If you had to choose your favorite company or organization, what would it be? Are you thinking of that company? Now, what’s your favorite thing about that company? Yes, you love their product. But what makes it your favorite company, the company you recommend to anyone who asks?
It’s called the “Starbucks Experience.”
When Starbucks took the world by storm in the early 2000’s, America got a taste of what success truly looks like and left companies scrambling to catch up. They didn’t just sell luxury with their product. They sold it with everything you experience when you encounter that brand. For Starbucks, it was the quality drinks, a desire to please, a comfortable, clean setting, and a paper cup with your name on it.
As educators, the goal is not to put a process in place and hang on for dear life in hopes that we are successful. We must each be part of a bigger process—the creating of a school culture. That’s what really seals the deal for you, isn’t it? When you get a great product, you’re happy. But when you encounter an amazing culture, a way of life, you are so thrilled you tell all your friends.
From the administrators down to the substitute teachers, each member of the team must embody the culture to each person they contact. The design of the school goes hand-in-hand with the curriculum which coordinates with the policies which set the framework for the mindsets of each team member. It all plays a part in setting your school apart from the other dozen schools in the area that might have the same target audience as you do.
Create your own terms.
Each culture has its own language. You can hear the difference immediately. For Starbucks, the drink sizes aren’t small, medium, and large. They are tall, grande, and venti. Sure, getting the lingo down at first seems a little frustrating, but you know who is part of the Starbucks culture when they refer to their drink sizes with the right names. The language makes it special and allows you to step outside of your normal everyday labels.
The same goes for your school. Maybe your handbook isn’t just a handbook. Maybe your school handbook is the Conqueror Code. It’s not just a ho-hum book of rules to follow. It’s a guideline of how to be a part of the culture. A secret code on how to be like everyone else within the culture.
It all works together to form a cohesive culture that diversifies you from other schools that have regular “handbooks.”
What terms can you change to align with your school’s culture?
