Two news tracks suggest both a new boon and a growing threat to community-based giving. On one side, the popularity of giving circles (sort of like investment clubs for philanthropy) seems to be galvanizing the charitable impulse of many. On the other side, the aggressive moves of Wal-Mart into banking services might be threatening the […]
Archives for February 2005
What do we buy when we buy music?
The supremecy of the Apple iPod among portable music devices is about to be challenged by a new batch of hopefuls. The new contenders are attempting a business model different than Apple’s — in which you actually buy extensive rights to each song for 99 cents (you can burn it, run it on multiple computers […]
Toronto Keynote: Managing Metaphors
Talking in Toronto
I had a wonderful time in Toronto over the past few days, talking with over 300 arts managers and other colleagues about defining and promoting the healthy arts organization, and the healthy staff therein. I’ll provide some background and summary in future posts, but I promised the group I would post my Monday morning keynote […]
The healthy arts leader
I’m off to Toronto this weekend (and Monday) to speak and to join the conversation for Re-Generation: The Healthy Arts Leader (ou en français), an arts management conference hosted by the Ontario Arts Council. With sessions on succession planning, mentoring, compensation, professional development, and other issues of worklife in arts and cultural management, the conference […]
The end-to-end experience
There’s lots of chatter these days in the consumer products world (especially technology products) about the ‘end-to-end experience’ — or the start-to-finish engagement a consumer has with a particular product, from when they first hear of it, to when they perceive its marketing, to when they buy it, open its packaging, use it, and live […]
Warehouses and retail
Last week, UK arts minister Estelle Morris suggested a distribution problem in England’s museums…with too much stuff hidden in city-based museum storehouses, and not enough out in the fringes. Said she: ”We want to see the cultural centre of gravity start to move from the capital. Part of this could involve sharing works more — […]
Reap what ye sow
I frequently hear from foundation administrators and grants panelists who bemoan the dry and incomplete grant requests they receive…lacking the spark and storytelling you might expect from organizations focused on creative expression. But then when you look at their grant guidelines — dry and dull, sequential and uninspiring — it’s a bit easier to spread […]