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Your Turn Survival Guide for Aspiring Deans Many readers of this publication fall into one of three groups: aspiring business school deans, current business school deans, or former business school deans. I speak to those in the first group.My aim is to encourage those of you with your eye on the dean's office to ask eight important ques- tions that can make or break your career as a business school dean. I've compiled these eight questions over the last 20 years. I started down the road to the dean's office in my 20s and accepted my first deanship at 40. I've served as assistant dean, asso- ciate dean, and dean at both public and private schools, at both urban col- leges and rural universities. As a dean, I've found that other deans will drop their guards when speaking with one of their own. By the time I retired from the job at age 50, I had learned a lot just by listening. I've found that deans fall into one of two categories: those who last two to four years in the job and those who last 12 years or more. Rarely is there middle ground. In which cate- gory will you fall? That depends on whether or not you ask the following questions before you take the job: 1. Is change on the agenda? To answer this question, you must talk to the right people. Start with the president and provost, of course, but also hear out faculty, staff, and perhaps even the previous dean. Then, start asking questions. Was the previous dean fired; did he move on to a bigger, better deanship; or did he retire with full honors after years of service? Is a new dean being hired to "fix things" or to maintain 54 BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 by Peter Lorenzi the status quo? Is the school prepar- ing for accreditation or reaccredita- tion? Accreditation, in particular, can be a dream job or a nightmare left behind by the predecessor—it could even be why the predecessor no longer has a job. It's imperative to have this information before you step into the position. 2. How transparent and complete are the financials? Many business schools are huge cash cows for universities— which means they often get milked. But just as good dairy farmers know they must keep the cow healthy to keep the milk flowing, deans know they must keep their business schools thriving financially. You should check the school's financial health before you become responsible for tending to it. Before accepting the position, obtain as much information as possi- ble regarding the school's financial statements, budget, and cost-account- ing information. 3. Are you a big chair or a small president? One mistake new deans sometimes make is to assume they should act like minor university presidents and be external leaders for the university. The university president may in fact want you to be his prized "friend- raiser"—the voice and face of the university to the civic and business community. But fund raising for the larger university is the job of central administration. You should serve more as COO than CEO, more an internal manager than an external fund-raiser. While a COO's role may seem less romantic, it can be more rewarding—and result in more money for the school—than the pur- suit of external prospects. That said, there will always be times when a business school dean needs to be out on the fund-raising trail. There will even be occasions when the university president and, yes, even the faculty will expect it. Your occasional absence will give the faculty some breathing room. To cite a faculty proverb adapted from "Fiddler on the Roof": "God bless and keep the dean, far away from us." 4. How well do the business school and the school of arts and sciences get along? As the cash cow, a business school can be pretty unpopular on campus— and so can the business school dean. Sometimes even the university presi- dent might prefer or pretend that your school does not exist. Faculty in smaller academic units who receive lower salaries may think you are sucking dry the school's well of funds—and even its intellectual soul. They may not understand that being the cash cow reflects less on what you spend and more on what you generate. This animosity between business schools and colleges of arts and sci- ences is seemingly eternal and uni- versal. So how do you build bridges? You might plan to offer minors to liberal arts majors or out- source some curriculum to arts and sciences courses. You can become well-acquainted with the issues, pri- orities, and problems of the dean of the arts and sciences school—you might even offer to help. Such actions can make your school stronger and your deanship more likely to last. 5. Is your boss a leader cum manager or an administrative bureaucrat? If business school deans have the best jobs on campus, university provosts may have the worst. While the dean's job may be laden with benefits, the provost's