2022 Book Review
Books for Arts Administrators
When I started blogging in 2016, I talked about changing the narrative. Fast forward six years, and at the beginning of 2022 I began saying the narrative is changing. I know the challenges facing classical music and the arts sector more broadly aren’t solved — far from it — but I do see without a doubt that most organizations are doing at least some things differently.
Six years ago, arts organizations weren’t talking about centering their communities, the words “company culture” weren’t even really part of the vernacular, flexible or remote work was a non-starter, and steps towards greater representation on stage and off was an afterthought. Today, all of that is part of regular discussion, written into job descriptions, on board meeting agendas, and codified in strategic plans. Yes, there is still so far to go on these topics as well as so much work ahead to regain revenue and relevance…but, wow, there is movement. There are bright spots all over, and if you’re reading this, you are part of that momentum.
Through the years, books have given me an entire education on my leadership journey. I always take notes and refer back to them regularly as various situations warrant, and writing these roundups always helps cement each tome’s broad ideas and concepts. This is now the sixth year of my book review posts (you can view past years’ lists here), and I hope these titles help you professionally just as they did me.
This year’s reads furthered my understanding about the future of work, unlocked new superpowers, offered a blueprint for renovating company culture, challenged me to rethink some things, gave me inspiration from outside the arts, and as always, fueled me with new ideas and research-based best practices.
If you’re new to my book reviews, listed below in chronological order are the business (or business-related) books I read this year, along with a note about why I read each one and/or what I got out of it. Here’s to 2023 and empowering ourselves to continue to learn and grow. The narrative is changing because of it.
Remote Work Revolution
Tsedal Neeley
At the beginning of 2022 as organizations were still returning to the office, I had questions. Can arts admin jobs be fully remote? What do we do about the disparity in jobs that can’t be done remotely? How do we make sure we keep the benefits of flexibility but also provide opportunities for face-to-face connection? How do we compensate employees on the payroll who are now living in different regions with different costs of living? I turned to an organizational behavior professor at Harvard Business School in Tsedal Neeley, who dissects that there’s not just one way to work (the way we’ve all known for so long), as well as provides practical, actionable alternatives to help our teams coalesce amidst new norms.
Influence is Your Superpower
Zoe Chance
I’ve long cited Zoe Chance’s research in my work on the customer experience, and in this book, she expands on her findings. Whether you are negotiating a contract, writing marketing copy, making a pitch to your boss, public speaking, or needing to persuade anyone on just about anything, Chance shows that we all have the superpower of influence — and gives us the tools to harness it.
Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work
Reshma Saujani
From the founder of Girls Who Code, Pay Up was the next title in what had become a full-on obsession to learn more about the future of work. Some of what Saujani covers I knew firsthand as a working woman, but she also lays out some surprising data around just how much the deck is stacked against women across all kinds of professions, especially those with kids and without equal partners. More important though, she doesn’t merely dwell on why not just women, but the entire workforce is suffering because of these issues, she offers ways forward to address them, a fight for which we need all genders to be a part.
Culture Renovation
Kevin Oakes
There’s a lot of talk about company culture these days. The good news is that didn’t used to be the case in the arts and now it is (the narrative is definitely changing here); but the not-as-good news is I was struggling to find actionable advice on how to lead a company through such an evolution. Enter Oakes, head of the world’s leading HR research firm, who through data and case studies outlines 18 steps that can work for any company, from corporate giants to artistic institutions. If you’re looking for a company culture playbook, this one is the gamechanger you seek.
Think Again
Adam Grant
In a world that’s increasingly polarized, full of echo chambers in our feeds, and which results in a tendency to dig in our heels on our opinions, Grant says “not so fast.” As the narrative is changing in the arts, this book gave me tools to help others in the field rethink their long-held views about our industry, as well as helped me revisit, reframe, and reconsider some of my own thoughts. I can’t get enough of Wharton’s favorite professor, and he didn’t disappoint in his latest bestseller.
