My current work project has developed in such a way as to require a brief trip away from my current location to Italy for a few short days. As such, today is a travel day and my time to blog is limited; however, there should be ample opportunity on the seven hour flights to catch up on topics such as the Columbus Symphony fiasco and Joe’s Golden Parachute in Philadelphia. Speaking of Columbus, make sure to read Don Rosenberg’s excellent article from the 7/28/08 edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
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.
View all posts by Drew McManus | Website
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