Transformation is everywhere…at least the word “transformation” is everywhere. Unfortunately, too often it’s just another, fancier word for change.
But real, meaningful transformation is much more than change, no matter how complicated any given change might be.
In thinking about transformation, there are three questions to ask: (1) what do we do?; (2) how do we do it?; and (3) why do we do it?
If we change what we do, but not how or why we do it, it’s not transformation. It’s “market extension.”
If we change how we do what we do, but not what we do or why we do it, it’s not transformation. It’s “re-engineering”
If we change why we do what we do, but not how or what, it’s not transformation. It’s “mission revision.”
Transformation impacts all three–what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.
In higher education, transformation impacts–
Not only what we teach, but how we teach, and why we teach;
Not only what we learn, but how we learn, and why we learn;
Not only what we do (work), but how we do it, and why we do it.