Tragic Tale No.001

This is the first in a series of tragic transformation tales, shared by a diverse group of business leaders, in conjunction with the launch of Angie’s book, TransformAble: How to Perform Death-Defying Feats of Business Transformation.

Today I’m talking to Deborah Parizek, co-founder and head of Henry Ford Learning Institute, as she revisits a transformation from her past that set out to transform the education system.

Angie: Debi, this was an audacious vision, with the potential to deliver material impact to society.

Debi: Yes, we planned to transform high school education. Laws had changed to allow the creation of charter schools, and we were a first mover in our region. The charter school network would involve traditional and nontraditional education partners and focus on significantly underserved populations in communities of color. This would be a unique offering that would sit alongside, and collaborate with, the traditional schools. That was radical. It would be a movement to innovate and improve the education sector.

Angie: Tell me a little about your involvement—you were very close to this.

Debi: I was part of the design team and founding faculty for the first school, left a few years later to gain leadership experience in larger education systems, then returned in 2005 to help the recently established replication team launch new schools in communities outside Michigan.

Angie: So you were very familiar with the vision, as well as the execution. To realize such a transformative vision, there must have been some intimidating challenges. You were forging new ground in education, with partners who were very familiar with the way things had always been done and little experience in designing or running new schools.

Debi: It had some very real systemic challenges. For one, some people saw charter schools as a direct challenge to the teachers’ unions. For another, charter schools had more limitations in receiving funding, so they had to be designed to be more self-sustaining. And, there were unexpected logistical challenges—for example, charter schools were not allowed to provide transportation to the students, which critically impacted access for our target population.

Angie: Those are some serious challenges. But I understand that all of those, while significant, were overcome. And notably, there was real funding and commitment to do this, which has stymied many transformative efforts.

Debi: We had significant funding, we had amazing facilities, and we had strong initial commitment. The first high school was placed inside a world-class museum, The Henry Ford, with an experienced administrator. And it was in a safe location, which was a critical factor for parents. When we opened, we had over 600 applicants for 100 available seats.

Angie: Wow. Clearly the demand was there, with 6 applicants per seat. And in that impressive museum? Pretty innovative. So you had a strong start, and first mover advantage. Yet in the end the charter school network that was envisioned did not come to fruition. Let’s talk about why, even with this great vision and beginning, it didn’t make it.

Debi: The idea was solidified in 1996. A year was spent developing the innovative educational model and curriculum and tackling hurdles to get the first school launched in 1997. It was very quickly recognized nationally and began achieving significant success with students.

Angie: That’s amazing. And then?

Debi: Expansion efforts did not begin until 2003 and we spent 2 years just building the business plan, communication tools and site engagement strategy. It took until 2006 to find a local community partner for the second school. Two more years to do the work to design and launch it in Chicago.

Angie: In 2008. Wait. The second school opened over 10 years after the first? What was happening?

Debi: As people became immersed in the details of running that first school, everyone became more and more focused on running this one school. On making this one school great. On perfecting it.

Angie: So somehow, over time, it became accepted that perfecting this first school was more important than building out the network?

Debi: Yes. The initiative got really deep into the details of this first school, and the commitment became redirected into that, losing sight of the vision, which was to build a national network. The decision was made to wait. To wait until the first school was considered perfect. In retrospect, those involved did not know how to execute something of this magnitude.

Angie: Was there a transformation leader, dedicated to delivering the overall vision?

Debi: No. We brought in someone very experienced to run the original school, and there was a board of directors, but there was no transformation leader dedicated to driving the replication of new schools from the original itself. And, although the school was intended to be the first in a larger network, there was no embedded process to capture the experience in order to inform, plan, and build the next ones.

Angie: Lacking someone focused on mapping out the future and with the authority to push to achieve the vision, it is nearly impossible to effectively execute something like this. Even with the best experts in your business and your industry, this is critical. An experienced transformation leader will map out a mid-level plan, or conduct recon, as I like to call it, to focus the initiative and avoid the pitfall of jumping deep into details, and becoming mired there. Such as in perfecting the first charter school. Did commitment wane?

Debi: It didn’t feel that way. There was still a strong commitment to a network of schools from the founding partners, but even the board got caught up in pursuing perfection first. And over time, new regulations were being placed on the educational system, creating more pressure…in your book, you talk about fatigue setting in, and outside events moving faster than you. We definitely experienced that.

Angie: You were running out of time. Transformation Law #4. Where was the urgency?

Debi: It just wasn’t there. It was clearly missing, in retrospect. Meanwhile, other charter school networks expanded quickly, rapidly dominating the space, and garnered later funding and attention.

Angie: So in the end, how much of a network was built?

Debi: After that second school, three more schools were launched. All four launched 11 to 15 years after the first. In the end, we had only five schools and had missed our window of opportunity. New constraints were being put on the educational system, and other charter school networks had succeeded.

Angie: Thanks to that initiative, today, there exist a handful of great schools, but the vision of a network of charter schools was clearly not achieved. It was a strong start: first mover advantage, funding, commitment, even a successful first school. Tragically, the lack of urgency, mid-level roadmap, and experienced transformation leadership—all of which are interrelated—led to a massive missed opportunity.

Debi: We had a beautiful business plan. Award-winning. It literally won an award. But we never realized the plan.

Angie: We could end on that note, but people who experience transformation tragedy firsthand often go on to do impressive things. I’m fascinated by the emergence out of this failed transformation of Henry Ford Learning Institute, which you co-founded and lead. Today you don’t have a charter school network, but you do have a very successful nonprofit that drives innovation in education, just from a different angle.

Debi: I co-founded Henry Ford Learning Institute in the midst of the charter school initiative. It was to be the entity that would run the charter school network. But as we discussed, that sadly failed to realize its potential. However, we ultimately pivoted and transformed—successfully this time—to an organization that envisions, designs and delivers immersive learning experiences. These are a special type of experiences, that prepare people with the tools, courage and capacity to lead transformational educational and social change.

Angie: It’s a unique value proposition, and you have some very successful programs. Debi, this has been an amazing tale. Thanks so much for sharing.

Debi: Absolutely. It’s been a pleasure to talk with you.

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Pre-order Angie’s book TransformAble: How to Perform Death-Defying Feats of Business Transformation, coming May 11, 2021. 

Angie Tuglus is a transformation expert and executive advisor. She has led numerous business transformations as a former Fortune 500 executive, and has worked in companies ranging from startup to Fortune 10. Learn more at www.tuglus.com

Deborah Parizek is Henry Ford Learning Institute’s Executive Director. A nonprofit leader and progressive educator with 25+ years of experience, Deborah is known for cultivating the conversations, empathy, and capacity critical to addressing complex challenges. She led the development of innovative, community-supported schools in three major US cities and drives HFLI’s work to co-create and deliver immersive learning experiences designed to activate each participant’s power to lead transformational change in and with their communities. Learn more at www.HFLI.org 
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© 2021 Angie Tuglus