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The Artful Manager

Andrew Taylor on the business of arts & culture

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”).

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 […]

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.

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 […]

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 […]

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. 

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.

Concept Test Kitchen, Episode 1

September 14, 2017 by Andrew Taylor

Concept Test Kitchen

I’m launching a new experiment with this pilot episode of “Concept Test Kitchen” — a video series presenting interesting frameworks or approaches to arts management (‘recipes for thinking’), so you can share back whether or when they may be useful. Watch below, or on YouTube. And let me know in the comments whether the recipes […]

Defusing beauty

September 13, 2017 by Andrew Taylor

flickr Ted Sakshaug

My previous post suggested a multi-layered view of our work in arts organizations, including attention to the nouns of our ‘products’ or ‘outcomes,’ the verbs of our ‘processes’ or ‘practices,’ but also the core ‘source’ or ‘wellspring’ of the work that drives and inspires us. One obvious wellspring for many of us in the arts […]

The shallow breathing of rational management

September 6, 2017 by Andrew Taylor

Well

So much of our training, theory, practice, and focus in cultural management has to do with outcomes and processes. When we look to improve how our organizations ‘work’, we tend to chose between ‘making better things’ (the outcomes or products), or ‘making things better’ (the processes that lead to those outcomes).

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About Andrew Taylor

Andrew Taylor is a faculty member in American University's Arts Management Program in Washington, DC. [Read More …]

ArtsManaged Field Notes

#ArtsManaged logoAndrew Taylor also publishes a weekly email newsletter, ArtsManaged Field Notes, on Arts Management practice. The most recent notes are listed below.

RSS ArtsManaged Field Notes

  • Flip the script on your money narrative June 3, 2025
    Your income statement tells the tale of how (and why) money drives your business. Don't share the wrong story.
  • The sneaky surprise of new arts buildings May 27, 2025
    That shiny new arts facility is full of promise and potential, but also unexpected and unrelenting expense.
  • The one and the many of board service May 20, 2025
    How do nonprofit boards balance individual impulse with collective resolve?
  • The relentless rise of pseudo-productivity May 13, 2025
    Visible activity and physical exhaustion are not useful measures of valuable work.
  • The strategy screen May 6, 2025
    A strong strategy demands a clear job description

Artful Manager: The Book!

The Artful Manager BookFifty provocations, inquiries, and insights on the business of arts and culture, available in
paperback, Kindle, or Apple Books formats.

Recent Comments

  • Barry Hessenius on Business in service of beauty: “An enormous loss. Diane changed the discourse on culture – its aspirations, its modus operandi, its assumptions. A brilliant thought…” Jan 19, 18:58
  • Sunil Iyengar on Business in service of beauty: “Thank you, Andrew. The loss is immense. Back when Diane was teaching a course called “Approaching Beauty,” to business majors…” Jan 16, 18:36
  • Michael J Rushton on Business in service of beauty: “A wonderful person and a creative thinker, this is a terrible loss. – thank you for posting this.” Jan 16, 13:18
  • Andrew Taylor on Two goals to rule them all: “Absolutely, borrow and build to your heart’s content! The idea that cultural practice BOTH reduces and samples surprise is really…” Jun 2, 18:01
  • Heather Good on Two goals to rule them all: “To “actively sample novel experiences (in safe ways) to build more resilient perception and prediction” is about as useful a…” Jun 2, 15:05

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