Let’s talk!
The phrase occurs with such regularity (usually as parting comments between acquaintances who do not intend to continue their conversation) that it seems to have lost meaning. But as a management...
View ArticleManaging the Product Mix: Mission vs. Money?
When push comes to shove, and for many arts organizations it has, the time has come to talk seriously about managing the product mix (or program mix, if you prefer). By which I mean evaluating the...
View ArticleArtist Entrepreneurs: Are They Changing the Ways We Produce, Distribute and...
By necessity, successful artists are entrepreneurs. Making a living requires networking, innovation and risk-taking, to name just a few entrepreneurial skills. And these days we see a new breed of...
View ArticleStrategic Plans: It’s Time to Change How We Chart our Future
Over the years I’ve told my share of war stories about how and why various ventures succeeded or failed. And when the topic is strategic plans, my stories are more about failure than success. Long,...
View ArticleAmerica’s Orchestras: The Latest Crisis
No doubt that Philip Kennicott’s recent New Republic article, “America’s Orchestras are in Crisis,” will generate a storm of agonized comment. And it’s somewhat difficult to take seriously yet another...
View ArticleStrategic Planning: Mapping the Future
In any strategic planning process, there comes a time when all of the input gathered from key stakeholders must be summarized to help board and management envision the future. My favorite tool is...
View ArticleThat Mission Thing
As I opened a discussion of an orchestra’s current mission statement at a recent planning retreat, a board member interrupted: “Oh, do we really have to talk about that mission thing again?” The...
View Article
