{"id":2868,"date":"2023-04-03T04:43:49","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T11:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=2868"},"modified":"2023-04-03T04:43:53","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T11:43:53","slug":"strategic-planning-and-muddling-through-in-the-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2023\/04\/strategic-planning-and-muddling-through-in-the-arts\/","title":{"rendered":"Strategic Planning and Muddling Through in the Arts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2870\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-2048x1152.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m at the stage of the semester where we begin our module on strategic planning. One of my favorite articles on the subject is from 1959, Charles Lindblom&#8217;s &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/973677\">The Science of &#8216;Muddling Through&#8217;<\/a>&#8220;, which takes abstract theorizing about ends and means down to the practical level of how plans are actually made in our world of organizations with histories, ways of doing things, and only limited information about the universe of possibilities; it could be thought of as something of an application of <a href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/oakeshott\/\">Michael Oakeshott<\/a>&#8216;s caution regarding &#8220;rationalism&#8221; in politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Three years ago our university was very suddenly thrust into the world of online education, and I hurriedly made some very low-tech videos. This one gained some views from the outside world, so, from the archives, here I am in my back yard explaining to arts administration students what &#8220;muddling through&#8221; is about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Michael Rushton on Lindblom\u2019s \u201cmuddling through\u201d\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Fo-eaRPgi44?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m at the stage of the semester where we begin our module on strategic planning. One of my favorite articles on the subject is from 1959, Charles Lindblom&#8217;s &#8220;The Science of &#8216;Muddling Through&#8217;&#8220;, which takes abstract theorizing about ends and means down to the practical level of how plans are actually made in our world [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2868","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-issues","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-Kg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2538,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2020\/03\/strategic-planning-and-muddling-through\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":0},"title":"Strategic Planning and Muddling Through","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Out in the woods for today's video, on Charles Lindblom's classic essay \"The science of 'muddling through'\". When an arts organization sets out to form a strategic plan, what exactly is it doing? Is a so-called 'logic model', that carefully sets out desired outcomes, and then works backwards through the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"into the woods","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/fox.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/fox.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/fox.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/fox.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/fox.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2112,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/09\/what-should-congress-do-about-the-arts\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":1},"title":"What should Congress do about the arts?","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"September 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Blog neighbour Doug McLennan reviews the recent Congressional Arts Report Card produced by the Americans for the Arts Action Fund PAC. He notes that there isn't really a lot of material on which to base a report card - indeed, there were no recorded floor votes that were solely concerned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"where's the vision?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Mr-Smith.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Mr-Smith.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Mr-Smith.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Mr-Smith.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Mr-Smith.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Mr-Smith.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1180,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/03\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-strategic-arts-manager\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":2},"title":"What does it mean to be a &#8216;strategic&#8217; arts manager? (Updated)","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The question came to mind when browsing The Economist's style guide, which contains the entry: \"Strategic\" is usually meaningless except to tell you that the writer is trying to invest something with a seriousness it does not deserve. But I think that is too harsh, and there are times when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"someone is not thinking strategically","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/lucy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/lucy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/lucy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1425,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/07\/strategic-pricing-for-the-arts\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":3},"title":"Strategic pricing for the arts","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"July 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm pleased to say my book on pricing in the arts has been released - Amazon link here, and Routledge link (including for ordering e-inspection copies) here. What's it all about? As I do \u00a0on this blog, I have tried to give arts managers, and students of arts management, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"for what it's worth","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/my-book.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":955,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/07\/taking-pricing-seriously\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":4},"title":"Taking pricing seriously","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"July 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Many posts in this blog have been about how arts organizations, especially in the nonprofit or public sectors, can learn a thing or two about strategic pricing from other organizations, including non-arts commercial firms. But at The Economist, blogger Schumpeter writes that the private sector is not all that sharp\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"crossroads","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/the-economist-300x248.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":725,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/04\/strategic-gaps-in-the-paywall\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":5},"title":"Strategic gaps in the paywall","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"April 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"At Slate, Matt Yglesias reports that advertising revenues are down, but subscription revenues are up, at the New York Times: I've been skeptical about digital subscription models for a long time, but I'm turning into a believer. A key change has been the development of technological means of making the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;issues&quot;","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"paywall? what paywall?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/cookies-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2868"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2871,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2868\/revisions\/2871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}