I had a phenomenal few days at the CASE Annual Conference on Marketing and Branding in Los Angeles.
In my closing remarks as the co-chair, I reminded participants to be sure to share their takeaways. Having attended several professional development conferences in the past, I’ve found that as my inbox loads, my creativity and enthusiasm wane.
To help combat this, I’ve begun using a 2-2-1 approach to hone in on key ideas. The breakdown is 2 ideas I can implement now, 2 ideas I can implement in 4-6 weeks, and 1 big picture idea that will take time to implement.
2 Ideas Now
Find more ways to repurpose content – Alexis shared how the University of Florida was able to repurpose an event into six different media moments. Their strategy involved news to drive event attendance, coverage after the event, and updates on the event. While they had multiple media moments, much of the content was repurposed from one or two conversations. It was a great session and helped me to think about how to repurpose some of the work our team is doing.
Assess projects for strategic importance – Mike noted that oftentimes we spend lots of energy on projects that do not move the strategic needle. Instead, he encouraged focusing on 5-6 key projects each year and making sure key projects are a meaningful balance of high-impact projects. While other things may pop up, it certainly helps you navigate where the team should be focusing their energies and provides a platform to better align when pivots are needed.
2 Ideas in 4-6 Weeks
Use the RACI model to think about campus committees — In a presentation Russ did about strategic alignment, he talked about the importance of making sure those who are responsible and accountable serve on key campus committees. He noted this would help ensure committees were empowered to do work but didn’t get too big. As UA Little Rock is thinking about its Centennial celebration, this tip will be valuable to work through the committee organization and function.
Don’t let things happen to you. Instead, make things happen — Kin shared how as leaders, sometimes it’s easy to let the world happen to you. Instead, leaders (especially women leaders) need to know what things are important, personally and professionally, and make sure we are taking action toward those things. As we head into a new academic year, I’m going to try to use this advice to help me better navigate change.
One big picture thing
Advocate for our work — The closing keynote was about several campaigns in support of higher education that are happening. While I think these are important, I also think I can do a better job of telling my own higher education impact story. Over the next year, I want to find ways that I can better advocate and tell the important stories of our profession.
What Else?
For those of you who attended the conference, what are things that I should have included as great takeaways. I hope you’ll join in and keep the conversation going.
And Carrie On 