Intelligent Naivety is inspiration for would be Cultural Entrepreneurs from the founders of CultureLabel.com, an online marketplace for cultural shopping from the world’s coolest culture brands. See www.CultureLabel.com and www.CultureLabel.com/agency for more about how we work with cultural organisations all around the world

1. INTELLI-
GENT
naivety
Commercial Opportunities for
Museums & Culture Institutions
SIMON CRONSHAW & PETER TULLIN
WITH A FOREWORD BY MARCEL KNOBIL,
FOUNDER OF SUPERBRANDS
a
production in partnership with

2. FOReword:
Where would Citroen be without Picasso,
L’Oréal without De Stijl, Hovis without
Dvorak, etc? Product design and its
Commerce has
promotion frequently exploit a feast of
cultural inspiration. But has the ‘Culture
Vulture’ delivered much in return?
borrowed so It certainly isn’t a one-way relationship,
but it’s not a marriage of equal partners.
much from For cultural endeavour to flourish, as it
deserves to do so, it needs to capitalise
culture. But upon entrepreneurial talent and approaches.
This isn’t compromise it’s enterprise.
has culture Not only does ‘Intelligent Naivety’ recognise
that there can be a fruitful marriage between
borrowed
culture and commerce but it provides
excellent marriage guidance.
As culture and business increasingly
enough from become interwoven there will obviously
be some critical challenges ahead.
commerce?
They include the complex navigation of
capitalising upon the skills of commerciality
whilst maintaining cultural integrity.
It’s demanding; it provides ample opportunity;
it’s frightening; it’s the art of the possible.
I have no doubt that many relish
the ride on the cultural brand wagon.
Marcel Knobil
Founder of Superbrands
and Creative & Commercial

3. ‘Entrepreneurship’... have you ever heard In this book, we’ve attempted to introduce
such a colourless word for describing some of our thinking. Our snippets are
such an electrifying activity? Where has its intended to be used as diving boards
sense of liberation and immediacy gone? for your own thoughts and responses,
The spirit of ‘entre’: to undertake, to do, to rather than fully-formed answers. They
act, to create. No forms to fill in, no waiting are woven around seven areas that we
for permission, no dilution, no excuses, no believe are critical to get right in order
boundaries... Just knowing your customers, for entrepreneurship to flourish within a
spotting a great idea you know they’ll love, museum or culture institution. We hope that
and getting on with doing it. you’ll use them to stimulate debate and ask
questions, to review established norms and
Words aside, where better to get on and
to explore new perspectives.
HELLO
do great ideas than the space where culture
and consumers meet? A space ripe for new, At its heart, entrepreneurship is one big
original thinking as mainstream consumers balancing act – hence ‘intelligent naivety’:
demand more and better interactions with the rational and the instinctive representing
cultural content, experiences and brands. just two ingredients essential for the mix.
As entrepreneurship is all about supplying
For museums and culture institutions,
that consumer demand, it provides the
devising a healthy strategy to balance the
bridge that directly fuses culture institution
cultural and the commercial makes the
with consumer.
difference between a strained marriage
Entrepreneurship and cultural creativity of convenience and a mutual love-in with
are perfect bedfellows. Customer-focussed remarkable babies.
by nature, commercial activity in a museum
or culture institution lives to identify and We’re looking forward to seeing
systematically understand consumer wants where you take it.
and desires, and enhance or add new
layers to the quality of the customer
experience. All of this whilst bringing in
a wad of fresh cash – to ultimately create
new and improved cultural content.
Yet, as complex and demanding beasts,
consumers represent an ongoing challenge
for even the savviest of consumer brands.
How can over-stretched museums and Simon Cronshaw & Peter Tullin
culture institutions recognise consumer Book authors and founders
needs, exceed consumer desires, and
of CultureLabel.com
leverage a sustainable source of income
without wrecking the very special relationship simon.cronshaw@culturelabel.com
they’ve created with their audiences? peter.tullin@culturelabel.com

4. CONTENTS 1. INTRO
Something from nothing 12
5. RESOURCED
Mutuality 46
Culture meets consumer culture Consumer culture 13 Core and periphery 47
Mainstreamed culture 14 Deal clinching 48
Dirty, dirty money 15 Joint ventures 49
Shakespeare, wheeler-dealer 16 Owner-worker 50
Totally immersed 17 Brand collusion 51
Seismic Shifts 18 Brand co-creation 52
Made and born 19 Aggregated institutions 53
Network mapping 54
Funding... what funding? 55
2. CONSUMER INSIGHT Owning the bottom line 56
Power source 22 Owning the decision 57
Interference 23 Space and time 58
Closer 24 Investing time 59
We have incoming 25
Under observation 26
Cross-fertilisation 27 6. STAFF
In the swim 28 Visionaires 62
Lessons in life 29 Deep dive 63
Internal flows 64
3. CULTURE ASSETS A flat new world 65
Back office 66
Business school 32
Work and/or play 67
Content without walls 33
Trusty steeds 68
Flexi-space 34
Forgiveness beats permission 69
Seesaw structures 35
Just rewards 70
Brand values 36
Trade-offs 71
Ties and bonds 37
I believe 72
4. OPPORTUNITIES KNOCK 7. SUPPLYING CONSUMER DEMAND
Trend creators, trend catchers 40
Brand-land 76
Currency of ideas 41
Boutique hotels 77
Back catalogue 42
Niche clusters 78
Generators and doers 43
Consuming producers 79

