One of the most recognized brands worldwide is Nike, featuring its famous Swoosh logo. The history of the logo is colorful and much insight can be gleaned from its concept and development.

In the late 60’s, Phil Knight was teaching accounting at Portland State and he approached a college student named Carolyn Davidson to do some graphic design work for him because he heard she needed money to take an oil painting class. They agreed on $2 per hour and their relationship began. After working for several years as a freelance graphics designer for Phil, he asked her in early 1971 to create a new logo for a shoe company he was starting.

She created several logos and presented them. The Swoosh was not immediately accepted and she was asked if she had others. After presenting several other designs it was decided to go with the Swoosh because they needed it immediately and Phil said, “We don’t love it but maybe it will grow on me.”

And the rest is history. The Nike Swoosh is one of the most recognizable logos in the world. And what whopping sum did Carolyn get paid? $35 for the 17.5 hours it took her to create the design options presented to Phil. Pretty good investment.

Where do we look for fresh ideas in higher education? Industry experts, benchmark studies, consultants? Maybe it is time we start looking at the customers we serve for how we should be redesigning higher education. That is only the beginning. Instead of rejecting new ideas because “we have never done it that way,” we need some of Phil’s attitude. I don’t love it but maybe it will grow on me.

We know the many clichés about quitting.

“A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.” – Napoleon Hill

“Once you learn to quit, it becomes habit.” – Vince Lombardi

“A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.” – Richard Nixon

In a recent issue of FastCompany, Jan Bruce argues that it might be okay to quit. She specifically addresses quitting a job if you feel trapped in an endless job with no hope for the future. It is an interesting read that really got me thinking about colleges and universities that refuse to quit.

This might not be going where you think, but hang with me. I am not talking about the positive side of tenacity but rather the negative. I can name several colleges that should just quit. Not quit programs or athletics, but just quit altogether. Go away.

In my mind, I see a school with enrollments around 600 FTE, buildings with deferred maintenance so high the physical plant will never catch up, faculty and staff turnover rates in the double digits annually because the new hires are not given a clear picture of the desperate financial condition of the school until well after they are hired. Retention rates at these institutions are high and the cost of attendance has well outpaced the students’ ability to pay off their student loan debt if they happen to graduate with a degree that has trained them for a job with a paupers wage. Every year the advancement office desperately tries to raise enough money to balance the budget but they never seem to get ahead. Stop taking student’s money and stop begging donors. Just stop.

Oh, and the schools I have pictured in my head absolutely refuse to be innovative or try new things. Die a proper and honorable death before you are forced to close. Ensure your students have a place to go and the community has a use for your worn out facilities. But, just go.