Higher Performance Insights | YOUR CLIMBING WALL DOESN'T MATTER

September 23, 2025
higher performance insights

94% of enrollment decisions ignore your amenities.


You just spent $50 million on a new student center—rock wall, meditation pods, juice bar—the whole package.


Your board loves it. Tours showcase it. Marketing splashes it everywhere. You're certain this moves the needle.


Here's the thing: Fresh amenities matter. But they're not why families choose you.


The disconnect is devastating.


While you're unveiling architectural renderings, students are having panic attacks about unemployability. While you're celebrating meditation pods, families are calculating whether bankruptcy hits before or after graduation.


That beautiful climbing wall? It's proof you might not get it.


The Amazon Lesson Every Leader Needs


Jeff Bezos built the world's largest retailer with a philosophy your board would call insane:

"We are not competitor focused. We are customer focused."

Imagine announcing at your next cabinet meeting: "We're done tracking peer institutions."


They'd check your temperature.


Yet, institutions that spend 30% or more of their strategic planning analyzing competitors lose enrollment 23% faster than those focused on actual student needs.


That climbing wall? You built it because State College has one. That honors program? Because Regional U launched theirs.


You're playing defense in a game your students aren't even watching.


The $20,000 Truck That Explains Everything


A startup called SLATE just entered the most crowded market imaginable—electric vehicles. Tesla, Ford, and GM are all fighting for attention.


Their launch video mentioned zero competitors. No range comparisons. No horsepower charts.


Instead, one line: "Chris thinks new cars are too expensive and too complicated."


That's it. One problem. One enemy. Done.


Result? Millions of views. Servers crashing. Pre-orders flooding in.


Now translate this to education:


What K-12 Says:


❌ "Ranked top 10 in state test scores"


✅ "Your kid will actually want to come Monday morning"


What Higher Ed Says:


❌ "We're climbing in rankings"


✅ "You'll graduate employed, not just educated"


One makes you forgettable. The other makes you matter. 🚀


The Three Bowling Ball Principle


Every message you send families is like handing them a bowling ball. Cognitive science suggests that humans can juggle up to three complex ideas at a time.


Count what you're throwing at them:


K-12's Bowling Ball Avalanche: IB authorized ✓ STEM certified ✓ 1:1 devices ✓ SEL curriculum ✓ Project-based ✓ Restorative justice ✓ Mindfulness ✓ Maker spaces ✓ Enrichment programs ✓ Test prep ✓



Higher Ed's Bowling Ball Tsunami: 200+ majors ✓ Study abroad ✓ Research opportunities ✓ Career center ✓ Division I athletics ✓ Honors program ✓ Living-learning communities ✓ Climbing wall ✓ Largest dining hall in region ✓


You just dropped everything. 🎳


What if you only threw three?


K-12's Three:


  1. Known personally (not processed efficiently)
  2. Love learning (not survive testing)
  3. Ready for life (not just next grade)


Higher Ed's Three:


  1. Graduate employed (not just graduated)
  2. Afford life after (not debt forever)
  3. Belong here (not compete constantly)


The President Who Understood the Assignment


Small liberal arts college. Declining enrollment. The president inherits the crisis.


Every peer institution fought over rankings—moving from #47 to #45 was the battle cry. 🏆


She asked different questions:

"What do students actually fear?"

Answer: "Graduating unemployed with six-figure debt."


New promise: "Job by graduation or we pay your loans for a year."


Applications up 30%.


Zero climbing walls mentioned. 💡


The Superintendent Who Stopped Playing


Michigan superintendent. Neighboring districts bragging about test scores.


She asked parents:

"What keeps you up at night?"

Answer: "My kid crying Sunday about Monday."


Her response: "If your child dreads school, we've failed—regardless of test scores."


  • State officials questioned her priorities
  • Neighboring districts called her "soft"
  • Enrollment up 18% in declining demographics
  • Parents moving specifically for her schools


She never mentioned competitors. Not once.


The "What They Actually Want" Revolution


Stop asking "What makes us different?" Start asking "What do they actually need?"


What K-12 Students Want:


  • Teachers who see them (not test scores)
  • Friends without competition toxicity
  • Decent sleep
  • To personally matter
  • Hope for their future


What College Students Want:


  • Professors who know their name
  • Skills employers actually value
  • To change majors without adding years
  • Mental health support today (not 6 weeks)
  • Friends, not networking competitions
  • Proud parents without going broke


What Nobody Wants:


  • Your climbing wall
  • Your ranking changes
  • Your strategic plan
  • Your competitive analysis


They want transformation, not amenities. 🎯


The Framework That Actually Works


Forget SWOT analyses. Use CARE:


C - Core Problem: What actually keeps them awake?


A - Against Declaration: What will you publicly fight?


R - Real Evidence: What changes in week one?


E - Emotional Truth: What feeling do you deliver?


Your Million-Dollar Blind Spot

"But State University just built a new rec center, so we need..."

Stop. 🛑


Stanford studied 10,000 enrollment decisions:


  • 8% mentioned other schools
  • 94% mentioned actual problems
  • 0% mentioned climbing walls


You're solving for the wrong variable. 📈


The College That Gets It


While universities build amenities, one college president asked students directly:

"Why do people drop out?"

Answer: "Credits don't transfer, and we waste time and money."


Solution: "100% transfer guarantee or 100% refund."


No facilities upgraded. No amenities added.


Highest enrollment growth in the state. 🚀


The Transformation Question


Stop asking: "What facilities do our competitors have?" Stop asking: "How do we move up in rankings?" Stop asking: "What's our differentiator?"


Start asking: "What do families actually need that everyone else ignores?"


When you answer that, you don't compete—you matter.


Once you stop building climbing walls, you start building futures. Once you stop tracking competitors, you start seeing humans.


You stop competing. You start transforming lives.


The climbing wall is obviously a metaphor - a monument to looking sideways when you should be looking forward.


Your families don't care about your amenities. They care about their tomorrow.


Build that instead.


THE MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION: 👉🏼 What's your metaphorical climbing wall? What courage would it take to course correct?


READY TO STOP COMPETING AND START MATTERING?



Executive Leader Roundtables translate theory into humanity: ✓ The REAL Method for viral culture language ✓ Monthly peer learning (virtual available) ✓ Scripts that spread without enforcement ✓ Leaders who've moved from complexity to connection


Investment: Less than $175 per month per leader (up to 20 leaders).


→ Join Leaders Building Real Culture


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#EducationalLeadership #EnrollmentStrategy #HigherEd #K12Leadership #StudentSuccess


P.S. — That climbing wall cost $2.3 million. The mental health counselor students begged for cost $75,000. Guess which one shows up in your marketing materials? Guess which one actually keeps students enrolled? 💡


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