From the Desk of Jeff Kuhns

The title of this blog post is a quote by Peter Drucker. Drucker is often considered the father of modern management theory.

Drucker’s belief was that people are the most important thing in a business and I would add also in a school. We are no better than the culture that is created by our people.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about what culture is in the context of a school. There are various definitions of culture: customary beliefs of a group, having excellent taste, or to grow such as in a biology lab. For us, school culture is like corporate culture: the set of values and goals that defines us. In my posts to this point, I have referred to West Perry’s culture as being ‘Green.’

Drucker further believes that without a solid culture, no matter what you do, you will fail. That’s powerful from a business perspective and probably even more so from a school perspective.

When he speaks of strategies, he is talking BIG! What is our direction and our focus.

Recently, as an administrative team, we have been talking about our ‘Why.’ Personally, what is the one thing that gets you out of bed in the morning to do what we do. Also, we are moving into discussions about the ’Why’ of West Perry. Why do we do what we do specifically at West Perry. These conversations are intended to drive the strategies that Drucker is talking about. Are we all focused on the same thing? Do we all have the same goal?

From the first day that I walked on campus, I have been talking about culture. The reason for that is that I believe it is the basis for anything that we want to accomplish as a district. If we want to be the best school in the county, if we want to be the best school in the area, if we want to be the best school in the state, that expectation must be ingrained in our daily culture.

During this holiday season, I hope that we all take some time to reflect on the gifts that we have been given. Especially the gift of being Green. And, as we move into the new year, may we all resolve to accentuate our strengths and work hard to minimize our weaknesses.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!