In Sunday’s (5/3) Reno Gazette-Journal (Nevada), Scott Faulkner, who stepped down as executive director of the Reno Chamber Orchestra on May 2, writes about ten lessons he learned in his fourteen years with the orchestra. Here are excerpts: “Beware distractions. It is very easy to pour time and resources into pursuing dazzling people or events that really don’t align with an organization’s mission. Stick to your mission! Trust your gut. It’s really easy to over-think a decision. In hindsight the right choice is usually your first instinct. Sound the alarm early. Informing board members and other key decision makers that things are not perfect does not make you a bad manager. It always renders a better result. It always comes down to governance. Non-profits that fail ultimately do so because of insufficient oversight by the board. There is nothing more crucial to a non-profit institution than a strong board. Words mean things. It is important to always consider how your words will affect people. Communication is critical to building and maintaining all the relationships of an orchestra manager. Over-communicate your message. In our media-saturated world there is a lot of noise and it’s tough to cut through it.” Faulkner is on the faculty of the League’s Essentials of Orchestra Management seminar, to be held July 7-16, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.”
Posted May 4, 2015
