It’s great that we’ve built a system to use at Collegewise. But that doesn’t mean it never changes or that we have to use it exactly as it is forever. Not every Collegewise office has to do all the same seminars, use the same forms or have exactly the same meetings with kids. The most successful businesses that are built on models are those that use the basic structure given to them and then tailor it to their marketplace. So our counselors use what we’ve created to see what works. When something needs to be different, we change it. We can take advantage of being small and having the freedom to adapt quickly. As long as our changes aren’t expensive or too risky, we’d be crazy not to try them.
Effective people are always looking for a better, more effective way. That’s why people who make the biggest impact–from counselors and teachers to yearbook editors to PTA moms–are entrepreneurial all the time. They operate within certain guidelines (follow directions to the letter when you fill out college applications). But where they have influence, they aren’t afraid to change it up.
And if you think you have to be in charge to make changes, here’s a past post on what Stanford Business School professor Jim Collins calls “creating a pocket of greatness.”