Not to get all ziggy when everyone is zagging, but I’m not sure I understand the shock and concern about the announcements Mike Miles made yesterday (as Jason told you about in Leading Off).
Yes, Miles did all but describe it as a crisitunity. Yes, those were his hand-picked people leaving. But you can’t be shocked his initial team is leaving. They came in with the same junk-swinging bravado he had, and they’ve had the cocksure beat out of them by many things — the enormity of the task, the media, the meddling board, etc. This simply mirrors what Miles is going through. Difference is, these folks are under the radar and can run away to whatever challenge they desire.
The real battle comes next year. There are five phases to the traditional corporate turnaround, which is what this DISD reform effort is at its heart: assessment, acute problem fixing (triage), restructuring, stabilization, revitalization. Problem is, Miles got his order wrong and tried to restructure the team before he walked in the door and knew anything about anything. Now I suspect he better understands what he needs, is at least slightly more humble, and knows he must get a new team in place to operate under the altered political landscape. The folks who signed on back when he started now know if they are willing to sign up for what comes next, and those who don’t are leaving. This is the restructuring.
My problem is not so much with the folks who are leaving (best of luck to them), or the fact that they’re leaving because of Miles’ weakness and the board’s meddling (only marked improvement will change the dynamics of this). I’m worried Miles hasn’t learned from his mistakes. Look at the four execs who were promoted: all have been here only a relatively short time. Turnaround experts love to bring in their own teams and ignore institutional knowledge because they think, “Well, if everyone here didn’t suck, I wouldn’t be needed!” That’s not the way the world works. Many of the problems Miles has are there because he hasn’t blended outside perspective with the good long-timers who know where the bodies are buried. Come next school year, we’ll see if that’s still a problem. If so, it’s mostly likely a fireable one.
