How Do You Stay Relevant?

In January of 2020, I took over as Chancellor of Wizard Academy. In March of 2020, I celebrated by closing the campus due to a worldwide pandemic.?

My first fear was that I was going to be standing at the helm as Wizard Academy sank beneath the waves. Thank God, a handful of major donors stepped up and donated very real amounts of money to keep us open, keep our staff employed, and give us time to figure out a plan. I’m still immensely grateful for that moment.?

But I was grateful for another reason. It also gave me a chance to address another very real fear I had leading Wizard Academy. How do we stay relevant as a business school in a world where the business tools, strategies, and resources change almost weekly? Are Magical Worlds, DaVinci, Portals still relevant as the date of their first appearance gets further away in the rearview mirror??

During the pandemic, we continued our monthly “Ask the Wizards” and helped guide our alumni by answering their business questions each month. Everyone was navigating the constantly changing landscape. Everyone was in survival mode.?

But the reality that surfaced during those Zoom calls calmed my fears in a way I never expected. Yes, the world was changing dramatically. Businesses that were supposedly “bulletproof” were going bankrupt. Other industries were exploding far beyond anything we’d ever seen. New ideas were surfacing, new resources were offered, and everyone had theories about why it was happening, how to stay on top, and what was next.?

But in the monthly calls, the opposite was happening. In spite of how dramatically things changed, the questions we got each month were the same ones we’ve been answering in classes at Wizard Academy for 20 years. The core curriculum of Wizard Academy became more relevant than ever. And it saved a lot of our alumni from closing their doors.

I came out of that pandemic with a renewed sense of purpose and a solid understanding of Wizard Academy’s place in the world. I’m hoping it’s a helpful reminder to you in 2025.?

The fundamentals of human communication and marketing remain true regardless of era, business category, or size of the company.?

You don’t stay relevant by figuring out how to ride the ever-changing currents. You stay relevant by being anchored on solid ground in the midst of the flood.?

Find your North Star. Choose your non-negotiables. Define your destination. Don’t forget to celebrate.?

Daniel Whittington – Chancellor

PS. Magical Worlds is the core curriculum piece that built Wizard Academy. It’s the guiding class by which all others are measured. The next one is in February and we’d love to see you there.?