It has been an incredible first semester as a Badger, and as leaves and temperatures drop they invite us to pause and reflect.
I’m fresh off hosting a school leadership retreat that gathered leaders from across SMPH, UW–Madison, UW Health, and the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association for the first time. I can’t wait to bring the same energy to the rest of the SMPH community in the coming months.
Our retreat theme was “Good to GREAT,” based on the book by Jim Collins exploring how organizations thrive. Two concepts from the book resonate with me, and I hope will with you: the Flywheel Effect and the Stockdale Paradox.
As a metaphor, a flywheel represents how our activities can build momentum and drive growth. While it takes energy to move a flywheel at first, each turn strategically builds on the last and over time the motion is sustained with less effort. It takes a long-term shared strategy and a culture of trust, discipline and engagement.
Collins devised the Stockdale Paradox after meeting James Stockdale, a Navy vice admiral who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Stockdale recounted how the key to his survival was acknowledging the brutal facts of his situation while simultaneously maintaining his faith. It’s the holding of this duality — openly confronting tough realities while believing deep down that brighter days are ahead — that Collins’ research found in successful organizations. It’s a skill we can all practice, and one that brings me great solace in times of change.
I wove these ideas into my first State of the School address at the Fall Faculty/Staff Meeting. My goal for this annual presentation is to keep everyone invested in our shared work and amazing potential to be a national beacon. I also shared how change can be the gateway to innovation and introduced some new initiatives. These include how we are approaching your great suggestions for cost savings and revenue generation, as well as Project Agility, the name for our framework over operational transformation efforts.
In the coming months you will hear more about these initiatives and how they link to the strategic planning we will embark on together in 2026. Stay tuned to engage and have your voice heard.
At the retreat, I paraphrased a popular quote from Vincent van Gogh I’ll share here, too: “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” Only by rowing in the same direction will we achieve our full ambitions for advancing the health of Wisconsin and the world.