Understanding More about the MSIS Strategy : Rigor

 A note from Jack: Below is a post Dave Roberts put together regarding one of the values that MSIS identified last year.  Aside from the reasonably appropriate references to WW2 POW camps and the morose details of our inevitable conclusion to life, it should be noted that this is one of the more ubiquitous topics that I hear we need more communication about. 

(for those keeping score, it is a 5 letter word)

My first post on the MSIS Flotsam blog (I shamelessly admit that I had to look up the definition of flotsam). I appreciate the invite from Jack to use this as a vehicle to increase communication across MSIS, a recent suggestion for the Leadership to improve upon.

While presenting our MSIS Strategy to different audiences at our Winter Forum in January, 

I consistently received questions about one of our values. “What does rigor mean?”, they asked. 

My answer was, “you know, structure, getting things done”. Having thought about it more, 

I decided to research the official definition. If you do the same, don’t be alarmed if while 

searching for rigor you find derivative words like rigor mortis.

The dictionary defines rigor as, Strictness in judgment or conduct. It’s no wonder why this makes some people uncomfortable, especially in an academic environment where flexibility is valued. Rest assured, MSIS isn’t going to become the next Stalag 13 but we do want to place more emphasis on analysis, continuous improvement, commitment, accountability and delivery which require that we conduct ourselves with a level of rigor.

MSIS describes our value of Rigor as follows: We pursue the University’s mission with focus, discipline and rigor. The challenges we seek to overcome require thoughtful analysis, intellectual dialogue and commitment balanced with our customers’ needs for velocity.  We recognize that we need to constantly change and continually improve. We set realistic expectations and deliver on our commitments.

Our emphasis on rigor is evidenced through various actions taken in the recent year such as establishing: the Delivery organization, financial budget structure and discipline, capital plan, strategic tactics and limiting our work in progress. 

We continue to value flexibility but at this time we have chosen values like rigor to improve upon in order to help us achieve our MSIS Vision. Hopefully this helps to provide some context for the value and why we chose it. Our other values include:

• ·      Community
• ·      Citizenship
• ·      Collaboration
• ·      Relationships
• ·      Rigor
• ·      Innovation

These values appear on our Strategy Map at the bottom as they are a foundational element of our strategy. We also added them recently our MSIS website where their detailed descriptions can be found.

-Dave Roberts (daverob at umich dot edu)