5. 1. INTRO
Start building the ‘new’

6. SOMETHING Consumer
1. INT RO // 13
FROM NOTHING culture
Starbucks came from the simple idea of What about the audience that doesn’t want
selling ready-made coffee as well as beans... to be developed? Those blighters that have
Sony started by visualising a non-military fixed views about what they want? There’s
use for the new transistor invention... Google bound to be a limit to how many people we
began by stringing together a bunch of can get through our doors, so why not look
low-end PC’s... Anyone can spend £50million to the much larger consumer masses; the
and create something, but where’s the skill, Mr and Mrs Bloggs busily getting on with their
the excitement, the endeavour? Creating cheerfully commercial lives, happily window-
something from practically nothing; pulling shopping for their next purchase? Take a leaf
together the right ingredients in order to out of the London Transport Museum – profile
start building the ‘new’; the skilful ability to your existence, expertise and collection
negotiate your way from a low bargaining through chic ‘Ultimate Travel’ suits in Ted
position to a position of strength. Now that’s Baker stores. Understand consumer lifestyles
where things get interesting. That’s the space as they are, and find convincing, seamless
where entrepreneurs are to be found. ways to insert cultural offerings. If the horse
won’t go to water, take the water to the horse
we say!
Brands are even using consumers to help
them create their advertising platforms
– see This Is Now (thisisnow.eu), a
European collaborative arts project by
Ford asking consumers to define ‘now’.

7. 1. INT RO // 15
Mainstreamed culture
The UK ushered in the era of the über had to shut its doors for the first time as
museum in 2000 when Wolf Ollins bagged over 35,000 tried to cram in for the Chinese
the Tate contract. More people were New Year! The O2, meanwhile, welcomed
in Tate Modern for the last day of Olafur more than a million paying visitors to
Eliasson’s Weather Project than were in Tutankhamen. Culture is infiltrating the high
Bluewater – Europe’s largest shopping street and beyond: from the Natural History
centre. SuperBrands 2008 placed the Museum’s T-Rex pyjamas in M&S, via John
Tate brand ahead of Manchester United, Lewis’ V&A secateurs, to the Science
Arsenal and even Vodafone. The British Museum’s educational toys. With well over
Museum has overtaken Blackpool Pleasure 40million visits to museums and galleries in
Beach as the UK’s most popular visitor England last year, culture has never been
attraction with 6.04million visitors – it even more in demand.
During the economic
gloom and doom, free Dirty, dirty
admission should money
encourage even more
A blank canvas providing inspiration for
a new imagined reality... A perfect sense
of timing, requiring split-second coordination
people to turn to culture
as the work builds in speed and complexity...
A need for outward fluency and grace,
underpinned by a ruthlessly-honed technical
– whether for a bargain
skill... A mastery of leadership, enabling a 10-
or 100-strong cast to fly effortlessly together
across the stage...
day out, or in the search
Who says commerce has no common ground
with culture? In a world where consumers
are too discerning to accept the naff or the
for deeper meaning.
stereotyped ‘dumbing down’, only the most
creative leaders can ever hope to surpass
consumer expectations.

8. 1. INT RO // 17
Shakespeare, wheeler-dealer
Whether courting the Court of Queen Madame Marie Tussaud’s talent
Elizabeth, or relocating to save the for the newly fashionable art of wax
finances of his co-investors, Shakespeare’s
entrepreneurial skill and nose for the modelling dominated the grisly post-
market were as good as his writings. Revolution niche of creating wax death
The roll-call of artists adept at negotiating masks. Spotting their macabre appeal,
and managing investment steers from she took the huge risk of going on tour
Chrétien de Troyes and Michelangelo
through to Ben Jonson and Mozart.
with them overseas to England. After
Every cultural object of beauty requires an 25 successful years on the road, she
appreciative audience; when there is no established a permanent Baker Street
dealer to stand between the two, the cultural Bazaar, and today eight attractions
institution must represent and promote itself
to the market. In this act, we’re standing
across the globe bear her name.
on the shoulders of some truly giant
cultural entrepreneurs.
Totally immersed
The car maker Toyota implements one million As masters of their own domains, the
new creative ideas each year (2,500 per day!), status quo is never good enough. From
achieving market leadership and encouraging these many small steps emerges a highly
a relentless pursuit of perfection. How? sustainable culture of innovation, meshed
They make innovation part of everyone’s job into the entire organisation rather than
description. Every staff member continually being reliant on a pigeonhole marked
asks themselves the simple question ‘Entrepreneurship Department’.
“Is there a better way?”

