Anyone who’s interested in the future of higher education ought to watch this video (also embedded below) of Mark Greenfield talking about the flattening of higher ed. The video is less than 10 minutes long and is well worth your investment of time.
This was Mark’s talk from the recent #140cuse conference presented by Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies. You can view all of the talks from that event on this YouTube channel.
Several years ago, I read a book by the minister Tony Evans. In the book, Evans shares a little parable about four people in a church — people with the unusual names of Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
That story resonated with me at the time and continues to do so. And not just because of its intended spiritual application.
I have found, over the years, that Evans’ little parable applies far beyond the world of church or religious life. (Most good parables do.) It also applies to matters of work, family, voluntarism, and probably many other arenas of life. Lately, I’ve found that it applies quite a bit to the process by which projects move along — or fail to move along — in a higher ed work environment.
A quick Google search helped me locate that story (it’s toward the bottom of this post). Here’s a snippet of Evans’ version:
The story is told of four people in the church whose names were Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
The church needed help meeting its financial obligations and Everybody was asked to participate. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it. But you know who did it? Nobody. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
When the church grounds needed some work, Somebody was asked to help. But Somebody resented being called upon because Anybody could have done it just as well. After all, it was really Everybody’s job. In the end the work was given to Nobody, and Nobody got it done.
The process went on and on. Whatever the task that needed to be done, Nobody could be counted on to do it.
Sound familiar?
Maybe we could recast that story for the modern world of higher education. Here’s my attempt:
The story is told of four people on a university committee whose names were Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
The committee approved a strategic action plan and the chair decided the committee needed to get the word out across campus about this fabulous new strategic action plan. (After all, this plan was not your run-of-the-mill strategic plan, because it also included the word “action” in its description. So it was obviously an important document.)
Everybody was asked to help spread the word. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it. But you know who did it? Nobody. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Whatever the task that needed to be done, Nobody could be counted on to do it.
How about you? Do you have a story about these four people you’d like to share? Feel free to comment.
Andy writes! 