Business Pulse

cents of every dollar we spend
come from Western students who
could write their tuition checks to
somebody else. That means we’re
already accountable to the marketplace
for performance and keeping
people satisfied with the quality of
the product.
In my time here the state financial
support has been cut by more
than 50 percent. Still we’ve come
out stronger than where we started
– because you don’t let any good
crisis go to waste.
You look hard at what can be
done. We’ve really understood
our market edge – quality. People
expect an excellent education at
Western; it’s why we have 15,000
applicants for 3,500 slots. Other
institutions went to open admissions.
We didn’t go down that
road. We protected that edge in
the marketplace.
HOW?
We made changes, became
more efficient. We learned the
lessons. Every time we thought
we’d exhausted every possible savings
we could think of, we’d go
back and find that the well wasn’t
empty. There were still more efficiencies
and savings to be found.
I think we really have come out
of this not merely surviving, but
stronger in every way.
FORWARD THINKING
I’ve studied a lot of the business
stuff. A lot of the teachers –
Edwards, Deming – and two things
that they all say struck me.
One, dissatisfied customers don’t
ever tell you they’re dissatisfied;
they just go away. So you’ve got
to be proactive and understand
what’s happening with the people
you do business with.
Second, you have to understand
what your customers need before
they know it. Your competitors
are already delivering what they
want today. That’s what higher ed
is about…thinking a generation
ahead of our clients – our students
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Call Randall Sheriff at 360-746-0417
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