9. 1. INT RO // 19
SEISMIC SHIFTS Made and born
In the spirit of wild but true generalisations, retirement and suddenly have time to spare? The bad news is that some management guarantee that you’ll have a bunch of
the people of our nations are getting older, How do we create and position bite-size gurus think all entrepreneurs are simply born Bannatynes on your hands. It takes both:
more multicultural and increasingly pressed portions of our content for the time-poor multi- that way. But before you get HR to reach for the right people with the right structures and
for time. This in turn provides a plethora taskers? How can our cultural attitudes and more psychometric tests, the good news is socio-politics behind them. But get these
of challenges for culture institutions, and a outputs keep pace with the global nature of that many more disagree, claiming attempts two elements right, and you’ll be well on your
wealth of opportunities for entrepreneurial our economic and political bonds? A perfect at profiling the ‘perfect’ entrepreneur are way to making many more ‘somethings’ from
types... What do we have in the pipeline for time to step forward, ye innovators. inherently futile. But then the right innovative ‘nothings’. This makes entrepreneurship an
the baby boomers, especially when they hit environment, whilst essential, does not option that is available to all.

10. 2. CONSUMER
INSIGHT
Observe and understand - then respond

11. 2. CON SUM ER INSIGHT // 23
Interference
Recruiting staff from unlikely sources...
Shaking up team structures... Injecting
external opinions on a systematic basis...
Creative disruption is often a natural
accomplice to innovation. One means to
provide alternative perspectives on familiar
challenges is to import talent with experience
from outside the sector. Employing outsiders
equally helps to challenge the status quo
when developing new strategies. Moreover,
frequent reorganisation of staff structures may
seem traumatic, but placing people into a
new structure often stimulates them to rethink
what they’re doing on a day-to-day basis.
Information that better
“Get them to focus not on the inconveniences
of restructuring but on the satisfaction of
setting high goals and then knocking down
the barriers to achieving them,” advises
helps an institution Lieutenant General Ronald T. Kadis of the
U.S. Missile Defence Agency.
to understand the James Dyson uses the ‘musical chair’
theory to frequently move staff from
consumer is invaluable.
one team to another: “Somebody can
literally slot in and take someone else’s
place and often add a new perspective.
People aren’t always fond of doing
it… but two or three days later they
have grins all over their faces and are
enjoying the new thing they’re doing.
POWER SOURCE
It’s not something that comes naturally,
but if you do it everybody benefits.”
Information is the lifeblood of any The skill is in the handling: how it is acquired,
entrepreneurial institution. It is where captured, shared, managed, utilised,
incoming data and information meets protected. Information that better helps
with people’s skills, ideas, motivations an institution to understand the consumer
and knowledge. It encompasses creative is invaluable. It provides a starting point
thinking and ideas, the analysis of data for identifying new entrepreneurial activities,
and competing options, the practical and helps prioritise the co-ordination of
knowledge of getting the job done. scarce resources.

12. 2. CON SUM ER INSIGHT // 25
Closer WE HAVE INCOMING
Position matters when it comes to Consumer data lies at the centre of effective How can you engage the bedroom
entrepreneurship. Power is often directly relationship management and scanning for DJs, time-poor dreamers and the
related to your distance from the consumer new opportunities. Yet, with people’s natural
in the supply chain, so culture institutions at reluctance to hand over personal information, urban arts eclectic of the Arts Council
the interface with consumers instantly have capturing the data in the first place is an art England’s audience segmentation?
an advantage: a consumer-facing platform. form in itself. The maxim ‘collect only what Map this against other consumer
Other agents in the supply chain, from caterers you need, use all that you collect’ rings segments like ‘progressive middles’
to sponsors, probably need to filter themselves true for data capture strategies; a staged
through you. Why does this matter? Because, approach to capturing their personal lifestyle
for impressive insights.
as Van de Ven suggests, direct personal details across multiple touchpoints, online
confrontations with problem sources creates and off, is the order of the day. As consumer
enough concern and appreciation for motivating intelligence escalates in importance for the
people to act. By being in close proximity to the sector, expect to see a huge growth in the
consumer and listening hard, you’re best placed sophistication of data-driven marketing
to build, maintain and protect a consumer offer and demographic profiling.
that meets their needs.
Some artists are bypassing galleries
and heading straight to consumers.
Toy2R offers artists the chance to
design 3D products as well as 2D
prints. Recognisable and emerging
artists have sold millions of units
in both mass and limited edition
markets. Technology and collapsing
costs of marketing and distribution
are enabling the development of a
whole new range of platforms.

