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The Artful Manager

Andrew Taylor on the business of arts & culture

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Private, public, plural

August 10, 2018 by Andrew Taylor

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...]

15 Years Ago

July 14, 2018 by Andrew Taylor

cc flickr Bill Swingle

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...]

Strong opinions, weakly held

June 25, 2018 by Andrew Taylor

Strong opinions, weakly held

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...]

The pyramid and the wheel

May 30, 2018 by Andrew Taylor

Barnraising Photo

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...]

Fostering intuition

May 16, 2018 by Andrew Taylor

Eye tracking financial statements

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...]

The Adjacent Possible

February 27, 2018 by Andrew Taylor

cc flickr freemanphoto

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...]

Da Vinci’s BFF, the CPA

February 21, 2018 by Andrew Taylor

Luca Pacioli

It’s common modern practice to consider art and commerce in opposition to each other, and artists and accountants as cartoonish polar opposites, as well. But it wasn’t always so. About 520 years ago, art and commerce, artist and accountant, lived with and learned from each other through the lives of Luca Pacioli and an up-and-comer named Leonardo da Vinci. … [Read more...]

It’s complicated, or complex, or chaos, or…

January 3, 2018 by Andrew Taylor

The idea of "best practices" has always driven me a bit nuts. The world is full of complexity and context and interconnections, I figured. How could any "one way" or "single process" across many instances be "best"? In fact, how could it be anything more than a delusion? Sure, there are "fruitful paths" that seem to yield positive results in many cases. But "best practice"? Nope. … [Read more...]

Concept Test Kitchen, Episode 2

November 17, 2017 by Andrew Taylor

Concept Test Kitchen

The new episode of my "Concept Test Kitchen" explores the PAEI Code, a framework by Ichak Adizes to explore the four functions/concerns of management and their interplay and implications. Full details on this model are available in multiple places, but I'm drawing from the book Leading the Leaders, Adizes Institute, 2015.  … [Read more...]

Sovereignty or service

October 12, 2017 by Andrew Taylor

handsaw

We often talk about an organization having a mission, as if the organization exists as some separate entity with its own individual will. But increasingly I’m wondering if that attribution hasn’t always been upside-down. Organizations don’t have missions. Missions have organizations. And when change is necessary, it’s important to know which changes which. … [Read more...]

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Andrew Taylor is a faculty member of American University's Arts Management Program in Washington, DC...
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Recent Comments

  • Andrew Taylor on The loosely-coupled future of live performance: “Great points, Meg! And agreed that the large-scale performing arts could and should look to adjacent industries for insights about…” Apr 30, 11:41
  • Andrew Taylor on The loosely-coupled future of live performance: “Thanks John! So helpful to know the pieces that resonated. And I’m equally intrigued about the agreements (formal, informal, explicit,…” Apr 30, 11:39
  • Andrew Taylor on The loosely-coupled future of live performance: “Ha! And yes, also that.” Apr 30, 11:37
  • John McCann on The loosely-coupled future of live performance: “Thanks for this overwhelmingly useful piece! While it’s nice to be reminded of Weick and the tightly coupled/loosely coupled realities,…” Apr 30, 11:18
  • Trevor O’Donnell on The loosely-coupled future of live performance: “Your title made me think of a concert hall where every couple was seated six feet apart!” Apr 29, 10:11

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