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The Art Of The Turnaround: Creating And Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations (2008)

by Michael M. Kaiser(Favorite Author)

3.89 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1584657359 (ISBN13: 9781584657354)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Brandeis University Press

review 1: In the book The Art of the Turnaround, the author Michael M. Kaiser gives advice to his fellow arts administrators on how to help struggling non-profit arts organizations come back from the brink of closure. He does this through a series of real-world examples in which he plays the central role of “Turnaround King”. From his humble beginnings at the Kansas City Ballet to his final installment at The Kennedy Center, Kaiser expounds on his many adventures as non-profit arts administrator. He talks about how he started knowing very little about how to affect change in troubled organizations. He admits he made mistakes, but he also learned from those mistakes very quickly. He says you cannot afford to make mistakes in these types of situations because the organizati... moreon is already low on funds and a lot must be done with very little. In addition, he claims most financial troubles do not stem from excessive spending but from not having enough funding in the first place. Furthermore, Kaiser states that organizations in crisis usually have problems with leadership structure. His formula for creating change in these situations essentially boils down to implementing a strategic plan which emphasizes effective marketing strategies for “good art”. Kaiser makes his job sound rather simple at first. However, as progress is made through the book it can be inferred that making a 180 degree turn with any arts organization can be a rather cumbersome process.
review 2: As an aspiring arts administrator, I think this is a wonderful resource for aspiring, upcoming and future arts administrators. It definitely shows that there's a lot to putting together a production and that not only should the artistic director be involved in the future of the performing arts organization but all have to be involved from the Board Members to the staff of the performing arts organization. Tough decisions must be made but there must be a clear focus and destination for the preforming arts organization. Mr. Kaiser clearly illustrates this through sharing his experiences turning around these performing arts organizations represented in the book. less

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