momorantings

A little more than a week ago, I announced that I would be leaving Arena Stage to lead the marketing and membership efforts at the Smithsonian Associates at the end of March. I've been overwhelmed by the kind words and best wishes sent my way. For that, I am very grateful. Some have also asked if I plan to continue blogging. As you may have noticed over the years, my blog covers topics that I am passionate about, often times motivated by current trends and experiences. As I move from a performing arts organization to a museum and research institution, undoubtedly my perspective will evolve over time. However, I hope to continue to contribute to online dialogue and debate. My four-and-a-half years at Arena Stage have been the most rewarding and exhausting of my career. When one decides to pursue a career in a field they love, like many theater artists I know, these two adjectives are not mutually exclusive; in fact, many would argue that you can't have one without the other. Wh...

The rise of Jeremy Lin continues unabated. Six games, six wins culminating last night in his scoring of the game-winning basket with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. Ten days ago, he didn't have a contact and had spent two years struggling to find a team. Perhaps, that was because he graduated from Harvard rather than Kentucky, or perhaps it was because he is Asian-American. As he became an international celebrity, the story was framed as an example of the triumph of perseverance, but it's really a story of managerial myopia. He didn't fit the normal profile, so he didn't get the role. What is worse, in the age of Moneyball , he didn't get the role even though the metrics had been positively analysed over eighteen months ago. Knowing your market is crucial, but you need to back up those instincts with a respect for and full understanding of the numbers. If you don't, you lay yourself open to running with the crowd and acting on conventional wisdom.

Amongst the weird and wonderful installations at the Yayoi Kusama retrospective at Tate Modern, I noticed the following marketing snippets from a letter she wrote to a gallery owner and one from a press-release. I believe we should furnish good planning and material to the no-good magazines to make them more interesting, rather than simply avoiding them because they are no good. They have the handmade look that comes from expert craftsmanship. Both date from 1968. Both apply today.