The Future of Classical Music — Part 1
David Taylor
If you’ve been questioning what the future holds for classical music (and honestly, who in this industry hasn’t?), this compilation of articles, talks, and ideas from thought leader David Taylor is for you. What do we do about our digital content going forward? Why are cheap tickets not the driver of young person attendance we might think they are? Why aren’t more orchestra CEOs maintaining an online presence in the age of celebrity CEOs in every other industry (thank goodness it’s not just me also wondering that one)? Taylor tells it like it is as well as offers ways forward on each of his queries. In a book full of provocations, only one question remains: when do we get part two?
The Forever Transaction
Robbie Kellman Baxter
Why in the arts do we see declining subscriptions (some even proclaiming the model is dead) when the subscription economy dominates almost every other industry out there these days, from software to toothbrushes? It turns out there’s a lot we’re doing differently from Netflix and co., and Baxter, the foremost expert on this subject (she’s the one who originally coined the term “membership economy”) breaks down their winning approach. This book is essential reading for anyone who works directly with subscriptions, memberships, or donations. It’s tactical, strategic, applicable, and — I can’t believe how nerdy what I’m about to say next is — I am bursting with excitement to implement everything she preaches at the organizations I work with.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard
Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Maybe the biggest takeaway on change management for me yet is that people don’t avoid change because they’re lazy; more often they avoid change because they’re exhausted. Funny enough, that thesis wasn’t written in the last two years as burn out has been so pervasive…it was published in 2010. But with research and excellent examples, the Heath brothers show no matter in what year you’re reading, how to offer clarity to combat resistance, provide emotional connection to unblock the mental fatigue, and shape the environment to encourage the desired behaviors. An oldie but goodie, Switch has my brain spinning with better approaches I’ve already been employing to keep the narrative changing going forward.
Thus concludes my business reading of 2022, and I hope this roundup is helpful to my fellow administrators in the field. If you do read any of these titles, I’d love to hear about it. Meanwhile, all best wishes for a prosperous year of learning and growth ahead. The narrative is changing, and I’m glad all you bookworms are a part of it.
See past book reviews here.
Interested in more data-backed strategies to grow revenue at your arts organization? Order my book, Run It like a Business: Strategies to Increase Audiences, Remain Relevant, and Multiply Money — without Losing the Art.
You’ll learn how to:
- Grow audiences and keep them coming back again
- Make our organizations more inclusive
- Get younger attendees in the seats and on the donor rolls
- Generate millions more dollars in revenue
- Continue to create the art we love — without the stress of figuring out how to afford it
Just because your arts organization is a non-profit, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t make money; it means the money the organization makes goes back to fund the mission — whether that’s music, visual arts, theatre, dance, or one of many other mediums that enrich our lives.
About the Author
Hailed as “the Steve Jobs of classical music” (Observer) and “Sheryl Sandberg of the symphony” (LA Review of Books), Aubrey Bergauer is known for her results-driven, customer-centric, data-obsessed pursuit of changing the narrative for the performing arts. A “dynamic administrator” with an “unquenchable drive for canny innovation” (San Francisco Chronicle), she’s held offstage roles managing millions in revenue at major institutions including the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As chief executive of the California Symphony, Bergauer propelled the organization to double the size of its audience and nearly quadruple the donor base.
Bergauer helps organizations and individuals transform from scarcity to opportunity, make money, and grow their base of fans and supporters. Her ability to cast and communicate vision moves large teams forward and brings stakeholders together, earning “a reputation for coming up with great ideas and then realizing them” (San Francisco Classical Voice). With a track record for strategically increasing revenue and relevance, leveraging digital content and technology, and prioritizing diversity and inclusion on stage and off, Bergauer sees a better way forward for classical music and knows how to achieve it.
Aubrey’s first book, Run It Like A Business, published in February 2024.
A graduate of Rice University, her work and leadership have been covered in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Thrive Global, and Southwest Airlines magazines, and she is a frequent speaker spanning TEDx, Adobe’s Magento, universities, and industry conferences in the U.S. and abroad.
