That must be the mantra on the fiat standard.

Take it from me, you need far less direction than you think you do to make the right decisions, especially at a public higher-ed institution. Just do what you believe to be the best decisions, keep your boss and others who are potentially impacted of what you’re going to do, do it, and then report. Not easy, but you’ll be fine. And when the deadlines can’t be met, communicate why as soon as you know. Higher-ed leadership tends to cow-tow to strong leadership at the lower ranks because they’re not used to principled people making decisions without sign-offs from a VP and a committee and three blue-haired weirdos.