Welcome to The Ember Walk, a daily reflection where curiosity meets motion. Each short episode invites you to walk, think, and craft with intention. Join David Dysart as he explores the lessons of The Forge, including heat, patience, rhythm, and care. All through stories and insights from the world of enrollment and beyond. Step into the quiet work of building something that lasts.
We talk about innovation like it’s freedom. But in higher ed, every new tool eventually turns into a new approval form. Every shortcut becomes a policy. Every bold idea becomes another meeting. And a new process becomes another brushstroke of cycle prep.
Innovation has its own bureaucracy now, layers of compliance built around the memory of what once worked. It’s not malicious. It’s fear wearing procedure.
In The Forge, creativity and control are in constant tension. You need rules to hold the heat, but too many and the fire suffocates. The trick is to build systems flexible enough to grow but structured enough to protect the craft.
Today’s reflection: if your innovation process requires more sign-offs than strikes, it’s already cooling. Break the seal. Light the forge again.
You’re walking The Ember Walk. The forge is yours now. Go make something worth the heat.
#TheEmberWalk #TheInnovationForge #AdaptiveEnrollmentManagement #EverydayArtisan #WhereCuriosityMeetsMotion
