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August 6, 2010
Welcome to On Our Minds Twice a month we enjoy sharing what WolfBrown consultants are reading, thinking, and talking about -- what's On Our Minds. It's our way of staying in touch with valued friends and colleagues, and passing along some worthwhile ideas.  Sign up to be a fan on WolfBrown's Facebook page!
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For those who have finished all three Stieg Larsson novels, I
have three suggestions for your summer reading list:
1. The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution, by David
La Piana, explains why traditional strategic planning, which generates agreement
on lists of long-term goals and activities is not very useful for today's
challenges. He urges organizations to resist
letting the need for internal alignment inhibit them from making tough, but
unpopular decisions. They should develop
consensus, if not unanimity, around the right organizational,
programmatic and operational strategies. They should also be nimble, developing dynamic strategies, which can be
modified in response to changing circumstances.
2. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by
Chip Heath & Dan Heath,
uses counter-intuitive research in psychology and sociology to shed new light on
how we can effect transformative change. The primary obstacle to change, say the Heath
brothers, is competition for control between the rational and emotional parts
of our brains. "The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind
wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work;
the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can
doom a change effort-but if it is overcome, change can come quickly." Switch uses entertaining anecdotes to outline a process for breaking down the barriers
to change.
3. The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change, by
Allison Fine and Beth Kanter, contains valuable practical and contextual information
about how non-profit organizations can use social media strategies to further
their missions. The book emphasizes that
the effective use of these new technologies is predicated on having transparent
and empowered relationships with an organization's supporters.
These books may not have the titillating suspense of Larsson's
"Millennium Trilogy" novels, but reading them will give you a strategic head
start preparing for the Fall arts season (and won't require remembering obscure
Swedish names and places).
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How Bad is the
'Creativity Crisis?'
by: Tom Wolf
When a popular national magazine like Newsweek declares that there is a new
'crisis,' I do what many readers do. I
turn right to the article, and
then automatically become skeptical.
When the article proclaims a 'creativity crisis,' my antennae become
even more fine-tuned. What is a 'creativity crisis?'
And how do they know there
is one?
Regardless of my skepticism, the article, based on a half
century of research by E. Paul Torrance and others, raises concerns about the creative
competency and competitiveness of our workforce. Historically, Torrance's creativity index has
been a good predictor of young people's creative accomplishments as adults, and
after many years of seeing the creativity index rise in the U.S., it is now on
the decline. This is bad news for
business, as a highly creative workforce helps us to be competitive in world
markets. According to Newsweek, this
decline may have reached crisis proportions.
The article makes me wonder about the
basis for such conventional creativity tests designed 50 years ago. These tests most
likely do not measure digital forms of creativity (e.g., re-mixing and sampling
music, electronic "curating" of photo albums) that are currently such
a large part of the creative life of young people. Could it be that their
innate creativity is simply utilizing new tools and being expressed
in unconventional forms? I have always
tested high on traditional
creativity tests but my seven-year-old grandson is far more creative when it
comes to digital activities.
The overall message of this article is one we can all agree
on: there is a need for a different kind of educational approach in this
country that is not solely controlled by standardized tests and strict
curricula, but rather is based on identifying and solving problems with a hands-on
approach, and is available for everyone.
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A New Generation of Leadersby: Marc GoldringMaybe it's just where I'm sitting but I am struck by
the unambiguous reality of the "leadership transition" that has been talked
about and fretted over for years: it's finally happening! The number of
energetic, thoughtful, articulate leaders who are (or appear to be) under 40 at
the Americans for the Arts' 50th anniversary convention in Baltimore
in June was truly impressive. This should not be surprising given how much effort AFTA has put
into cultivating this new generation of leaders. Note, for example, AFTA's Emerging Leaders Network, which provides intensive networking opportunities and
scholarships for professional development, among other programs.
What is more interesting than the simple emergence of
these leaders is their focus and
perspective. You could hear it at many of the panel sessions: attention
to and comfort with innovation, openness to new ways of conducting business, an
awareness of the need to not only do more with less but to "do less better."
I was particularly impressed with the new publication of the National
Alliance for Media Art and Culture called "Leading Creatively: A Closer Look 2010," which is available for a short time as a PDF download
(~24MB) before publication. Also, the concept of "omni-directional mentorship"
described by Edward Clapp, whose "20under40" will be published this month, is well worth a look. These
are fabulous antidotes to the rut we can get into about the hard times our
sector faces - yes, no doubt these are hard times, but the talent that's out
there is encouraging.
Help is on the way.
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