he stole the show. The long-sleepy Dickinson has become a much more vibrant, visible, and vigorous place since Durden assumed the presidency in 1999. He owes much of this success, he says, to the disciplined development and implementation of a bold and comprehensive brand strategy. Dickinson certainly owes much of this success, as well, for having chosen a high-energy, creative, humorous, and highly substantive leader with Renaissance qualities that come from being a scholar, administrator, businessman, diplomat, soldier, and linguist. Too many boards of trustees play it safe when selecting leaders and that's what they get in return - safe and average.
Durden believes that successful institutions with compelling brands are engaged in a powerful narrative, complete with protagonists, antagonists, plots, and resolutions. He says that the "messaging should be so passionate that people want to be part of your narrative." It is the rare client with whom I would ever even speak these words, and yet Durden's point is absolutely correct. Great leaders know how to embrace narratives and position themselves, their colleagues, and their institution in a drama designed to achieve something important. In Dickinson's case, it is to ensure a high-quality liberal education at a time of preoccupation with careerism and triviality. Ideally, the chosen narrative uses institutional history to provide context for future vision and current operations. In Dickinson's case, this has meant the restoration of the school's founder, Dr. Benjamin Rush, who is also one of our nation's founding fathers.
When considering the future of liberal education in America, Durden rightly reminds us that the founding fathers bet this country's future on an engaged, energized, and informed citizenry. This objective "demanded an education far different from the isolated, monkish, ivory-tower model" prevalent in Europe. Instead, an enlightened America was to have "an education that eagerly traversed the boundaries between classroom and community." ("Reclaiming the Distinctiveness of American Higher Education," Liberal Education, Spring 2007)
The revolution in American higher education envisioned by Rush, Jefferson, and their colleagues found comfort in the academy and in practice communities alike, which is all too rare these days. It underscores the confidence that comes from appreciating multiple perspective and participating in multiple communities, defying the insularity that Yale President Richard Levin has criticized (See entry for November 10, 2007). It is embodied by Renaissance leaders such as Durden who are able to portray their authentic selves, demonstrate comfort across diverse sectors, and be allowed to get the job done unafraid of being different.
Durden certainly personifies the useful role of humor in successful leadership and storytelling. His funny, seemingly unassuming style warmly invites people into the Dickinson College story. I have seen far too many people use arrogance and personal insecurity to chase people away from working and doing business with the organizations they are asked to lead. My only suggestion for this terrific leader is that he make sure in future presentations that audience members understand he didn't craft the Dickinson story alone. By its very nature, an institutional narrative must have more than one character.