How can we adapt business models for an academic institution? Experiment. Iterate. Scale.
- Charlotte Gorse
- Aug 27
- 2 min read
University leaders often ask:
- How can we adapt business models for an academic institution?
- How can we do more with what we have at pace?
Experiment. Iterate. Scale.
Transformation can be seismic – and evolutionary.
Our challenge isn’t whether or not to innovate – it’s about applying great business models to an academic context, quickly. In short, lateral thinking. True renewal comes when innovation is part of everyday practice, not a ‘critical-risk’ reactive change. It’s a tightrope, balancing core values, legacy, reputation, mission and strategy within a culture of R&D: a tacit principle implemented holistically at all levels.
From economic downturns to the rise of remote working and now agentic AI, we’ve all seen previous sector-wide challenges, while some capitalise on risk. Target Operating Models (TOMs from the corporate sector) are mission frameworks, the working interface between people and data, which will improve student experience with the added benefit of improving staff satisfaction too – through greater work enjoyment, emboldened autonomous thinking, and greater intellectual capacity, innovation thrives.
Successful design principles are those which evolve with our thinking. McKinsey recently identified their updated ‘golden rules’ for corporate redesign. Organisations incorporating most experienced a massive increase in performance (+125%), with redesign success rates moving from 40% to +90%.
Transformational change in higher education provides the opportunity to:
● empower with autonomy and accountability, fostering innovation from pain points;
● accelerate trust, supporting staff to superpower your systems;
● drive student experience excellence with optimised human & data resources.
When bespoke innovation is embraced collectively and holistically, user ‘blind spot’ silence evolves into institutional candour and optimism for change. Post-mortems become pre-mortems (risks mitigated, pain avoided). The glass becomes half full and people-led change becomes a driver, not a fear.
Senior leaders: what are your greatest opportunities for evolution?
