consulting to universities:What's different?

1. tenure

1.1. unlike any other organization - tenured faculty can't be fired except for egregious sins

1.2. faculty "king" on campus...unlikely to succeed without faculty support

1.3. most projects affect faculty in some way

1.4. not conducive for solutions that "require" compliance

1.5. faculty can outlast changes

1.6. solutions require lots of selling and collaboration

1.7. solutions require help for customer to get needed support

1.8. for lasting help, need time to help customer think through implementation

2. high tolerances for eccentricity

2.1. highest value is on academic freedome and independent, uncensored intellectual thought

2.2. often translates into behavior that can look unprofessional: lateness or non-attendance at meetings, lack of project or meeting discipline, lack of follow up, rudeness or abruptness in discussion

2.3. conversations are highly likely to be academic in nature; less focus or inclination to practical. Requires time to move from intellectual to practical

2.4. don't typically value management - means that behavior, process, implementation likely to be unpredicable or appear chaotic

3. Great resources

3.1. any knowledge you need is available

3.2. if consulting requires team effort, can have great opportunity to find knowledgeable reources

3.3. resources include knowledgeable people, expert researchers in library personnel, access to academic content nationally

4. decentralization

4.1. most universities function on decentralized model

4.2. departments often have control over their own spending

4.3. have to follow university purchasing procedures, but decisions made closer to customer

4.4. if your client is reasonably high up in department, probably faster sales cycle...you are closer to the final decision maker than in government or large corp. More similar to non-profit.

4.5. less rigorous procurement and contracting procedures

4.6. state university systems may be exception - may be required to abide by state contracting procedures

5. like a miniature city - needs huge range of services and support

5.1. if you are considering university as market, likely to need your product

5.2. like small city

5.2.1. sports

5.2.2. housing

5.2.3. food services

5.2.4. facilities management

5.2.5. publishing, communications, marketing

5.2.6. library

5.2.7. health care

5.2.8. management