Managing at the Leading EdgeBy Mike Hudson Pub Directory of Social Change ISBN 1903991439 £16.95 [£20.51 inc p&p] This book offers Mike Hudson’s conclusions from extensive research with CEOs of US nonprofit organisations, foundations, academics, and consultants. The US nonprofit sector is significantly different to the UK’s, and the book does not address arts issues specifically. But there is some sound material in the six core chapters, of interest to arts managers at all levels. The first chapter provides a useful categorisation of the components of “Capacity Building”. The second, on “Managing Performance” highlights the trend towards outcome measurement, and its difficulties (don’t worry - looks like they haven’t solved this either). “Exploiting Changing Patterns of Funding” has a particularly US perspective, but it clearly outlines funders’ tendency to be increasingly demanding and involved in the organisations they support. It also offers an interesting introduction to Venture Philanthropy. The chapter on “Strategic Alliances” has little direct application to the UK arts sector, where co-production is about as far as we are prepared to go. “Leading with Integrity”, summarises the key challenges of the successful leader (though remember that this is a survey of those self-same leaders; their practice may be rather different). “Strengthening Governance” is worthy, but surprisingly lacking in originality. Unfortunately the final chapter rather unexpectedly introduces new aims
for the book, namely a comparative US/UK study and mutual US/UK learning
opportunities. It does not do justice to either.
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