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PROLOGUE
You Can't Fix Everything by August. Pick One.
The last buses pulled out yesterday. Today, the building is yours. You've got a legal pad on the desk, and you're doing the thing every MarCom director does the second week of June.
You're making the list.
Rebuild the website. Finally set up the CRM. Fix the email automations. Redo the photography. Clean up the social calendar. Write the case studies. Update the Do-Not-Photo List. Audit the forms. The list runs down the page and onto a second one, and it feels productive — every item is real, every item matters.
By the Fourth of July, you will have touched six of them and finished none.
This is the trap of the open summer. The calendar empties, and we mistake room to work for capacity to work. So we spread three months across twelve projects and arrive in August with twelve things half-done and nothing a family can actually feel.
A long list isn't a plan. It's a wish, and wishes don't survive a slow July.
Here is the harder, better move. Before you start anything, pick one.
Choose the system, not the task. Not "redo the website," but fix the one-page families read before they inquire. Not "set up the CRM" but get every inquiry a same-day reply. One system, finished, beats five, started.
Pick the one with the worst leak. Where are families slipping through right now? That's the project. Fix the hole before you repaint the room.
Define done before you begin. Write the one sentence that means it's finished. "Every inquiry gets a reply within four hours, automatically." If you can't write the sentence, you can't finish the project.
Put the rest on a list for next summer and close the notebook. They'll still be there. They are not this summer's problem.
In September, nobody will remember the eleven things you didn't get to. They'll feel the one thing you did.
Pick one. Finish it. Walk in proud.
Thanks,
Brendan
2026 State of AEO Report
A year ago, most marketers weren't thinking about AI search. Now it's one of the fastest moving channels in the industry and nobody has a playbook yet.
So we built one. We surveyed hundreds of marketers to find out how they're approaching answer engine optimization, where they're investing, what's actually working, and what isn't.
The result is the 2026 State of AEO Report. Real data. Real strategies. A clear picture of where AI search is headed and how to get ahead of it.
UPCOMING EVENT
For MarCom Society Members Only
How to Hire for Marketing + Admission Offices
Struggling with team misalignment, communication gaps, or hiring challenges in your school? In this webinar, Miriam Stein of Thrive Hive will share proven strategies using the Six Types of Working Genius framework to help school leaders, admissions teams, HR professionals, and business offices build stronger, more aligned teams.
✅ Improve school team collaboration
✅ Hire smarter and reduce turnover
✅ Boost productivity and team morale
Perfect for Heads of School, Advancement Officers, Business Offices, Admissions, Marketing, and Development Teams.
Bio:
Miriam Stein is a graduate of an independent day school and an educator at heart. She served as the upper school director of admission at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, part of a team responsible for maintaining the school’s 1000-student enrollment. After more than 20 years in education and in strategic enrollment, she moved into the world of consulting with Thrive Hive to help school professionals around the country with teamwork, collaboration and enrollment strategy. Miriam is a regular presenter for EMA, AISAP, Niche, FinalSite, Prizmah, and others.
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