Guess The Transparency Jelly Beans

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I received an intriguing question via email in response to yesterday’s article which provided a reference list making it easier than ever for 77 professional U.S. orchestras to improve institutional transparency: “How many do you think will take you up on it?” I thought about how best to respond and decided that unfiltered candor was the best option: “I’ll be surprised if more than three take advantage of it.”…

question markGranted, cynicism is always an easy way out but based on past experience I doubt many groups will update their website to include a link to their financial reports and/or a link to their most recent annual report. Nonetheless, I’ve been wrong before and I would love to be wrong now but I’m interested in measuring whether or not my jaded outlook is shared by other readers.

As such, take a moment to answer the following polls and send in a comment to share your outlook.

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And let’s not shy away from the big question:

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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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