Great strategy is critical to the success of schools, irrespective of location. We take the view that strategy is fundamentally about choice. As Roger Martin (Rotman School of Management) writes, “Strategy is not a long planning document; it is a set of interrelated and powerful choices that position the organisation to [succeed].” Choice can be difficult for schools, because it means that schools need to do some things at the expense of others. Schools, however, tend to exhibit a reluctance to make truly hard choices because they do not know how things may turn out. This, then, is our work: to help schools identify possible solutions to their challenges, construct and perform low-risk tests of hypotheses to help overcome those challenges, and make informed decisions that will lead to success.

In school operations, there is always at least one area that could be improved, and it is frequently related to meaningful change in the school. Sometimes that change occurs through a major initiative, while at other times, it occurs in a much less overt way: it happens slowly and gradually over time. In the latter case, a status quo approach to operations is often evidenced because of satisfaction with something being ‘good enough for right now.’ Operational excellence, however, requires a mindset of relentless pursuit of ‘the best’ rather than ‘good enough,’ even if ‘the best’ cannot be attained, combined with constant experimentation and learning, with appropriate controls. It is an item of organisational culture. Your organisational culture tends to manifest itself in your operations.