Once one becomes an academic administrator, one of the most valuable skills one should cultivate is the ability to repeat oneself, and still sound fresh and sincere. Similar questions to a similar audience result in similar answers. For instance, when I meet a donor or an alum who asks how the school is doing, I have a ready answer in my head — with key talking points, stats, and anecdotes. The content will vary over time as the data shift, but basically I’m echoing myself. The same is true of many internal conversations. There are very few critically urgent matters in the world of academia — besides obvious ones like "building on fire" or an imminent deadline for a large grant proposal. Most of the time — whether it is deciding on how to allocate funding, making a hiring decision, negotiating appointments, or revising curricula — you legitimately have weeks or months to deliberate. Be wary of agreeing to something, or refusing it, too quickly. When someone ...