A wry, brief paean to the arts and what the world of business has to learn from them. Many businesspeople, for their part, assume that artists are a bunch of pretentious wastrels. Bosses may stick a few modernist daubs on their boardroom walls. They may go on corporate jollies to the opera. They may even write the odd cheque to support their wives’ bearded friends. But they seldom take the arts seriously as a source of inspiration. Studying the arts can...help companies learn how to manage bright people. Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones of the … [Read more...]
Disrupting College
Clay Christensen and his team at Innosight Institute apply Christensen's model of disruptive innovation to higher education. It is a compelling presentation of the systematic barriers that keep the higher education sector from meeting its mission, the role that online learning technology and new providers are playing in changing the sector, and the way the business models of established institutions stop them from responding effectively. So why do we care in the arts and culture sector? I see powerful similarities between the structural issues … [Read more...]
Take Back Your Attention
In this post, Tony Schwartz gives some helpful hints for maintaining focus. I like the idea of taking the first 60-90 minutes of the day to really concentrate on just one task. As incoming emails kept distracting me from reading the post, its relevance was immediately apparent! Take Back Your Attention … [Read more...]
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop rallies troops in brutally honest “burning platform” memo
I read this post and found it fascinating. While an internal memo from a mobile phone company might not sound too relevant, the message is one of change management. It very clearly illustrates a wonderful formula for change taught by one of our faculty members -- Horst Abraham of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Discomfort x Vision x First step = Change. It doesn't always require such a dire situation, but it's an important reminder that change always requires some pain. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop rallies troops in … [Read more...]
Stop Blaming Your Culture
An article of interest on an-oft used whipping boy for failed change efforts. The authors argue one is most likely to succeed using an organization's existing culture to help change behaviors in the shorter-term. These behaviors can in turn change the culture in the longer run. When a new leader’s strategy puts the culture of a company at risk, the culture will trump the strategy, almost every time. There are good reasons for this. Every company’s identity — the body of capabilities and practices that distinguish it and make it effective — … [Read more...]
How leadership matters: The effects of leaders’ alignment on strategy implementation
A short research publication about how leaders influence the implementation of strategic initiatives and the value of alignment between multiple layers of leaders. Research has confirmed that leader behavior influences group and organizational behavior, but we know less about how senior leaders ensure that group and organizational members implement their decisions. Most organizations have multiple layers of leaders, implying that any single leader does not lead in isolation. We focused on how the consistency of leadership effectiveness across … [Read more...]
An Optimist’s Tour of the Future
As arts organizations face an increasing number of challenges, it might help us all to lighten the load by “unlearning” some things – Matt Ridley sketches out what a few of those things might be. Matt Ridley on An Optimist's Tour of the Future - WSJ.com. … [Read more...]
Outcome vs Process Oriented Thinking
Recently, I had cause to dig through some research on outcome vs process based thinking and decision making. The research is primarily in consumer behavior; however, it has a broader application. It provides another way of thinking about or classifying communication styles. And, it gives us an opportunity to examine our own thought processes and ways of communicating. So, for those of us who are still trying to figure out why we get option stress or move quickly to decisions that appear to our staff and/or board as unexpected leaps, I offer … [Read more...]
The Lowdown on Arts Downloading
Further adventures in the arts - online and in HD. Not the digital arts, but the performing arts. Is your organization making its performances available outside your 'regular' venues? Do you think this will bring new audiences into your venue...or just let them see your work from afar? The Lowdown on Arts Downloading - WSJ.com. … [Read more...]
To Curate
An interesting reflection on the growing use - and importance - of the word "curate" in a time when people are increasingly overwhelmed by information. How does your organization help people cut through the noise and enable conversations and relations? To Curate | THE WORLD QUESTION CENTER 2011. … [Read more...]
The price behind the choices we make
This piece from last week's Marketplace is good food for thought given the increasing competition for audiences' time and money. It's an interview with Eduardo Porter, who has written a book "The Price of Everything." The interview and book excerpt serve as a nice reminder that price is actually a transaction. As Porter puts it, "There is a buyer who values something and a seller who will be willing to make that transaction at that given price or not." The price behind the choices we make | Marketplace From American Public Media. … [Read more...]
Should cultural institutions be in the business of “romance” or “precision”? Ask your newcomers
Here's an interesting post from Peter Linett's blog in which he discusses the presumption of most cultural institutions that "if you’ve shown up, you’re already interested in this content." He asks if we shouldn't design experiences for our newcomers as well and references Alfred North Whitehead's 1916 essay, The Aims of Education, which posits that learning naturally proceeds in three stages: romance, precision and generalization. What about your organization? Are you in the business of romance or precision? Should cultural institutions be in … [Read more...]
Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science
His model predicted, in different fields of medical research, rates of wrongness roughly corresponding to the observed rates at which findings were later convincingly refuted: 80 percent of non-randomized studies (by far the most common type) turn out to be wrong, as do 25 percent of supposedly gold-standard randomized trials, and as much as 10 percent of the platinum-standard large randomized trials. These were challenging facts for me, as a deep believer in science and rigorous research. It's worth considering the meaning of these findings … [Read more...]
Rework
I have a tall stack of books at home, all of which I am in the process of reading (yes, I am one of those people). I choose to start and stop a book based on topic and sometimes the number of pages and size of type. Recently, I picked up one of the books in my stack – Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson (the founders of 37 Signals who brought us Basecamp, Ruby on the Rails, and Backpack). This book encapsulates about five times its volume in management theory and it is fun to read. I read it cover to cover in a very short span … [Read more...]
Why Can’t Kmart Be Successful While Target and Walmart Thrive?
What can arts organizations learn from the successes and failures of these three discount retailers? This conversation stresses the importance of knowing what you do well and clearly articulating created value to customers. Why Can't Kmart Be Successful While Target and Walmart Thrive? … [Read more...]