Experienced Presidents

Serving as a university or college president can take a staggering personal toll, as the conflicting demands of the institution’s various constituencies and the public never abate, and as the time available to incumbents to “step back” and reconsider their paths seems elusive.  We can help experienced presidents navigate the occasional “down times” and assist them in the process of refreshing their perspectives and recharging their leadership batteries and commitment by working with them to:

  • Undertake a new round of priority setting

  • Review new and recurrent management challenges

  • Consider options for new academic initiatives to help refresh the instructional and research missions

  • Re-examine organization and operation of executive management team

  • Develop more effective programs to commercialize scientific and engineering discoveries that yield university-owned intellectual property

  • Provide confidential, objective and experience-informed advice on all major management challenges, including those associated with academic medical centers

Our Approach

We offer the following options to support our work with experienced presidents:

120-Day Engagement

A 120-day “package” consisting of four to six confidential meetings per month preceded by our deep “desk review” of the institution’s structure/finances/programs/challenges via materials provided by the client upon our request or available online

Short-term

A month-to-month, terminable arrangement with a short termination notice feature

Long-term

A longer term relationship with Wrighton Cannon Consulting LLC could be possible if mutually agreeable

Implementation

To implement our approach, we recommend the following:

Principals As-Needed

During any period of engagement with Wrighton Cannon Consulting LLC at least one of the partners would be available as needed, as the partners understand that important issues arise at inconvenient times

Scope of Relationship

The partners of Wrighton Cannon Consulting LLC would be available to engage with individuals specified by the President, including the President’s direct reports