13. Under
2. CON SUM ER INSIGHT // 27
observation Cross-fertilisation
As traditional clipboard market research A near inexhaustible supply of new inspiration between industries, between countries,
continues to incite sophisticated avoidance can be harnessed by becoming a ‘connecting between institutions, between sectors...
techniques, 24-style observation methods node’. Take the lessons and successes of For culture institutions, with such a wide
may provide some of the answers. The goal one group, and apply them to a completely range of interesting contacts and connections,
is to inconspicuously monitor and document different context... Encourage and control this should be easy. Put your network to use,
consumers in their natural behaviours: what the exchange of concepts and ideas; accumulating power and influence for yourself
they do, how they interact, what they say... between individuals, between businesses, in the process.
It provides an easy insight into what really
matters to them, how they behave, and how Is the Information Age is giving way
they currently interact with your institution to the Connected Age? Knowledge
behind closed doors. A great start for spotting
areas for development, and an open door for
workers create and manage information,
helping to understand the complexity of your whereas new breeds of workers manage
consumer decision-making processes. relationships across knowledge goods,
hardware and people.
While so-called ‘lifestyle renegades’
consciously reject marketing, the rest
of us are bombarded daily by between
1,000 and 2,000 commercial
messages so have become adept
at avoidance techniques.

14. 2. CON SUM ER INSIGHT // 29
In the swim
A US survey revealed
Trust your instinct. You know what’s
creatively strong and ‘cutting edge’
simply from the conversations
that successful
you immerse yourself in on
a daily basis. Every informal
conversation, every email,
every daily interaction, every
magazine, every term
Googled... it’s all research.
Make a conscious decision
entrepreneurs have
to be in a heightened state of
sensory awareness, a Gladwell
‘Maven’, ferociously hoarding
an average of 3.5
business failures.
interesting snippets from the wider world.
If you’re outward-focussed as a leader, like
any good hound your institution will begin to
resemble its master.
The web provides a whole new
source of creative inspiration: see
www.askten.co.uk for ten new
things you didn’t know last week,
or Brian Eno’s Creative Block at
www.spaceforideas.uk.com
Lessons in life
Our memories as individuals mean that we to process and collectively remember.
often avoid repeating the same old mistakes. How can we get a good balance between
But as institutions, how can we be sure to this intelligence from experience and the
learn the lessons of experience? Previous deliberately naive, wide-eyed sense of
experience makes decisions seem less risky; adventure so essential to innovation?
success does seemingly breed success. It’s a continuous learning cycle for the
Equally, reasons for failure are important institution, and one that requires effective
knowledge systems.
A US survey revealed that successful
entrepreneurs have an average of 3.5
business failures. Many entrepreneurs
argue that you cannot succeed until
you experience failure.

15. 3. CULTURE ASSETS
Awaken the latent potential

16. 3. CULT URE ASSETS // 33
Business school
It’s not just about culture institutions getting “To understand the process of creative
advice from businesses anymore. Now it’s genius, it is valid for business people
all about turning it on its head: great cultural
managers teaching business leaders just to look at the model of the artist.
how to cope with constant change, adhoc The business of the artist is to create,
and flexible teams, personal expression, navigate opportunity, explore
creative people, emotional intelligence, possibility, and master creative
distributive leadership models... the list
goes on. And long gone are the days of
breakthrough. We need to restore
simplistic team-building workshops for art, the creation of opportunity,
businesses. Whether it’s Lego collaborating to business.” - Brandweek
with Birmingham’s Thinktank on interactive
learning and ‘serious play’, the rise of savvy
facilitators such as Menagerie and Trade
Secrets, or brands taking the ‘theatre of
retail’ concept to its logical conclusion,
techniques from the culture sector are
rapidly spilling over into the world beyond.
Content without walls
Galleries, museums, demolish those walls! creator, creating new questions: do we prefer
The ever-spiralling ability of technology to mass, selective or exclusive outlets for our
transform distribution channels provides assets? Who are the agents, distributors and
great opportunities for entrepreneurial uses other intermediaries in the chain to market?
of digitised cultural content. Changes in Where is value added (and by whom?) along
consumer demand provide new opportunities this chain? Single channel or multi-channel?
for hybrid culture spaces both on- and offline. Vertical or Horizontal Marketing Systems
The business model for culture institutions is for strategic partners? It’s all about getting
evolving to that of distributor as well as content out to where it is demanded.
O2 reports that nearly 80% of iPhone
users surf the web on their mobile.
With the unveiling of a new range
of smartphones such as Google’s G1,
the age of truly mobile platforms
for cultural content may finally be
dawning... The world’s knowledge:
location-responsive, interconnected
and in your hand.

