Ask Before the Applause Fades [290]

It is the end of August. The all-school email goes out at 9:14 a.m.: "We are thrilled to share that we met our budgeted enrollment number for the coming year." Reply-all enthusiasm from the parents’ association. A trustee chimes in. A thank-you note from the Head of School to the admission team.

You read it twice. You also know what the spring cost. The Saturdays. The personal phone used for tour confirmations because the CRM still sits half-built. The freelancer paid out of your own discretionary line because the budget cycle didn't close in time.

Here is the part nobody tells you about when you hit your number. Making budget is when the next budget conversation gets harder, not easier. A full class reads as proof the system is working. The team that pulled it off pays for that interpretation in September.

That email is three months away. The conversation that decides whether next year crushes you happens now.

I have watched too many MarCom directors wait until October to ask for what they needed in May. By October, the new year is already in motion, the urgency is gone, and the answer is "let's revisit at midyear."

Here is the case I would build right now, before budget meetings start.

Document what worked, and what it cost. Hours, weekends, tools the team paid for personally, the photographer you almost lost. Frame the ask around next year's risk, not last year's reward. The question is not "what did we earn?" The question is "what happens if we have to do this again with the same resources?"

Bring one concrete request. One role, one tool, one contractor, or one scope shift. A wish list reads as a complaint. A single specific ask reads as a plan.

You have about three weeks. After that, the calendar empties and the moment goes with it.

The good year is the negotiation. Have it now.

Thanks,
Brendan

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