Reputation & rankings
What reputation is worth, how to measure it, and how to read the rankings without being run by them.
Reputation is a performance metric. Manage it like one.
Universities track applications, income and research output to the decimal point. Reputation, which shapes all three, is still too often treated as a matter of opinion.
14 October 2026 · 2 min read
Rankings are a mirror, not a strategy
Rankings reflect what a university has already become. The institutions that improve most use them to diagnose, then build a strategy around their mission rather than the methodology.
10 October 2026 · 2 min read
Universities are data rich and insight poor. Here's how to fix it.
Most institutions hold more data than ever about their students, markets and reputation. Very little of it reaches the decisions that matter. The gap is about culture as much as technology.
2 October 2026 · 2 min readEpisodes on this topic.
Data Rich, Insight Poor: Fixing University Decision-Making
Universities hold more data than ever, yet little of it reaches the decisions that matter.
18 October 2026 · 4:36
University Rankings Are a Mirror, Not a Strategy
I led the reputation strategy behind Newcastle University's highest ever QS World University Rankings placement, and learned that rankings work best when you do not...
18 October 2026 · 4:21
Reputation Is a Performance Metric: Manage It Like One
Most universities can quote their application numbers to the unit, but not how their reputation has moved.
18 October 2026 · 4:21