17. 3. CULT URE ASSETS // 35
Flexi-space
At GSK Contemporary at the Royal Academy The Conran-operated Skylon
you can pop into the pop-up art restaurant restaurant at the newly refurbished
and enjoy lunch at the capital’s most talked-
about eatery. Once you’re done, buy your £111million Southbank Centre
plate; a Wedgwood collaboration with Will demonstrates how iconic design has
Broome. All of this takes place in a temporary transcended the cultural spaces into
installation that somehow feels integral to the rest of the venue.
the exhibition, an extension of the experience
rather than an unwelcome incumbent. The
art takes centre stage, but new pieces are
added and arranged to create a perfect
jigsaw. Mixing and matching spaces: exhibits
with retail, performances with workspaces,
catering with events, pop-up with permanent...
Seesaw structures
Culture institutions know a thing or two about delivery. The structures that enable this
balance. Balancing curation and consumption, delicate balancing act bestow a greater whole
intellect and accessibility, heritage and than the sum of individual parts: the holy grail
modernity, today’s market and tomorrow’s of many a manager. But do we understand
study, preparation and performance, intrinsic exactly how and why this works (or doesn’t)
and instrumental, public and private, in our own institution?
commercial and creative, perfection and
Nearly three-quarters of visitors visit
the website before travelling. The award-
winning GrandPalais.fr website sets the
standard for pre-visits with an awesome
3D fly-through.

18. 3. CULT URE ASSETS // 37
Brand values
Art and culture challenges the status quo,
the mundane, the everyday, the ordinary.
It elevates people to a higher ideal, a
commonality of history or social bonds,
or it dares to question the accepted norms
of today. It means something just as the
mainstream is increasingly demanding
more meaning. If handled well, the brands
of culture institutions – the guardians of this
valuable resource – make powerful antidotes
to the often hollow brands of commerce.
The difficult management task is to leverage
this value without damaging the very integrity
that makes it special.
The growth of ‘un-branding’ opens
new possibilities for institutions,
as traditional advertising loses its
impact. Eurostar co-financed the
award winning Shane Meadows
film, Somers Town, without any overt
branding. From the same Mother
stable came Pot Noodle: The Musical,
a critically-acclaimed Hamlet-
inspired stageshow, marking a
transition for brands to producers
of quality content.
Ties and bonds
Culture institutions are Malcolm Gladwell’s Who else is in such a position of trust to
Connectors, positioned at the intersect do this? Through an expanse of associations,
where a myriad of visitors, partners, friends, institutions inhabit such a unique blend of
staff, suppliers, consumers and supporters worlds, subcultures and niches, the network
converge. To put it simply, is there anyone of ‘weak ties’ is immense. And converting
better placed to spread info, create a latent network into a profitable exchange
interesting introductions, fertilise new hub is but one small step away...
thinking, or connect common souls?

19. 4. OPPORTUNITIES
KNOCK
Spot when the time is right

20. Trend creators, Currency
4.
trend catchers of ideas
OPPORTUNITIES KNOCK // 41
Matthews and Wacker charted a path from Like the £2 coin in your pocket, ideas
‘Fringe’ to ‘Social convention’ via ‘Edge’, represent value that is only realised when you
‘Realm of cool’, and ‘Next big thing’. ‘Trend actually spend it. There is not a simple model
creators’ are found in the fringe, constantly where ideas are created, considered and then
developing new ideas and creating a market either implemented or exterminated. Rather,
for them. They may be successful and take lots and lots of ideas swim around, they
the innovation to the mainstream themselves; disappear, they resurface. Multiple ideas are
or they may find larger firms imitating and formed over time, and each one goes through
ultimately overtaking them. ‘Trend catchers’, peaks and troughs in levels of interest or
meanwhile, identify and profit from future activity. At any point in time, there are multiple
trends they spot and then ride. Preparation ideas on the go. For ideas to be successfully
is critical: as Storey says, you not only need implemented, the time needs to be right. Only
to locate the boat in the fast flowing rivers when the right factors are lined up can the
but must anticipate the next wave of institution ‘spend’ the idea and implement it.
opportunity and prepare the crew to take
advantage of it as it passes.
Trend-scouts are not just the highly paid,
cool hunters at the edgy commercial
brand. Look closer to home ... the people
known as ‘file-givers’ that send you the
‘latest’ YouTube clips or MP3.
“You cannot make soup without water.
But a bowl of water is not a bowl
of soup. It is what you add to the
water that gives the ‘value’ of soup.”
– Edward de Bono

21. Generators
4.
and doers
OPPORTUNITIES KNOCK // 43
As more and more agencies see the value
of combining client account management
with creative, we don’t want to retread
their mistakes and split the ‘artistic’ from
the ‘entrepreneurial’ in culture institutions.
However, those that have the ideas may
not be best-placed to implement them.
It therefore makes sense to have an idea-
catching ‘net’ in the institution, whereby
anyone can offer ideas without
necessarily being expected to
implement them. The job of
co-ordinating implementation
falls upon the appointed ‘ideas
How do we make sure
champion’, who has the power to
gather together the appropriate
people and resources as
ideas don’t leave the
required. Then all that remains
is taking both originator and
champion
out for a well-deserved
institution as staff thank you drink.
come and go...
Back catalogue
If the time is not right for implementation, Codification converts knowledge into
institutions must find ways to store their ideas accessible formats – taking it from the head
for possible future use; creating their own to the record. It doesn’t require a multi-
‘back catalogue’ of ideas. How do we make million pound database system; it could
sure ideas don’t leave the institution as staff be as simple as an ‘ideas book’ or trend
come and go, especially if they are transient book for staff, providing a useful catalogue
staff in project-focussed teams? of inspiration whilst preserving a collective
memory of ideas.

