There’s a word that’s guaranteed to cast a glaze over the eyes of my arts management students, to encourage a silent slouch in the nonprofit board room, and to dampen even the liveliest discussion of the arts. The word is ‘policy,’ and it’s arguably one of the most important words that arts managers don’t want to say.

In spite or because of its vast popularity, the word ‘partnership’ has become one of the biggest blinders to clear and responsive management in nonprofit arts and culture.

Sometimes when we try to talk our way out of a problem, we end up reinforcing the problem…or even making it worse. Such is the case with ‘the box’…