Managing in a New Reality.

© 2 0 0 9 P h i l i p J . G o l d s t e i n Philip J. Goldstein, an EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) Fellow and President of Goldstein & Associates LLC, has served higher education as a consultant and administrator for twenty years. F lat is the new up.” So noted Daniel Gross, a business columnist for Slate and Newsweek, discussing the turbulent economic times and the possibility of a new economic reality—a possibility that follows an almost relentless string of bad economic news dating to the end of 2007.1 Since that time, the phrase “worst since the Great Depression” has seemingly punctuated every economic report. The United States is experiencing the worst housing market, the worst unemployment level, and the worst drop in gross domestic product since the Great Depression. Although the steady drumbeat of bad news may have made us nearly numb, we know that these macro economic indicators are aggregate measures of real pain for individuals and organizations. Managing in a