22. 5. RESOURCED
Not just for the big guys

23. 5. RE
Mutuality CORE AND PERIPHERY
SOURCED // 47
Cultural and creative businesses lead the It is now commonplace to split staff into core “Trust is more easily given to those
market on understanding and leveraging and periphery workers – the former are full-time,
the value of collaboration with others.
whom one knows well over time.
the latter are specialists, to whom work is
One business or institution alone has a outsourced. We could increasingly see culture It should, therefore, be easier to trust
finite supply of resources to allocate to institutions fulfilling the periphery role for other insiders rather than outsiders. Yet,
the highest bidder. A poor position to be in, organisations. Smaller institutions, for example, perversely, we give a freer rein to
if your pockets aren’t that deep. When you would form symbiotic relationships with larger outside contractors than we do to our
collaborate, there is no obvious finite supply institutions as a survival strategy, ensuring a
of resources; you enter into a marketplace in continual flow of resources. Institutions of all
own workforce.” – Charles Handy
which you can buy, sell and share resources sizes, meanwhile, could perform specialist
without limits – there is always another services for other sectors. Back in the workplace,
‘stallholder’ available around the corner. meanwhile, and Charles Handy’s doughnut
Your success depends on your ability principle challenges organisations to better
to continually identify and negotiate with unlock the latent creativity under our noses.
collaborators, and then relentlessly leverage The secret is simple: treat ‘insiders’ like ‘outsiders’.
the assets you collectively bring to the table. Deal with employees as if they are external
suppliers, negotiating payments to teams
rather than individuals, giving more freedom
for different work styles and providing incentives
to be creative and improve productivity.

24. 5. RE
Deal clinching Joint ventures
SOURCED // 49
Getting through the door equals the hard Charles Saatchi memorably hired a The Royal Institute of Great Britain Rather than going it alone, or shouldering
part? Perhaps, but making a marriage out the risk of hiring suppliers, joint ventures
of a loose conversation requires some finely
cast of actors to create a sense of scale has recently opened its Time & Space can provide a rapid injection of specialist
honed social skills. According to Baron at his fledgling ad agency in order bar and restaurant as part of its skills and resources, and can incentivise
and Markman, perception, impression to clinch the British Airways account. £22million redevelopment. This will success for both partners. In food, cultural
management, persuasiveness, social The rest is history… act as the front door to the Mayfair institutions are also not immune from the
influence and adaptability are critical to cult of the branded restaurant and celebrity
the making of entrepreneurs. Sensing the
venue drawing visitors to the new
chef, whether in the form of Thierry Costes at
moment to close the deal, ask for the money galleries beyond. Centre Pompidou in Paris or Gabriel Kreuther
or form an alliance is both instinctive and at MoMA in New York. The Jackfield Tile
often something we need to force ourselves Museum in the UNESCO World Heritage Site
to do. Equally, don’t be scared to accept of Ironbridge Gorge hosts a Craven Dunnill
your own limitations. Smart people hire factory to bring tile production and retailing
smarter people. Where does this skill-set sit? to life. Over at the Royal Academy, Flash (a
Who are your most effective salespeople combination of art and food) is created by
and negotiators? London restaurateurs’, Bistrotheque. Food,
retail, customer experience... where next will
our ventures take us?

25. 5. RE
Owner-worker BRAND COLLUSION
SOURCED // 51
Who owns my great idea? The answer is not phenomenon creating the Silicon Fens, Cultural branding has gone global Sponsorship is dead. The days of lolly for
normally the employee in the public sector, could be one model to import into the culture with the deal between Abu Dhabi and logos are nearing an end as corporate brands
but this is starting to change as commercial sector. The investment of the culture institution recognise the commercial value of culture.
spin-outs and joint-venture models become (be it monetary or conceptual) needs to be France for a new branch of the Louvre The next new gallery is now as likely to be
more commonplace. The UK private equity recognised both in retained value and for in the cultural district on Saadiyat opened by a brand such as Prada, a property
and venture capital industry is by far the identifying the transfer of the opportunity Island worth nearly $1.3billion USD. developer like St James Homes, or collectors
largest in Europe, accounting for some 52% beyond its walls. The Guggenheim is almost inevitably like Charles Saatchi. Temporary galleries like
of the whole market (Library House). Many Kinetica, a museum of moving art (financed
fail of course, so choosing how and when to
Commercial success can be imported as an obligatory presence also. by Ballymore Properties) spring up and
well as released. Take the purchase of Opus
take this option is essential. The success of disappear at a moment’s notice in mixed-use
Arte by the Royal Opera House – bringing its
University technology spin-outs, for example commercial and leisure developments such
means of distribution in-house.
those that have helped power the Cambridge as Spitalfields Market... In Beijing, Nike 100 is
a new art/product gallery space, increasingly
seen as a way of extending shelf life for their
remixed trainers... LVMH’s pop-up store in
MOCA sells handbags designed by the artist
Takashi Murakami, sitting in a retrospective
of an artist that fuses art, retail and product:
a valid extension of the exhibition... Culture
is now starting to be regarded as core to
business differentiation – not a folly on
the margins.
The UK private equity
and venture capital
industry is by far the
largest in Europe,
accounting for some
52% of the whole market.

