Nonprofit Quarterly has a thoughtful overview of complexity and sensemaking as they relate to organizations, the first of a four-part series on the subject. The general idea is that purpose-driven collectives, such as civil-sector organizations like nonprofits, need to respond to an increasingly complex world by becoming increasingly complex themselves -- in how they see, interpret, discuss, and act in the world. … [Read more...]

The New York Times apparently wants us all to be more productive, since it's hammering away at the subject from many fronts. In one article, Charlotte Lieberman tells us that procrastination isn't about self-control but about negative emotions. In another, Adam Grant suggests that productivity isn't about time management, but about attention. … [Read more...]

In support of this semester's "Presenting the Performing Arts" course at American University, I've started a series of video interviews with performing arts professionals. Through my prep for the class, I found strikingly few resources available in any media about the craft, practice, and management of arts organizations in the live performing arts (beyond the usual-suspect books). … [Read more...]

For over a year now, I've been stewing on and adapting the independent work of E.F. Schumacher and Ken Wilber (citations below), both of whom explore and explain what a "whole" view of ourselves and our world might look like. As I've unfolded it (literally) for a few groups and close colleagues, it now seems useful to unfold it for all of you for your reactions. … [Read more...]

In the U.S. we've agreed to disagree about what to call that "other" sector of collective action that isn't private (aka, privately owned business) and isn't public (aka, government). Non-profit, not-for-profit, third, social, civil, voluntary all capture bits of it, but miss important bits as well. Which is why I'm increasingly fond of Henry Mintzberg's framing and naming for this other sector: plural. … [Read more...]

This week marks the 15th anniversary of the launch of The Artful Manager blog, brought to life through the invitation and innovative brilliance of ArtsJournal editor Doug McLennan, and my own growing curiosities at the intersection of art and management and collective action. … [Read more...]

The yelling and pointing in our current civic environment keeps me going back to futurist Paul Saffo and his mantra: "strong opinions, weakly held." In his extensive work exploring the present and divining the future, he found this combination to be a productive path toward more robust thinking. … [Read more...]

There are countless ways to categorize collective human action (by legal entity, by sector, by formal/informal structure, by tax status, by geography, and on and on). But sociologist/political-scientist/historian Johan Galtung suggests there are essentially two types: thick-and-small ("the wheel" or "Beta") and thin-and-big ("the pyramid" or "Alpha"). … [Read more...]

One of the remarkable attributes of experts in a discipline or domain is how quickly they can assess and respond to a complex moment. In a flash, it seems, they cut through the noise, "see" the key components, and "read" the essential patterns that define the best range of response. Whether it's a grandmaster chess player, a car mechanic, an ER nurse, a master craftsperson, a political fixer, or other form of maven, "intuition" is a core quality that helps them move quickly and decisively while others are still scanning the terrain. … [Read more...]

So much of leadership, management, and change narrative is about "gap analysis." The thinking goes that we achieve a desired future by describing a bold vision, defining our current location, mapping the gap between here and there, and then planning and adjusting our route at check-points along the way. … [Read more...]