October 23, 2024

Writing in Support of Ari Meisel, an Innovation Leader for School Board

To the Editor:

Eight years ago, my wife, Liesl Geiger, and I moved here with two kids, then 4 and 9. After over two decades in New York City, we chose Princeton for a variety of reasons, but mostly for the schools — and the committed citizen oversight that makes them great.

It’s a rite of fall in Princeton. Trick-or-treating takes place amid the lawn signs of civic-minded neighbors we’ve met at school, on the sports fields, or around town.

This year, I know one of the candidates for School Board quite well. I’ve spent the last year and a half building a leadership academy with Ari Meisel. Since his business expertise is relevant to his candidacy, which I wholeheartedly endorse, I should explain what drew me to Ari as a business partner.

In his corner of the executive coaching world, he is an efficiency guru with a dedicated following I call the Ariverse — made up of customers, clients, fans, and evangelists around the world who’ve bought his books, watched his masterclasses, attended his summits, and otherwise found growth with his Less Doing system of productivity.

His approach to problem-solving is grounded in his belief that every organization — whether a business or a school district — can be improved by streamlining processes to focus on what truly matters. Just look at his “process hack” for the Princeton Fire & Rescue Squad, where he’s a vice president. Using no-code automations, video asks, credentialing tools, and other innovations, he streamlined their hiring and on-boarding process significantly, freeing up many hours each week for senior leaders to focus on more strategic efforts.

Many of you know Ari from his multiple volunteer positions around town. I can introduce you to the thinker, process hacker, and methodologist. At Princeton Kaizen, we teach entrepreneurs and business leaders how to build Smart Orgs, and Ari’s contribution is a GPT-integrated program on strategic optimization and leadership.

For our kids, AI and automation will play as large as role in their lives as the internet has in ours. In the realm of education, they will create more time for teachers to teach, streamline administrative processes, and free up focus and resource for student development. And yet, AI presents a seismic challenge to educators. It’s a conversation going on in every educational institution, and I can’t think of a person I’d rather have representing my children’s interests than Ari.

He is not just an expert in efficiency; he is a leader who lives a simple credo: kaizen, a Japanese business philosophy meaning change for the good. He knows how to transform organizations and foster an environment where innovation is not just encouraged but expected.

I am confident that his unique perspective will benefit every student, teacher, and parent in our district.

Chris Kincade
CEO, Princeton Kaizen
Parkside Drive