Technology Accelerators

It is possible to turn good to great in the most unlikely situations.

What drives our economic engine?

What are we passionate about?

Student Success!!!

Student Success!!!!

What can we be the best at?

All of our students must excel.

Curriculum, Instruction and Learning.

Good to Great - Chapter 7

Things to remember

Technology Accelerators

• Good-to-great schools think differently about technology.
• Good-to-great schools only use a technology if it fits within their Hedgehog Concept and then become a pioneer in the application of that technology.
• Technology is only an accelerator of momentum, not a creator of momentum.

What are technology acclerators?

Technology that has been strategically chosen and fits within the framework of the hedgehog concepts three circles. The application of the technology becomes an accelerator of momentum as the organization moves from good to great.

Walgreens vs Drugstore.com

Drugstore.com

Walgreens

• Startup Drugstore.com opened without real experience, sparce infrastructure and no plan (run)
• experienced great losses and had to layoff employees to conserve cash (walk)
• lost nearly all of its value (crawl)

• Walgreens began experimenting with a website within the context of its Hedgehog Concept (crawl).
• Found ways to tie in their economic denominator, convenience concept and passion to the website. (walk)
• Launched a sophisticated website to harness the momentum.

Synopsis

• Drugstore.com continued to accumulate massive losses, had to layoff employees and lost almost all of its initial value.
• Walgreens followed a calm, deliberate pursuit of understanding, followed by calm deliberate steps forward, announced job openings, and doubled stock price within a year.

Crawl, Walk Run...

Instead of

Run, Walk, Crawl!!

Things to think about as leaders in the Roosevelt school district

The Hedgehog Concept

Technology and the Hedgehog Concept

• Great companies adapt and endure through technology changes.
• Good-to-great companies think differently about technology.
• Technology is used as a tool to accelerate momentum after breaking through.
• Good-to-great companies are pioneers in the application of their selected technologies.

• What “technology” will bring us forward momentum and how can we use “it” to make the district better than what it is and equal or exceed higher performing districts?
• What are our “realities” (those brutal facts that we must face)?
• What are those things that will accelerate Roosevelt to become a “great” district to learn and work in? (The “things” we already have that we must improve upon to make them work for us)
• How do we answer the 3 essential questions of the Hedgehog Concept:
• What are we deeply passionate about?
• What can we be the best in?
• What drives our economic engine to provide the resources we need and how does that engine affect us?

Gerilyn Smith

Dr. Dionne Wynn

Paige East

Desmond Poyser

...and Finally Run!!!

Fully implement the new technology and become an expert in that field.

Then Walk...

The ideal approach to Technology

First Crawl, Then Walk and Finally Run

Find unique ways to utilize and implement the new technology as it aligns to the Hedgehog Concept.

The ideal approach to technology aligns with the following cycle:

Pause - Think - Crawl - Walk - Run

Do not rush into a new technology before understanding how it can be used to support the Hedgehog Concept.

Institutions, (companies & schools) should respond to new technologies by first crawling, then walking and finally running.

Crawl First

“Most men would rather die, than think. Many do.”- Bertrand Russell

Experiment with the technology and determine if it fits into your Hedgehog Concept.