{"id":2452,"date":"2008-12-02T17:02:33","date_gmt":"2008-12-02T22:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icsom.org\/senzasordino\/?p=2452"},"modified":"2019-08-02T17:05:46","modified_gmt":"2019-08-02T21:05:46","slug":"michael-kaiser-print","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icsom.org\/senzasordino\/2008\/12\/michael-kaiser-print\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Kaiser In Print"},"content":{"rendered":"

Title: <\/strong> The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations <\/em>
\nAuthor: <\/strong> Michael M. Kaiser
\nPublisher: <\/strong> Brandeis University Press
\nPublication Date: <\/strong> September 2008
\nISBN: <\/strong> 978-1-58465-735-4
\nHardcover: <\/strong>204 pages
\nT<\/span>he overwhelmingly positive and inspiring message of Michael Kaiser\u2019s new book, The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations<\/em>, might best be summarized in his statement from the penultimate chapter: \u201c…when you do good art and market it well, you will have the funds to support your art…\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Currently president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Mr. Kaiser has earned the sobriquet \u201cthe turnaround king\u201d for his success at taking troubled arts organizations from the edge of collapse to new illustrious heights. After success in the business world, he accepted his first appointment as an arts manager with the Kansas City Ballet. He has gone on to manage the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the American Ballet Theater, London\u2019s Royal Opera House, and, since 2001, the Kennedy Center. As president of the Kennedy Center his innovations have led to surpluses in every year of his tenure.<\/p>\n

I took an unusually long amount of time reading this book. On every page I lingered over some thought-provoking sentence about arts management or the need for institutional marketing. My copy of the book, less than two months old, is dog-eared, underlined, and highlighted. Probably to the annoyance of my colleagues, I found myself reading passages aloud to anyone who would listen.<\/p>\n

For everyone who cares about the arts, and especially those of us who seek a deeper understanding of how to manage truly successful arts organizations, this book is required reading.<\/p>\n

A meaningful review could be written simply by reciting some of the quotes I underlined:<\/p>\n

… threatening bankruptcy is not the way to create fiscal health.<\/p>\n

In only the rarest instance is excessive spending the true root of the problems of an arts organization.<\/p>\n

The truth is that the usual culprit is the absence of a dynamic marketing program that conveys the excitement of a thriving artistic program.<\/p>\n

The world is littered with companies who were sick and raised extraordinary funds to pay off the debt but did not solve the problems that created the debt and fell back into the hole.<\/p>\n

… it is easier to raise funds for a visible organization…<\/p>\n

Arts organizations must seriously address the lack of arts education in the public schools.<\/p>\n

… too many arts organizations were cutting back on programming just at the time they needed to expand.<\/p>\n

In his introduction, Mr. Kaiser lays out ten rules for a turnaround. They are all relevant to the message that symphonic musicians and ICSOM has been articulating. Some of these rules are:<\/p>\n