Got Caught Up Playing Hero

Sometimes forest fires drop right in your lap. Sometimes they have sacks of revenue attached. But really, some of the most satisfying projects are all about high-pressure deadlines and in the end, helping good people accomplish something meaningful is worth those grindstone burns.

Adaptistration People 159When it comes meaningful tasks, web accessibility compliance always crosses the worthwhile threshold.

All of that is a roundabout way to say I’ve been preoccupied the past 24 hours and unable to write a proper post, but things will be back to normal in short order and you’ll find things back to normal on Monday.

In the meantime, be sure to catch up on the excellent “what did Gelb and the Met Opera board know and when did they know it” article from Justin Davidson along with the news about Levine ‘s lawsuit against the Met Opera from the New York Times’ always sharp Michael Cooper.

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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