2,272 stories by "Joe Patti"
VolunteerMatch’s Engaging Volunteers blog recently drew attention to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report (BLS) that shows volunteer rates are continuing to drop. As the post author Tes…
I was really intrigued by the results of a recent study coming out of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs that shows “managers play down their c…
Seth Godin recently posted that it is good to share our “give up goals,” the things we are going to give up in order to improve ourselves. The idea is that if we backslide, our f…
In international trade, having a most favored nation agreement means that your country will receive trade terms on par with the most favorable terms offered to another country. When it comes…
My interest was recently piqued when I read a piece in The Economist which reported that two opera conservatories in Sweden declined to admit male singers because they were not up to standar…
By and large I keep things general and relatively low on direct criticism in my blog posts. However, since the goal of this blog is to engender better practices in arts organizations, I …
When I read a post on Marginal Revolution blog about high end stores hiding cash registers in favor of roving sales associates with mobile checkout devices, I immediately wondered if there m…
Jason Gots, editor and creative producer over at Big Think recently wrote about “The Upside of Amateurism.” He is troubled by the perception that so much value is being placed on…
Today the Hewlett Foundation released the results of a study on a question I have regularly written about over the last 7-8 years– When will non-profit executives retire so the younger…
With all the recent emphasis about the responsibility of a non-profit board to practice good governance and oversight it may come as a surprise to learn that refraining from approving the tr…
One of the most interesting This American Life shows that I have come across and have listened to a couple times is about an auto manufacturing plant that Toyota and GM built in partnership.…
In the process of trying to convince people of the value of attending a live event, performing arts people will often cite the opportunity for chaos. They will say something along the lines …
I was listening to an interview with Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Concertmaster Holly Mulcahy today and there were a couple things said that jumped out at me. (Not the least of which was i…
The one activity related to performances that regularly is a source of frustration for my staff is getting certificates of liability insurance from people. This is one of those requirements …
If you try to hold an event somewhere, you will most likely be asked to provide general liability insurance coverage for the event. If you are an established company that already has insuran…
While I driving around recently, I heard an interview with This American Life creator, Ira Glass, talking about the early days of his career (from about 16:00-20:00 minutes) The main thrust …
Last week I was sent a link to an infographic purporting to list what arts careers were best for what personality types. I offer this as a bit of fun and entertainment for your Monday. Gener…
14 years ago today, I started writing this blog. I really never think of myself as a writer, but looking back to some of the earliest posts I see proof of just how important constant practic…
A bit of harsh truth here that I think is pretty much widely recognized, but also generally remains unspoken. A lot of the correspondence I get from artists and agents goes directly into the…
Last week there was an article on Salon with the click bait-y title, “Stop buying old Bob Dylan albums: "Every time somebody buys a reissue, they're just taking money away from new mus…
With the news that people are increasingly valuing a degree of interactivity in their cultural experiences sitting in the back of my mind, I have been keeping my eyes open for interesting pr…
A couple days ago, CityLab had an article about a fledgling sharing economy start up called Lokafy that pairs tourists with local residents willing to act as tour guides to the “real&#…
I don’t recall what originally brought it to my attention or caused me to read it more closely, but the Executive Director job search announcement for Forecast Public Art struck me as …
Non-profits often seek lawyers to serve on their boards. However, it is important to note that having a lawyer on your organization’s board is not the same thing as having a lawyer rep…
Possible evidence of what I suggested yesterday regarding the need to discuss all the career paths available to arts grads comes in a post last week by Alex Tabbarok Marginal Revolution blog…
