Well, I'm no fan of the corporate business types
trying to run cultural organizations on the sole basis
of some kind of finance skills or "business" savvy,
but I do believe a skilled fiscal officer is a
necessary in today's non-profit environment. Now maybe
that officer doesn't have to be the director or even
the deputy director, but they should be someone (in
the upper ranks) who cares about the institution, its
mission, and its staff.

Over the last five years far too many institutions
have pulled in upright MBAS thinking they were going
to solve the institution's troubles merely by
balancing its books. In doing this, non-profits (and
often their trustees too!) neglected what they do
(some kind of speciality) for the bottom-line
mentality. I believe some organizations have suffered
from it. There is nothing worse than working with an
institution where some of their officers are
completely ignorant of the thing they specialize in
(kinds of exhibitions, scholarship, education
outreach, etc.). Remember, for decades many
non-profits did great work without Hobbesian bean
counters or corporate junk bonders hording power and
delegating authority.

 For a current peek at the current CEO jingles check
out an article by James Surowiecki in The New Yorker
titled "Board Stiffs" on the Financial Page from the
March 8 issue. It's not an article from the non-profit
world but it does provide some perspective on
leadership.

Gerald Rojek



--- Anna Fariello <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Every museum director should have--at his or her
> right hand--a deputy
> director who is directly responsible for
> coordinating the museum's
> fiscal policy and its impact on the long term health
> of the
> institution.  That doesn't mean that a museum or
> non-profit should be
> HEADED by someone with those skills.  As I tried to
> point out in an
> earlier posting, a museum director would consult
> with many others
> with respect to specific skills, security,
> conservation, building,
> landscaping, etc.
> Security provides a good example.  If a museum was
> suffering so much
> vandalism or breeches of security that its future
> was threatened, the
> board still would not rush off and hire someone with
> a criminal
> justice background to head the museum.
> I hope my analogy points out how ludicrous this
> situation is for
> today's museums and the trend to set them up with
> business people at
> the helm.
> Anna
>
>
>
>
> >Can museums follow the symphony and theater worlds,
> where there are
> >co-leaders who are experts in their fields?  The
> performing arts have a
> >"managing director" and an "artistic director" with
> their own hierarchies,
> >and the two top leaders coordinate their bailiwicks
> for a full program.
> >
> >Very large museums often do this with an executive
> director/CEO who is
> >either the subject-matter expert OR the
> bean-counter, with an "assistant
> >director" or "associate director" who handles the
> other function.  Smaller
> >museums do not have the luxury of extra staff lying
> around, so they have to
> >go one way or another, and in these times it is
> often determined that the
> >top leader be more externally than internally
> experienced.  ("internal"
> >being code for "museum wonk")  Some museums require
> more of a bean counter
> >at the top, while others go the more scholarly
> route. The best requirement
> >for a top leader in a museum should be his/her
> ability to conceive of a
> >vision for the institution and inspire others to
> share it and do their best
> >work to advance it.  Still, the top person must be
> aware of his/her
> >experience limitations and surround him/herself
> with trained people with
> >whom they consult regularly and to whom they should
> defer the decisions that
> >require specialized abilities.  It's that deferral
> which causes
> >problems--often when one gets to the top one's ego
> takes over and listening
> >to others is an atrophied skill.
> >
> >This is all true for presidents as well...except
> for they must also realize
> >that they represent the people and should always
> strive to serve the people
> >instead of their own agenda.
> >Julia Muney Moore
> >Director of Exhibitions and Artist Services
> >Indianapolis Art Center
> >820 E. 67th St.
> >Indianapolis, IN  46220
> >(317) 255-2464 x233
> >FAX (317) 254-0486
> >email <[log in to unmask]>
> >website <http://www.indplsartcenter.org>
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: David E. Haberstich
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> >Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 1:32 AM
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: Re: Trickle-down Stickiness
> >
> >
> >Don't get me wrong, Indigo.  I'm not opposed to
> bean counters per se.  I
> >think every museum and similar institution needs
> competent business managers
> >or
> >bean counters, if you will, to help meet the
> challenges of a changing
> >economy.
> >And they should have real power and influence.  I
> just think it's foolhardy
> >and dangerous to give them 100% of the power.  The
> chief executive of a
> >museum,
> >IMHO, obviously needs to have management ability
> and experience, perhaps
> >including that MBA--but ALSO solid museum
> experience and understanding, and
> >respect
> >for the expertise and value of the professional
> staff.  I think it's unwise
> >to pass up people with combined museum and
> managerial qualifications in
> >favor
> >of alleged hotshots from the corporate world.  ...
> I'm particularly alarmed
> >by high-handed business
> >types who like to start their reign over an
> institution by cutting and
> >downsizing without any dialogue or consultation
> with staff, and I'm tired of
> >hearing
> >about museum staffs being demoralized by such
> unimaginative and ruthless
> >tactics.

> Anna Fariello, Curatorial InSight, Box 505,
> Christiansburg VA 24068
> www.curatorialinsight.com;  540-382-3946;
> [log in to unmask]
> Interdisciplinary Studies, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
> VA 24061-0227



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time.
http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).