Why do I feel that many of you participating in this discussion are trying
to generalize museum management and say that either museum people or
business people are best.  You can never do that because you can always find
good and bad examples of both types of administrations.  The best
administrators are those who are the best because they are GOOD at
understanding and leading their institution which includes all aspects of
the museum profession, maintaining a sound business plan, and dealing with
personal.  You are never going to find the perfect equation to get a good
leader by only selecting one part.

I do feel however that many of our institutions DO need more people with
business backgrounds in them because many institutions still feel they do
not have to profit or be financially sound the way the business sector does.
Too many museum professionals out there still feel that if you are a
non-profit that you don't have the right to make money which is not correct.
Non-profit refers to what happens to the money it makes not to whether or
not it makes any.

As for effects of Sept 11 on the Shedd, how can any of us know?  Are we
there?  It may seem all right out there in the USA but marketing researchers
are telling us its not.  Many people ARE still fearful and no spending.
What may be happening in some other area of the country is not necessarily
what is happening in Chicago at the Shedd.  All I got from their statement
was that the decline after the Sept 11 tragedy was the straw that broke the
camels back.  When I read about the Shedd I was saddened by the loss of
employment for those who lost jobs, but very glad to see that the animal
caretakers where not being effected.  They have a real issue, many of us who
have non-living collections could walk away for a short time without the any
long term harm to the objects, but living collections like those at the
Shedd require feeding and care.

These are just my two cents
Tracie Evans
Cassville, WI
----- Original Message -----
From: David E. Haberstich <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 10:50 PM
Subject: Re: Mistrust (was re: Shedd slashing its staff)


> In a message dated 01-10-04 13:38:18 EDT, Indigo Nights wrote:
>
> << The other problem I've seen with the outside
>  candidates--especially in this era of the MBA
>  President (and I'm thinking of the Smithsonian as an
>  example here)--is the frustration in putting a
>  business only mindset in a field that is a lot more
>  complex than just numbers.  How does one attach a
>  value to an exhibit that is beyond monetary? >>
>
> Indigo, you contrast such "outside" people with "inside" folks who know
the
> "intricate details" of their profession and try to micromanage as the
result
> of this insider's experience.  But you don't need to be an insider to have
a
> micromanagement mentality.  Some of the "outside" types with a business
> background also are capable of micromanaging, precisely because they think
> manipulating purse strings will produce their desired results, without
> knowledge of or regard for the real needs of the staff and programs they
> supervise, and their value to the institution.  I have heard a top
> administrator with a business background, for example, summarily dismiss
the
> efforts of technicians and conservators to provide proper storage for
objects
> in their care on the grounds that the objects do not have a high enough
> marketplace value to justify the time devoted to the procedures.  He never
> asked about the cultural or historical significance of the objects, but
was
> concerned only about assumed monetary value (a peculiarly myopic view,
even
> from a "business" standpoint, since today's $100 artifact may become
> tomorrow's $10,000 treasure).
>
> If I had to choose my museum micromanagers, I'd much prefer one who is at
> least knowledgeable about some museum specialty over one from a business
> background who has the arrogance to think that managing a museum is
identical
> to managing a profit-making business and that everything is just a matter
of
> "common sense" which can be implemented at all levels.  I think the latter
> can be very dangerous.  Certainly any museum administrator needs good
> business sense (and should have some hard-nosed business advisors), but I
> like to see museum managers and directors who have paid their dues in the
> museum profession and, through interchange and association with colleagues
in
> other disciplines, have a healthy respect (not necessarily intimate
> knowledge) for all the staff, programs, activities, and collections under
> their jurisdiction.
>
> David Haberstich
>
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