photo by Nick Carlson

At a recent board meeting, a trustee said, “You are doing a great job.  Now do less.”

“You took the family to Disneyland this year.  Next year, have super stay home vacation.  Just make sure everything you do fulfills your mission and builds your capacity.”   Everyone in the room nodded this direction into a directive and I was thrilled.

Now what?

What is that going to look like for Queens Council on the Arts after a very full and financially sound year?  What exactly are we going to do less of?

We are going to:

Focus on one fundraising goal:  building up organizational capacity by increasing our cash reserve.

Fold all programs under one unifying theme:  the Queens Art Express.

Follow what artists are telling us they want:  creative, connective community space – oh, and cash, of course.

Fine tune everything we do according to the above and do less of everything else.

One of my project directors told me he was surprised that one of the goals of his project was not realized in the way he had originally thought but other unexpected successes did occur.  What this tells me is that it is time to redesign our success according to what is really going on.

If you are in the business of creating a product to sell, you want to have a loyal and growing market base that loves your stuff.  They will tell you what they want.  You should listen to them, adjust your product and redefine your expectations.  Give them what they ask for and make them feel good about it.  Repeat as necessary.

If you are in the service business, this is even more important.

No matter how hard I try, there will always be an extra ten pounds on me.  No matter how lean you think your operations are, there will always be some fat you can cut.  Or ways to integrate complementary interests.  Can an awards ceremony be a fundraiser?  Can an artist mixer be a trade show?  How about  a chamber music performance as a commissioning club?  Before you decide to do any event, program or business initiative, ask yourself:  will this move my mission, my goal, my bottom line forward?

If yes, do less.

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