26. Brand
5. RE
co-creation
SOURCED // 53
Savvy culture
Sony is one brand to go as far as creating
its own culture content through a process
of co-creation. The PlayStation Series
institutions are
(facilitated by Shine Communications) broke
new ground by developing the content in
a collaboration between Sony and partners
that included the V&A, ENO, bfi, Baltic and
Manchester International Festival. Meanwhile,
the Serpentine and Puma recent collaborated
on the creation of the Reality Bag, sold
repackaging brands
in selected Puma outlets and stockists
worldwide - blurring the lines between
sponsorship, R&D and retail.
for clearly targeted
demographics.
Aggregated institutions
Savvy culture institutions are working together dawn (or moon-lit carnival?) of a burgeoning
to repackage their brands for clearly targeted new cultural scene. This in turn has attracted
demographics. First, the success of Friday specific demographics of interest to brands
Night Lates at the V&A and other out-of-hours such as Pimms, Apple and Sony (not your
cultural experiences caught the imagination classic art sponsors). Similarly, our own
of time poor consumers. So, spotting this CultureLabel.com is aggregating the retail
trend, the Lates.org platform aggregated the offer of culture partners worldwide to target
programmes of all of the galleries offering unique gift hunters. Where next for the power
something for the night owl, creating the of targeted, aggregated platforms?
Christmas in Birmingham, and the Ikon
Gallery, the Barber Institute of Fine Art
and the RBSA keep their doors open late –
with an ArtBus shuttling happy shoppers
between them.

27. Funding...
5. RE
what funding?
SOURCED // 55
Is money really the primary source of power
over whether or not your idea gets realised?
Not if you place a premium on the creative
over the expensive. Remember ‘making
Network mapping
something out of practically nothing’ (see the
intro)? Remove cash from the equation: scale
your implementation (one £2k website will tell
you whether the £20k one would be worth it);
skilfully utilise the resources of collaborators;
Emotional mapping is a consumer research Why? To better understand the emotional go slow (build it one step at a time, and
tool just as important as the physical mapping influences upon users, to meet their needs. make this part of your public narrative);
of potential collaborative partners. New York Second, to place the institution as one and leverage all public funding (every public
may perhaps lend itself more naturally to component in a complex web of overlapping pound should be converted into multiple
emotional bonds than some other cities, but emotional connections, thereby providing private or commercial pounds). Lesson
‘Get Lost’ by New Museum invited 21 artists more chances to identify entrepreneurial the power of money, leaving more time to
to create a personal view of the city and opportunities, and the right connecting concentrate on the things that matter most.
draw it as a map, “bringing together fictional spaces for these.
landscapes, utopian visions, private memories,
and obsessive instructions to explore
Manhattan, its past, present and future”.

28. Owning the
5. RE
bottom line
SOURCED // 57
Injecting this
If entrepreneurship is about building
something from practically nothing, it’s
important to be able to measure and own
that ‘nothing’ and ‘something’. The skill of
an entrepreneurial institution lies in leveraging
available resources. Think of it as a virtuous
circle: scarce resources are capitalised
level of autonomy
effectively, creating more resources to
leverage and in turn create more resources.
But, if those resources are disappearing into
directly creates
a black hole marked ‘central pot’, or if the
additional resources cannot be reinvested
to build even more, the whole system falls
ownership – an
essential ingredient
short. Entrepreneurship gets quashed.
for entrepreneurial
behaviour...
Owning the decision
As well as owning the bottom line, of the decision and outcomes. Cascading
accountability requires a clear ownership this further, teams within the institution can
of decisions. At management level for most each be responsible for budget allocation
culture institutions, this means the CEO being and decision-making – accountable but not
accountable to an independent and active micro-managed by the CEO. Injecting this
Board, who are in turn accountable to any level of autonomy directly creates ownership
funding agencies. Decisions that directly – an essential ingredient for entrepreneurial
affect the customer offer should be taken by behaviour, and a yardstick for managing
the CEO and Board, providing an ownership and improving performance.

