In the context of today’s rapid technological and economic change, organizations around the world are faced with daunting challenges. Traditional thinking is no longer optimizing results, and an entirely new model is emerging – one that we at WEB call “effreshency.” Effreshency refers to the implementation of new and “fresh” strategies that improve upon and revolutionize traditional thinking about six distinct areas of organizational performance that are often viewed separately. Effreshency breaks tradition in all of these six areas simultaneously, and moving forward it will increasingly be the recipe for a sustainable, profitable and competitive organization. The equation for this new model can be expressed as follows:

Efficient + Effective + Innovative + Adaptable + Inclusive + Accountable = Effreshent

A  fascinating recent development…

Job Guarantee…or Tuition Reimbursement:  A community college in Michigan has started offering potential applicants money-back guarantees, in an effort to increase enrollment. Beginning in May, people who take six-week courses in certain subjects will be guaranteed a job within a year – or else they will be refunded their tuition. This is certainly an unorthodox idea, particularly for a school in Lansing, Michigan – where unemployment is at 11.7%. The guarantee will apply to the four most in-demand technical jobs in the area: call-center specialists, pharmacy technicians, quality inspectors and computer machinists.

If successful, this approach will conceivably touch upon each of the six variables in the above effreshency equation. Most notably, the school is taking a fresh approach toward accountability — plus it is showing clear adaptability in the face of a challenging enrollment environment.

Is this a truly “effreshent” approach for the future, or unrealistic and ill-conceived? The figures on exponentially increasing tuition costs in the U.S. are staggering. Additionally, the debt burden on the average student, coupled with difficulties in job placement, can be crippling. Is this new model set to catch fire as the wave of the future in higher education, or is it a quirky strategy doomed to fail? It remains difficult to envision top-ranked and prestigious universities ever being forced to implement this sort of strategy, but perhaps community colleges will serve as a beta test. Regardless of the outcome, there’s little argument as to the marketing buzz being generated here.