A recent ArtNet news article about the “whopping” compensation of Glenn Lowry, MOMA’s Director, quoted me as saying “It's a nonprofit but it's also a business. The board is paying him because they think he's worth it." Nonprofit executive compensation is a newsworthy issue. There are...
“Opera is an accountant's nightmare". No house ever breaks even, indeed, every time the curtain goes up, a lot of money is lost.” This isn’t from the March 23, 2015 James Stewart profile of Peter Gelb, rather it is a quote from The New Yorker...
What is better than attending a performance when actors or dancers or musicians are connecting with the audience? We sit, shoulder to shoulder, transformed by the magic; quiet – cell phones off (mostly), polite to our neighbors and respectful of the performers; transported by the...
David Geffen, a Brooklyn-born, self-made billionaire pledged $100 million to Lincoln Center Inc. for the renovation of Avery Fisher Hall. In exchange, the home of the New York Philharmonic, which is also the venue for Mostly Mozart and Great Performances, will be named Geffen Hall....
The WSJ commentary raises an important issue about art, politics and the nature of censorship in the arts. But whether it is Mr. Gergiev conducting at the Met or the prohibition of performing Wagner’s music in Israel or cancelling a Mozart opera in Berlin because...
The culturally impoverished US NEA spends 1/40th of what Germany doles out for arts per capita. 10 countries that leave the US in the dust on funding the arts. http://www.alternet.org/culture/culturally-impoverished-us-nea-spends-140th-what-germany-doles-out-arts-capita This piece of “research” engendered a great deal of commentary, mostly negative, about the philistinism and closed...
Financial companies rely on the their trustworthiness and transparency – if their ratings can't be trusted, whose can? In fact, McGraw Hill Financial is very proud of its values- here is their statement of core values: “...
There are similarities between the financial institutions that are too big to fail and the Red Cross. After almost two decades of scandals, weak or unethical leadership, bad press and activities harmful to human life (its infamous blood bank scandals) the Red Cross remains one...
UK blogger and arts critic claims that arts organizations must do their part to prevent global warming by not accepting oil company sponsorships. I heartily disagree: see below for my commentary that appears following the article in the electronic version of the Guardian. Here is the...
The controversy over the newly opened Jean Nouvel Philharmonie de Paris is reminiscent of another controversial cultural building project meant to significantly affect a historic district of that great city. The Philharmonie de Paris It was the 1960s, a time of cultural unrest, when the Paris government...
In the November 12, 2014 edition of the International New York Times, the columnist David Brooks reviewed the economic progress made by Soviet bloc countries since the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago. The progress is uneven. There are reasons why some countries...
Over the last month I attended both the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) and the ASTC (Association of Science and Technology Centers) conferences. While the content and the attendees were different, there were noticeably similar themes and consistent trends. AZA was held at Disney World...
Most failing arts organizations hang on long after they should because one small constituency supports it: whether the arts council panel who continues to support a noncreative poorly run organization because it is “the only one” serving the community, or the wealthy patron who continues...
The most important task of the board of any museum is to select its director, as Willard L. Boyd pointed out in Curator: The Museum Journal 38/3. Unfortunately in recent times, there have been some serious mistakes made by boards in the selection of the...
It is important for the board to develop as many quantitative measurements as possible for evaluating a potential director so that it can make an informed choice, based on a "quantitative screen" as well as chemistry and personality. But how does one develop such a...
Assessing the array of requirements against the experienced candidate's skills, successes, and specific career goals helps the board to define the ideal director. Undoubtedly, specific functional expertise can always be located to support the director: a project manager and capital campaign consultant for the building...
The ideal director is one who brings measurable success to the institution. Attendance is up; quality and morale of the staff has improved; systems are working for, not against, the management; and the foundations are recognizing the quality of the exhibitions with additional grants. By...
“Whether blameworthy or not, the use of the cloak of social responsibility, and the nonsense spoken in its name by influential and prestigious businessmen, does clearly harm the foundations of a free society. I have been impressed time and again by the schizophrenic character of...
U.S. corporations invest in compliance training and ethics programs to create a culture that prevents unethical behaviors; acts by employees that could result in severe penalties and legal actions. Strong ethical cultures lead to a highly motivated workforce, a stronger brand and long-term ROI. But...
Selecting the Ideal Director Selecting the ideal director is the most important responsibility of the museum board. The best directors strengthen the institution, motivate the staff, energize the collections, encourage the board and change the community. The wrong choice is usually evident shortly after the director...
Executive Summary The nonprofit board’s most important decision is hiring or extending the contract of the CEO. And for the prospective or sitting CEO, there is no more important decision than either accepting the position or extending its term. Over the last 30 years I have been...