If you were an MBA candidate discussing the District of Columbia’s public schools as a case study at the Harvard Business School, would you propose that the Chancellor treat her central office as demoralized troops, or an enemy army? Would you deal with poor performance as a series of individual cases, or would you favor blanket indictments of the organization? If you believed that central office performance was universally poor, would you propose that she dress the troops down in a staff meeting behind closed doors, or in front of the camera for national television? If you found that improvements in efficiency made it necessary to reduce staff, would you want the Chancellor to show some compassion in front of the press or tell radio reporters “that’s not my problem?”
If Michelle Rhee were that student, I find it inconceivable that she would defend the choices she’s made as Chancellor. They are so obviously self-defeating.
