There is huge potential in Apple Computer’s new product announcements at yesterday’s Macworld Expo. Arts organizations should pay particular attention to the upgraded iLife software suite, which Steve Jobs called “the Microsoft Office for the rest of your life.” Why should you care about a software suite from a computer company with such a tiny […]
Do what you say, say what you mean
Friend and colleague (and PhD candidate in Marketing) Jennifer Wiggins adds some details to my rant yesterday about misunderstanding survey results. The article I cited and the sponsoring organization were excited to find that 90 percent of survey participants planned on attending more cultural events in 2004. What they missed was the real finding: that […]
Self-delusion through surveys
An odd little survey reported by the BBC shows the disconnect between audience intention and audience action, as well as the sad state of surveying in decision-making. The study concludes that tons of people have intentions to attend more arts events in the coming year, but few have shown any effort to actually do so. […]
Sunday in the Park with George
Stephen Sondheim’s 1984 musical based (very) loosely on the life and work of impressionist painter Georges Seurat. The themes suggest that while great art can help us see new connections, great artists are often disconnected from their worlds and their work by the process of it.
Time for a holiday break…
I’ll be taking a break from this weblog over the holidays, to focus on family and friends, and experience some culture rather than write about it. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. See you in the new year!
Going mobile…the Artful Manager on the road
Alert readers will notice a new item in the sidebar, offering a mobile edition of this weblog for handhelds, PDAs, and fancy schmancy mobile phones. If you have such a device and already grab and read headlines from your favorite news sources, now there’s another to add to your list. (I grab the New York […]
Calm down, keep it simple
As an antidote to the complexity of social network mapping and other systemic ramblings of recent posts, friend and associate Mark Nerenhausen reminded me that most arts managers are running as fast as they can just to keep up. In a world of small resources, small staff, and gargantuan missions, rethinking how the universe works […]
Mapping the social elite…
Building on yesterday’s post about social network mapping, an associate pointed me to NameBase.org, an astounding on-line database of book and clipping citations of individuals and groups involving: assassinations, organized crime, and scandals; Wall Street and transnational corporations; foreign policy and media establishments; political elites from the Right and Left; and, Cold War history and […]
In search of the REAL organizational chart
We’re all familiar with those hierarchy charts drafted by most organizations, that convey — through boxes and lines — how the command and control structure works among their paid staff and leadership. These are handy tools to show who reports to whom, and how information is supposed to flow through the chains of command. Despite […]
Art as Experience
John Dewey’s astounding lecture series from 1932 on the nature of art. By no means an easy read, but jam-packed with the building blocks of the truly artful manager.
