Category: Management
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Making Sense of Spaghetti
In small museums, leadership can feel like a tangled bowl of spaghetti—confusing, overlapping, and hard to follow. Who’s actually in charge? Is it the board, a foundation, the government, or all of the above? This post walks you through how to identify key players, analyze governing documents, and create a clear leadership map to clarify…
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Accidental Fundraisers
Fundraising is essential to museum sustainability, but not every fundraiser starts with a donation ask. Sometimes, the most successful efforts begin with a desire to serve. In this post, I share how a simple rummage sale—born from leftover craft supplies—evolved into an annual event that raised thousands and strengthened community ties. With no big campaign,…
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The Third Choice
Leadership often means facing tough choices with no perfect answers. At a recent lunch with fellow museum directors, one new leader shared a challenging situation, hoping for clarity. I offered three options: confront the issue directly, take the middle ground with policies and diplomacy, or—yes—do nothing. Each path has consequences, and none are easy. But…
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Do You Have Volunteers or Volunteer Employees?
Every museum says it: “We couldn’t function without our volunteers.” But some rely on them so deeply, they wouldn’t exist without them. These essential individuals—volunteer employees—aren’t paid, yet their absence would halt operations. They lead tours, build exhibits, restore artifacts, and run programs. Despite their impact, they’re not classified as employees and receive no compensation…
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PastPerfect vs. CatalogIt
Choosing a collections management system can feel overwhelming—especially when balancing reliability with modern needs. PastPerfect has long been a trusted favorite, offering comprehensive features and authority control. But for many museums today, CatalogIt’s cloud-based, mobile-friendly design offers a refreshing, user-friendly alternative. In this post, I break down the pros and cons of each platform, from…
Kaleidoscope HF 