Why Institutions Must Outlast the People Who Build Them

The real test of an institution isn't how it runs under its founder — it's how it runs after them.

Over two decades of founding colleges, associations, and social enterprises, I've come to believe that institution-building is really succession-building in disguise. If a college, a committee, or a company only functions because one person is in the room, it isn't an institution yet — it's a personality.

The shift happens when systems, culture, and second-line leadership become stronger than any single founder's presence. That's the work worth doing.