In this book, eight academics look at the strategic, cultural, and marketing parallels between for profit companies and cultural institutions. Rich with case studies, the essays make an extremely useful contribution to the current conversation about new business models. When Business Meets Culture: Ideas and Experiences for Mutual Profit … [Read more...]
A Counter-Intuitive Approach to Making Complex Decisions
Giving our minds time to process information when not consciously focused on the decision facing us can result in better outcomes, especially for more complex decisions. A Counter-Intuitive Approach to Making Complex Decisions - Harvard Business Review … [Read more...]
YouTube – Eli Pariser: Beware online “filter bubbles”
Eli Pariser, the former Executive Director of MoveOn.org and their current Board Chair, highlights the hidden and growing impact of online filters on Google, Facebook, and throughout the internet in this TED video. These filters give greater and greater weight to the information a person tends to look at online first. Over time the algorithms filter out less frequent interests, to the point that publications, people, and ideas are no longer presented at all. What might this mean for the arts? The most passionate arts supporters should hear … [Read more...]
HBS Elevator Pitch Builder
You probably know how challenging it can be to concisely and persuasively articulate who you are, what you do and why (either personally or organizationally) in under a minute. There's a handy (and fun) tool available online from Harvard Business School to make elevator pitch writing easier by focusing on the questions that matter most. Check out the HBS Elevator Pitch Builder. Hat Tip to Drew McManus at Adaptistration … [Read more...]
Sparking creativity in teams: An executive’s guide
Creativity is not a trait reserved for the lucky few. By immersing your people in unexpected environments, confronting ingrained orthodoxies, using analogies, and challenging your organization to overcome difficult constraints, you can dramatically boost their creative output—and your own. Of greatest interest are 'create constraints' paragraph ending article (natch) and sidebar on technology with Ray Kurzweil. Imposing artificial constraints (not unrelated to scenario planning) can be an especially powerful tool given the nature of change … [Read more...]
Give Smart: Philanthropy that Gets Results
We often talk about strategy, competitive advantage, and differentiation from a traditional business perspective in our work. We consider these concepts essential for arts leaders given the range of competitors cultural organizations face today for money, attention, and time. We also consider this understanding essential for effective collaboration across arts organizations: each player in the community needs to know exactly what they do best and what unique benefit they contribute to the cultural "ecosystem," so together they can assemble … [Read more...]
OpenIDEO – Home
IDEO, as you may know (including those of you who have studied the organization in one of our seminars) is one of the world's top product design firms. OpenIDEO is their open innovation site where they use crowdsourcing to develop ideas for addressing social issues. The site is interesting in its own right, but I wanted to highlight it because it is such an interesting example of an organization finding a way to embody in technology the thing that is unique about them, and use technology to extend that experience to a much larger audience. … [Read more...]
A New Type of Hybrid
In an article in the Spring 2011 Stanford Social Innovation Review, the author (an attorney) explores the shortcomings for the social entrepreneur of traditional commercial and non-profit models. He is quick to point that hybrids are nothing new and examines relevant facets of many existing models: B corporation, benefit corporation and low-profit limited liability company (L3C). Of note is that the models are all accorded different levels of recognition by Federal and state authorities and one (B corporation) isn't a legal status at all, but … [Read more...]
“That’s the Way We (Used to) Do Things Around Here”
In an interesting article in Strategy + Business, the authors explore the cognitive barriers at the individual level to change and suggest a more effective way to work with the brain's wiring rather than against it. And have no fear: mind control is really not on the menu, it's mostly benevolent. With a little knowledge of neuroscience, reframing behavior can be the essence of organizational change...New behaviors can be put in place, but only by reframing attitudes that are so entrenched that they are almost literally embedded in the … [Read more...]
Rethinking Capitalism
In this video interview on Rethinking Capitalism, Michael Porter (of Porter's Five Forces fame, among other things) shares an interesting take on the new nature of relevance for organizations in society. Porter argues that the old standby "what's good for business is good for society" that has defined the relationship between U.S. business and society is giving way. He turns this on its head, arguing "what is good for society is good for business." For most people in our sector, the traditional capitalist argument probably never held sway. … [Read more...]
Business has much to learn from the arts
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...]