by:
Joe Patti
Two entries today and sort of long.
Many of us are dubious about attending meetings because we aren’t sure any action of value will result. In two entries entitled Useless Meetings and Useless Meetings 2, I explore the monograph, The Measure of Meetings: Forums, Deliberation, and Cultural Policy.
I talk about their thoughts on why it is so hard to create cultural policy and why conventions are a poor place to attempt it–currently. They make suggestions on how to alter that situation.
by:
Joe Patti
Following up on my last trip to early entries, I had done a handful of entries on Peter Drucker’s Managing the Nonprofit Organization. I am not going to link back to all the entries, but I thought the topics covered in this one were particularly interesting because he addresses the unintended consequences of decisions and provides guidance on how to avoid them.
“…Soon people in the organization no longer ask: Does it service our mission? They ask: Does it fit our rules? And that not only inhibits performance, it destroys vision and dedication.”
by:
Joe Patti
I am off on vacation for a couple weeks, but I thought I would leave my readers with some things to ponder and review while I am away. The next handful of days will have links to some of my earlier entries that still seem very relevant.
The first is an entry I did on Peter Drucker’s book, Managing the Non-Profit Organization. I had taken it out of the library at the time but just bought the book this past winter. I can’t believe that was 6 years ago. Drucker wrote the book because he didn’t feel most management books addressed the particular challenges non-profits face.
by:
Joe Patti
I was listening to NPR this weekend and caught a story about Columbus Association for the Performing Arts CAPA, a Columbus, OH organization which area arts organizations have contracted to perform administrative functions.
About a year ago, I wrote about the excellent series the Non Profit Law blog did on the experiences non-profits have encountered merging their administrative functions.
Most of the examples used in that series were social service organizations so it was of some interest to hear a little about how arts organizations were entering the same arrangement. I wondered if it might become more prevalent in these tough economic times given that six Columbus area arts groups entered into arrangements with CAPA in the last year and a half. (This assumes there are businesses around the country who are able to offer these services. Not aware of too many in existence.)
I share a similar concern as Russell Willis Taylor quoted near the end of the piece. Relationships really matter when making the specific case for your organization in the community. Since CAPA seems to have varying scopes of responsibility with each client company, presumably an organization can reserve certain functions for itself and perhaps be involved with CAPA’s efforts on their behalf. But for a lot of artists and groups, the temptation to cede those functions to another so they can concentrate on creation of work alone may prove seductive. In the long run, their presence and public profile may wane as a group like CAPA’s waxes due to their adroit handling of so many responsibilities.
I don’t doubt that an arrangement with a group like CAPA can be extremely beneficial. Large for profit companies outsource their accounting, human resources, marketing, advertising and other functions all the time to great effect. But they also work very closely and stay very involved in every activity affecting the public image of their product because that is what is necessary.
As a little aside- I must confess that I had a moment of glee when I heard them describe the political cartoon implying CAPA is taking over. That anyone feels an arts organization is growing too powerful is so novel a concept, I can’t help but feel some joy. I mean, I don’t think I have heard anyone accused of that since the late 19th century with the Theatrical Syndicate. (Okay, I will grant you Clear Channel/Live Nation.)
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