Brain Waves Blog

Use Social Intelligence to Shape Strategy and Manage Risk: Strategy Insights

Use Social Intelligence to Shape Strategy and Manage Risk

September 18, 2024

Social intelligence is market research that uses online conversation data to answer key business questions. The internet is an always on focus group that allows you to better understand markets, audiences, brands, or organizations. In higher ed, social intelligence can inform organizational strategy, enrollment, alumni engagement, advancement, academic planning, and reputation and brand strategy. 

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How One Campus President Is Building Trust: An Interview

How One Campus President Is Building Trust: An Interview

September 11, 2024

We’ve shared our strategies and recommendations for how leaders can rebuild trust on campus, but it’s not always as clear-cut to put it into practice. When we developed our social intelligence research, we had the opportunity to share it with Rebecca Ehretsman, president of Wartburg College. She shared some thoughts on the implications of our research.

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Stop Defending, Start Serving: 4 Ways to Rebuild Trust in Higher Ed, Strategy Insights

Stop Defending, Start Serving: 4 Ways to Rebuild Trust in Higher Ed

June 27, 2024

We don’t need another study proclaiming that public trust in colleges and universities is at an all-time low in our country. The conclusions are predictable, and so is the response; a defense of higher education as it always has been, often putting the blame on the public who just doesn’t get why it’s so important. Defending, rather than listening to understand, is doing more harm than good.

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Presidents and Boards Need Social Intelligence: Strategy Insights

Presidents and Boards Need Social Intelligence

April 10, 2024

You’ve been giving your president and board the wrong information from social media, and you need to fix it as soon as possible. I’ve spent the last few weeks listening carefully to trustees, current and former presidents, and the people who advise them. These were positive conversations, but they revealed a huge gap. One former president put it plainly.

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