| We all strive for excellence. Our society expects the | | | | Academic excellence is a given in your school just as |
| best from everyone and every institution. What does | | | | top-flight engineering is a given at NASA. NASA must |
| excellence mean when we are talking about a | | | | do more than hire the best engineers. Your school |
| parochial school? Who defines excellence? Let us | | | | must do more than create scholars. What the |
| take the last question first. Each of us has the | | | | engineers do for NASA is what matters to the |
| opportunity to define excellence for ourselves. How | | | | country. Similarly, what your graduates do for society |
| we define excellence, is part of what makes us | | | | is what matters. Programming is what you do with |
| unique. | | | | the time you have available each day. How do you |
| Part of Wal-Mart's definition of excellence is having | | | | change a life? How will that changed life change |
| the lowest price. Their commitment to low prices | | | | society? |
| provides them with part of their uniqueness or as the | | | | Next Step: |
| marketing people put it - brand. No one told Wal-Mart | | | | How do your parents and prospective parents want |
| to focus on the lowest price. They told us that they | | | | their children to change society? What changes would |
| were committed to the lowest price and then work | | | | be most beneficial to the community that surrounds |
| hard to prove it to us. Sometime their tactics have | | | | your school? How should programming change to |
| drawn criticized but their commitment is laudable. | | | | create the level of excellence necessary to meet the |
| There is a temptation to be like Wal-Mart and focus | | | | expectations of the parents and society? |
| on cost, or GE and focus on leadership, or someone | | | | There are two final points to consider. The first is |
| else and focus on governance, fundraising, strategy, | | | | that it is extremely difficult to be excellent at two or |
| marketing, operation, finance, academic excellence, | | | | more things. Wal-Mart is huge. It has only one focus - |
| etc. Those are all things that matter to your critics. | | | | being the home of low prices. It does all of the other |
| However, the real question is what matters to the | | | | things to the best of its ability but excellence is only |
| parents, donors, and the community around a | | | | important in one area. |
| Christian school? | | | | The second point is that the area of excellence is all |
| That great wonderful list of ways to judge | | | | that matters. While NASA is very careful with |
| excellence is useless. NASA could be the best run | | | | expenses, it spares nothing when it comes to |
| organization in the world based upon those measures | | | | programming. How many times does it reschedule |
| of excellence. Does any of that guarantee a | | | | launches because of questionable weather, potential |
| successful launch for the space shuttle? Does any of | | | | engineering or equipment problems, or some other |
| that ensure that we will be the world leader in | | | | issue? How much could it save annually if it took |
| science, technology, or engineering? Of course, we | | | | more chances? It is unwilling to take the chance |
| want NASA to be good at all of those things but | | | | because programming is why it exists. |
| how do we know if NASA is excellent? | | | | Programming is why every organization exists. Think |
| The answer is the same whether we are talking | | | | of the organizations you respect the most. They |
| about NASA or the parents of your school. The | | | | have established their place in your mind because of |
| measure of excellence is programming. Programming | | | | their commitment to programming. Your programming |
| at your school is something other than academics. | | | | is your seed of greatness. Nurture your seedling and |
| Programming is what the school does to change lives. | | | | it will increase your sustainability. |