Renaissance Reflections

Don’t Just STOP SOPA: Fix It!

The issues related to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) are not as simple or black-and-white as many individuals and organizations are portraying them. There is consensus that online piracy is a problem that must be addressed, as well as general agreement that some kind of law is necessary. There are substantive – and important – differences, however, with respect to what the law should include and how it should be enforced. Rather than engendering unproductive hysteria through grand standing, dramatic (but hollow) gestures and rhetoric, leaders in both the private and public sectors would better serve their stakeholders (and themselves) by working together to develop a viable solution.

This post in the GCDEL Digital Era Thinkers Blog shares my initial formal thoughts on all the SOPA hullabaloo that's been brewing and erupted yesterday. Since so many people are posting anti-SOPA sentiments, I wanted to offer a different point of view. I will write a follow-up Digital Era Food for Thought post as well.

Click here to read the complete post.

via www.gcdel.org

"You Can Get There from Here" Book Chapters

When I was working for the Segal Company, I was a part of Sibson Consulting's Higher Education practice and its leadership team. In 2008, Barbarba Butterfield asked me to help her update a book she had written and last published in 1994 entitled You Can Get There from Here: The Road to Downsizing in Higher Education. She specifically asked me to revise the chapters on communication and the new employer/employee contract. Here are the final versions of each:

• Effective Communication: The Road Less Traveled? (ch. 3)
• The Employer/Employee Contract: Under (Re)construction (ch. 15)

I recently commented on an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled "Universities Can Save Millions by Cutting Administrative Waste, Panelists Say" and offered to share chapter 15 with anyone who requested it. Several people asked for copies, and a couple gave me feedback indicating that the ideas I presented applied to contexts outside of higher ed as well. I certainly agree: although institutions of higher learning have unique operating and cultural characteristics, many organizations are facing similar challenges and sound leadership and communication principles are universal.

Unfortunately, since we are still limping our way through this recession, the challenges addressed in the chapters are still prevalent today. What do you think? Whether you're in higher ed or not, do the ideas resonate with you? What would you add or change to either chapter?