The Minions Have Spoke!

There’s nothing quite as cumbersome as an email list filled with non-responders and as it turns out, the email list here at Adaptistration has grown so large that my email list minions told me we needed to weed out some names. Fortunately, the email service I use, Vertical Response, has a handy feature that lets the minions automatically create a segmented list based on non-responder parameters that can be used to verify recipients…

But just to be safe, I want to post the memo here in case anyone out there is falling victim to an overzealous spam filter:

So far, the notice has worked out more or less the way the minions said it would but one unexpected outcome was the number of replies from readers verifying their subscription and taking a moment to include some very kind words about the value they place on Adaptistration. Unquestionably, that was a real out of the blue treat!

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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8 thoughts on “The Minions Have Spoke!”

    • You’re joking, right Larry? You do realize I’m referring to automated process bots via the email marketing system I use (via VerticalResponse) or do you honestly believe I have an entire team of employees that do nothing but manage my email?

      In all fairness, humor is subjective so to be sure you’re clear, the use of the term minions is an exercise in ironic self-aggrandizing which, in turn, is actually self-deprecation. My apologies if you found this unclear.

    • I think Larry missed the point entirely. If I read his comment correctly, he thinks Mr. McManus is calling his readers minions. Is that correct Larry? If so, I have no idea how you got to that point. It seems pretty clear otherwise.

  1. Here’s another definition: “Minion, a type of canon with a small bore, during the 16th and 17th centuries.”

    Janet K., I don’t know you but I think I love you!

    Let’s all take a deep breath and relax and keep our collective sense of humor.

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