The Past, The Future, and Radical Nuns
“When you have one foot in the past and the other in the future, you’re just pissing on the present.”
I can still picture our instructor Michelle standing with her legs spread wide as she imparted this lesson upon our cohort of the Possibilities Seminar, a personal development program focusing on emotional intelligence.
As life-changing as that workshop was for me (and I don’t say that lightly), this particular lesson didn’t really land for me at the time. Sure I got the point - don’t live in the past or the future. Be present.
But how do we move forward in life or in business with two feet firmly planted in the here and now?
This question has stuck with me for years. It’s one that hasn’t had a quick or definitive answer for me. It’s just been something I’ve pondered over.
And the pondering popped back up again this past weekend during a trip to Erie, Pennsylvania of all places.
A trip to a place of contradictions
Mercyhurst University is a small liberal arts college in Erie founded nearly 100 years ago by the Sisters of Mercy. Sensing the need for quality higher education for women in the early 20th century, the sisters literally laid the roof tiles on the college’s first building, Old Main. At least that’s how the story goes.
It’s now a co-ed university boasting a diverse student body and unique set of degree programs, with flagship majors in cybersecurity, intelligence, and forensics joining the core liberal arts curriculum at its roots.
It also happens to be my partner Joe’s alma mater. And after years of resistance, he finally dragged… I mean took… me up to Erie for his 10 year college reunion (he was smart enough to bring me in June when there was only a nominal chance of snow).
Jokes aside, when you visit Mercyhurst, the first thing you notice is how stunningly gorgeous the campus is. The English Gothic architecture carries from old buildings to new. Everywhere you look there’s a painting, monument, or placard highlighting some piece of history. The guided tours through campus lay heavy on the founding story of the nuns of the Sisters of Mercy.
So it didn’t surprise me when the University’s President, Kathy Getz, excitedly announced during the reunion weekend that the university was on its way to being officially recognized in the National Register of Historical Places.
But what she announced next did surprise me.
Moving forward, Mercyhurst would be doubling down on specialized degree programs with its newest degree offering… drum roll… esports!
Huh?
How does a historic catholic liberal arts college with traditions in nursing, education, and the arts offer a degree in professional video gaming?
The answer, as I found out, lies in the challenges being faced by many schools like Mercyhurst right now. A declining population of college-aged students, the questioning of the value of a college degree, and the ability for a small liberal arts school to remain relevant and competitive, particularly in a region still looking for an identity after the disappearance of a once thriving steel industry.
Like Kathy’s speech, the contrast between old and new was everywhere at Mercyhurst. 100 year old paintings hung next to modern art sculptures. A tricked out cyber lab was just a floor below the historic wood-paneled library. The aging alumni population of ladies I actually mistook for nuns (oops) contrasted against the diverse group of student athletes being named to their Athletics Hall of Fame.
None of it made any sense to me. Mercyhurst felt like the literal example of having one foot locked in the past while the other keeps reaching toward the version of the future it thinks it needs to be to survive. How long could that possibly go on before it rips itself in half?
So what’s this have to do with business?
As a business consultant, I was totally triggered. “What is this place? What is Mercyhurst’s brand?” I asked Joe and his friend Sarah on our car ride home.
“Is it the place on the Register of Historical Landmarks or the one offering esports and cyber? What’s the value proposition that’s going to make students want to come here and pay these astronomical admission fees?” (Another issue in the business model, but I digress.)
Sarah, who used to give tours as a campus ambassador, chimed in. “Mercyhurst isn’t for everyone, but if you’re the kind of student that wants to get involved, then it’s for you.”
That’s about as unspecific as it gets. It’s like when my clients tell me that their people or their quality of service is their competitive advantage. Everyone says that. It’s not unique. If you think that about your business too, you need to re-evaluate.
“I always considered our specialized programs as what makes Mercyhurst stand out,” Joe offered.
That’s closer, I thought. But it’s missing any connective tissue to all this history that’s in your face.
It’s a tough challenge. How can you possibly be both things? A historical college rooted in the values and traditions of the Sisters of Mercy and the innovative and forward thinking institution it wants to be.
The truth is, you can’t.
Michelle was right. Spreading your legs isn’t a great way to build a life, a business, or a university. It causes conflict and confusion. It makes things feel strained, even stuck.
The past and future aren’t static
In both life and business, the only way to move forward is to take a step. And you have to take your foot out of the past in order to take that step into the future. Then one day, your future will become your present and your present will become your past, and you’ll be ready to take the next step.
It’s something that’s easier said than done. We hold on to the past without even knowing it. The stories we tell ourselves about who we are or what our business is feel as real and valid as the day they were formed. And when our present becomes our past, it happens without us even noticing.
So often when I talk to business owners about their business model, they get all mixed up talking about what they want their business to become in the same breath as describing the way things used to work (before everything got messy). It’s very difficult for owners to draw that line between what the business was, is, and wants to become. They’re just too in it. They’re too attached.
If Mercyhurst were a client of mine, I’d challenge them to honor their history without trying to live it. Instead of registering as a historical place, what would it look like to take the principles of the Sisters of Mercy - service, justice, inclusivity - and radically mold students into future leaders that will better our world?
What if instead of being the school of the Sisters of Mercy in 1926, Mercyhurst was the school of today’s sisters? The ones who are protesting on the border to protect immigrants, who are biking around Sacramento caring for the unhoused, and who are fighting to end gun violence and protect transgendered rights.
Creating future leaders with the spirit of radical modern nuns. Now that’s a brand!
So as I continue to ponder the question of how to keep myself grounded in the present while reaching toward the future, I challenge you to do the same about your business and yourself.
What was true yesterday that is no longer true today?
What assumptions are you holding on to that are no longer useful?
What connects the future you envision to the realities of where you are today?
How can you be radically, unapologetically more yourself?
If these questions feel resonant, and you’d like a fresh perspective from someone that doesn’t live in your brain 24/7, let’s chat.
Cheers to the class of 2013 and their great looking partners ;)