ELNYA Book Club
ELNYA’s Book Club meets 5-6 times a year, usually on a Tuesday evening, to discuss books about the cultural sector, management, innovation, and best practices. Discussion focuses on practical application versus close textual criticism. You don’t have to read the whole book to participate–it’s not school!
To RSVP for any Book Club meeting, or to volunteer your office, board room, studio, or living room for a Book Club meeting (the space only needs to fit 10-12 people) please contact the Book Club Mistress, Christy Bolingbroke, through our Contact Form. Just select “Book Club” from the drop-down menu.
Next Book Club:
Tuesday, September 21, 6:30PM
The Ask: A Novel by Sam Lipsyte
RSVP through our Contact Form
And save these dates for future Book Club meetings:
- Tuesday, November 16, 2010–The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success by Scott Eblin
- Tuesday, January 18, 2011–TBD
- Tuesday, March 15, 2011–TBD
- Tuesday, May 17, 2011–TBD
Keep track of upcoming ELNYA Book Club conversations:
• Subscribe to ELNYA events via Google Calendar
• Or subscribe with iCal
Past selections include:
05.18.10
Mass Career Customization: Aligning the Workplace with Today’s Nontraditional Workforce
by Cathleen Benko and Anne Weisberg
So few arts and NFP orgs are large enough to host more than a stepladder of climbing opportunities, much less the corporate lattice work suggested. Nevertheless, interested in any suggestions to battle burnout or sustain ourselves has we push against the “grey ceiling,” we read on. MCC suggests employees operate on four cylinders – Pace, Workload, Location/Schedule, and Role. The idea is that as personal responsibilities develop, you may dial up or down in any one area; this concept giving you the vocabulary to converse with your employer and navigate the evolution of your career within an organization instead of hopping from company to company.
We identified that this Utopian alternative to a flex-work benefit plans only works if you have enough staff to absorb the customized workload and each others’ role evolutions. Sadly, most NFPs are already short staffed; book clubbers present work at orgs with a staff size of 15 or less. BUT, we also recognized that before we could even introduce a structure like MCC, we first need standard performance reviews. Almost without exception, all those present do not receive regular performance reviews.
If you are interested in finding out more about Mass Career Customization, check out the website.
03.16.10
The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas
by G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa
“We agreed none of the material presented was earth-shattering and the book could have been half as long if it wasn’t so self-referential at the end of every chapter. But as it was written from a for-profit perspective negotiating buy-in among the bureaucracy of a corporation, it was interesting to note that although not-for-profits focus on building relationships with donors all the time, we don’t always apply the same approach to inter-office relationships. Why wouldn’t we focus on building relationships with our colleagues to create human capital and gain their buy-in on projects and ideas? Just food for thought.”–Christy, Book Mistress
01.19.10
The Pirate’s Dilemma
by Matt Mason
The basic idea is that piracy develops out of independent thinking individuals who see a need in their world and break boundaries to meet that need. They can become so successful that their new product or business model can become the new way of doing things. It really highlights the idea of authentic expression; even if appropriated and tweaked from others. (sidebar: Check out the article in today’s NYTimes about Starbucks getting back to their roots and doing things their way, indie-style). From this starting point, our conversation focused on the idea of embracing new technology in our work – administratively and artistically – to compete for the general public’s attention. Would this make our art more relevant to society; speaking to them on their terms? Does that compromise your artist’s vision? How could we get buy in (ie. unions) to free us to use Web 2.0 more? Because what definitely came across is if we do not compete, we become obsolete.With most examples rooted in the punk scene, we agreed you come away with an idea of how youth culture and the very nature of adolescence has affected change in music, radio, and technology. Looking at the arts and not-for-profit sector, perhaps we as emerging leaders are the pirates to affect change in our fields. If interested, you can also follow the author’s blog. –Christy, Book Mistress
11.17.09
Managing Your Boss
by John Gabarro and John Kotter
09.19.09
Good and Plenty: The Creative Successes of American Arts Funding
by Tyler Cowen
07.21.09
Strategic Intuition: The Creative Spark in Human Achievement
by William Duggan
05.19.09
Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy
by Lawrence Lessig
03.24.09
Engaging Art: The Next Transformation of America’s Cultural Life
Edited by Bill Ivey
02.03.09
The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations
by Michael Kaiser
11.18.08
Digital Giving: How Technology is Changing Charity
by Richard C. McPherson
09.23.08
The Word of Mouth Manual, Vol. II
by Dave Balter
07.22.09
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t
by Jim Collins
05.27.08
RenGen: Renaissance Generation
by Patricia Martin
03.25.08
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
by Daniel Pink
01.23.08
360 Degree Leader
by John C. Maxwell
–> Info on Upcoming Books, coming soon!
