Miscommunication or Missed Communication?

I’ve had some fascinating conversations with managers and musicians over the past several months about communication issues between and among the two groups. The viewpoints and fundamental beliefs from individuals on both sides never cease to amaze me…


I had originally planned to put something up today about that but I’ve been out and about quite a bit this week so my time in front of the computer has been less than normal. Nevertheless, I’ll have it up next week after the Memorial Day holiday. In the meantime, think about this:

  • If you’re a manager, how do think non-artistic, organizational information traveling from you to the musicians works.
  • If you’re a musician, how do you think non-artistic, organizational information travels to reach you?
  • After you’ve thought about that, how do you think your manager/musician counterpart answered those questions?

  • Enjoy your holiday weekend!

    About Drew McManus

    "I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

    I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

    In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

    For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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