Dealing with the fear of change

During a recent dinner conversation, the topic of challenges facing higher education today came up. One person noted that a culture that “feared change” was more ubiquitous on college campuses than one would expect at learning communities dedicated to the quest for knowledge. It was that comment that reminded me of the late W. Edwards Deming, the father of the Total Quality Management (TQM) movement. Deming, who passed away in 1993 at the age of 93, made his biggest impact after World War II when he helped inspire Japan’s economic miracle. The United States didn’t embrace his philosophies until the 1980s. Deming’s teachings about business practices were reduced to what he called “14 Points for Management.” What most people don’t know is that he expanded his list after his success in Japan. The U.S. posed some different cultural challenges, which he noted immediately. The first point he added was #8: Drive out fear so that everyone may work effectively.  

The fear of change is not unique to higher education. And, education is not manufacturing, which was Deming’s focus. Still, change is inevitable, especially on the heels of an economic recession that has changed peoples’ thinking about buying, spending and investing. One of my favorite quotes was from a past president of Chrysler that appeared in Fast Company magazine: “Desperation is best friends with new ideas.”  Colleges and universities can no longer afford to do business as usual.  Now is the time for new ideas, opportunity, evolution, and yes, even change.