Overcoming "Publish or Perish" with Partnerships

— by Amanda Lawson

“Publish or perish” is the threat looming over the head of every tenure-seeking professor. And it is not an idle threat; if a college or university wants to develop a program, it is a necessity to have tenured and tenure-track professors who are well-published in their fields. Without publications—studies that back up the goals and practices of the proposed program—departments run the risk of building fledgling programs that only last as long as the passionate founder remains at the school. If you think about it, the “publish or perish” reality is the through line for every entrepreneurial endeavor, whether that be starting a new program at a university or growing a business. After all, it’s really just marketing: you created a product and now you need to share it with as many people as possible in order for it to become “profitable” and build your brand. 

The way to overcome such a threat may be a little surprising: community. 

If the CEO is the only one who cares about the product, any transition in leadership threatens to end the company. We see example after example of the best products coming from companies that have built a leadership team of people who are committed to and excited about their product. Apple, Google, TOMS…companies who’ve not only produced something valuable, but built a team and culture that reinforce the value, ensuring its ongoing development. 

In the university setting, tenured and tenure-track professors shape the institution. They teach, research, advise, and publish in their fields and bring recognition to the universities in which their programs are housed. By having a team of people doing this work, new programs are supported in a sustainable growth model. Every successful academic program and institution is built on the foundation of research, often research done in teams. The founder of a faith-based entrepreneurship program—housed at a public university—explained “the reason Harvard is Harvard is because of its research.” He went on to say that the value of universities becoming involved in faith and entrepreneurship research ties directly to the growth of the faith driven entrepreneur movement: “If we don’t get the research and the research faculty, we don’t get higher ed; it will always be on the periphery.” 

As faith driven entrepreneurs, we know that we don’t have to check our faith at the door when we go to work, whether that is physically entering an office or logging on to a video call. We also know that changing culture is hard, but it is immeasurably more hopeful when done in community. By bringing in likeminded partners, regardless of your industry, we are able to “spur one another on to love and good works” and not give up but “press on to reach the goal.” We’ve seen this in start-up entrepreneurship, and we’ve seen this in academia, but we are only just beginning to see these two communities meet. 

There is an incredible opportunity to build relationships between the academic and practitioner communities, one where the practitioners inform research and the academics provide quality and beneficial content not only for those currently in their practitioner roles, but for students who will soon be joining the ranks. Imagine the possibilities if generations of entrepreneurs and scholars were deeply rooted both in their confidence to integration their faith in their work, and also in a community of believers who supported them in it!

The harshness of “publish or perish,” “make it or break it,” and other ultimatum-esque mindsets is rarely simple to overcome. But like most other difficult things in life, it’s easier with a supportive community. Scripture is full of examples of the value of community in working out hard things; when Jesus sent out the 72, He sent them in pairs, rather than going 72 different directions. It was incredibly fruitful. So, whether you are leading a company, teaching a class, dreaming of either, or anything in between, one thing is certain: community and partners in the mission make a huge difference. 

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