Why is it so hard for colleges and universities to change? Why do even innovative institutions that invest considerable time and effort in attempts to improve performance often fall back into long-established patterns? Why is the whole of educational innovation often less than the sum of the parts? Consider three colleges and universities. Technically hypothetical, each exhibits some of the characteristics of many real institutions. All face increasing challenges that are visible in the data that they dutifully collect and report about their own operations. Each institution has been innovative in various ways in its attempts to meet these challenges. But each is hard pressed to say exactly what the results of its innovations have been. All three have a sense of standing at a crossroads, a moment of decision, but none can say very clearly where it is headed.