29. 5. RE
Space and time Investing time
SOURCED // 59
Very rarely do we jump straight into ideas. Time is arguably more important than
The best ones seem to simmer for a while, money, yet where are all of our time-budget
as you look into it, research it, see if it’s documents? Why do we not even blink when
viable. This could take three weeks, it could we invest too much of this scarce resource
take ten years. Space and time provides in Twitter excursions? Balancing a portfolio
the opportunity to inwardly mature the idea, of demanding roles, and balancing short and
whilst simultaneously lining up the resources long term needs, can prove difficult. It’s high
necessary for successful implementation. risk choosing how time is spent, especially
‘Slow development’, coined by George when you’re drawing attention away from the
Fergusson, removes the need to spend large core business to play around with something.
amounts upfront and get it correct the first Budgeting time doesn’t seem natural, but it’s
time. It advocates ongoing learning and much essential. At Historic Royal Palaces, 10% of
smaller investments: “You might take a few staff time must be spent on training other staff,
steps forward and one step back. But I think and a further 10% on developing new external
you get a much healthier result than you do relationships... again building innovation into
by doing the one ‘big bang’ solution.” Get everyone’s job description.
something into the market, sooner rather than
later, and then refine and build from there.
The BETA stage isn’t just for webmasters.

30. 6. STAFF
Fail often to succeed sooner

31. 6. ST AFF // 63
Visionaires
Without wanting to wander into the David
Brent school of management (a wonderland
of ‘Teamwork’ posters featuring happy dolphins),
‘deep dive’ encourages
a mass brainstorm
a common vision is the sign of good leadership.
We’re not talking generalised buzzwords
revolving around ‘community’ and ‘world-
session – no judging
class’: who on earth would get out of bed for
“To satisfy our customers’ desires for personal
entertainment and information through total
customer satisfaction”? Rather, we’re talking
about uniting people at an emotional level –
belonging to a team that together is working
to create... whatever. Here, general rules must
other people’s ideas
stop, and a clear understanding of your own
purpose must take over, mixed with visionary
images of the future. It requires tough decisions
at this point,
about what you stand for. Think Google’s
‘Organise the world’s knowledge’ – stunningly
simple, sets the boundaries, deeply motivating.
no objections...
Deep dive
Ten creative and divergent minds coming judging other people’s ideas at this point,
together, unlimited capacity for great new no objections allowed, everyone equal.
ideas... how do we manage the process Participants are invited to judge from these
and the fallout? As one the world’s most hundreds of ideas, allowing the ‘wisdom of
innovative product design companies, IDEO the crowd’ to identify areas worth investigating.
have perfected the process as much as the Then, it’s down to rapid prototyping – quickly
product. Their ‘deep dive’ encourages a mass developing basic versions of the product
brainstorm session around the problem – no to test in situ. In their words, fail often to
succeed sooner.

32. A flat
6. ST AFF // 65
Internal flows new world
Gone are the days where chatting equals For every 2.4 laptop family, there are “ Your time is limited, so don’t waste ‘Here comes everybody’ by Clay Shirky is
wasted time. Performance requires exceptional a commentary on the power of organising
internal communications between individuals
others already suffering from social it living someone else’s life. Don’t be without organisations. This phenomenon is
and departments, especially when team network fatigue. This ‘de-connecting’ trapped by dogma - which is living driven by emerging communications and
members are dispersed across multiple sites leads them to search for ‘real’ connections. with the results of other people’s collaborative tools such as social networks.
and networks. From creating, sharing and Can institutions tap into this desire? thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ Our social and technological networks are
understanding a common vision, through overlapping – creating entirely new behaviours
cross-fertilising new ideas, through to sharing
opinions drown out your own inner in certain groupings and adaptations in others
relevant information with the right people... voice. And most important, have – as our evolving use of technology is removing
setting resource aside for internal comms up, the courage to follow your heart and barriers to sharing information and cross-
down and across structures is a must. A Work intuition. They somehow already departmental working. Shirky suggests that
Foundation survey found low-tech trumps high- the collapsing cost of technology will defeat
know what you truly want to become.
tech: 91% of managers view email as the least the hierarchy, and subsequent bureaucracy
effective means of communication, despite its Everything else is secondary.” and inefficiencies, as these structures become
prevalence. The age-old simplicity of getting - Steve Jobs, Apple irrelevant. No longer will we need layers of
people together has much more impact. management to organise labour and facilitate
communication as trends and opinions are
formed in radically different ways.

33. 6. ST AFF // 67
Back office
Pixar’s animators live in sheds… Google style HQ in California that helps prevent
employees in Zurich move around by sliding Google ever becoming a grown-up corporate
down a pole and meet in cable cars… behemoth) or jump on a slide like Redbull,
A bell sounds at Mother to signal it’s time for you might want to remember: it is healthy
communal lunch and even the CEO has to to force change and re-creation in order
come. These are just some of the techniques to learn, adapt and remain flexible, open
employed by companies famed for innovation. and responsive to a constantly changing
Whilst we are not suggesting you go out operating environment.
and build a Googleplex (a sort of campus
“Every act of creation is first of all an
act of destruction.” - Pablo Picasso
Work and/
or play
Stay in the swim – blur where work ends
and leisure starts! It’s easier for individual
entrepreneurs, used to understanding the
market and picking up new opportunities
for work over evening drinks. But staff in
culture institutions could also benefit from
the abolition of the 9-5 dogma. Whether
it’s the camaraderie of sharing risk, that
extra head or two to help make a difficult
decision, the back-and-forth volley of ideas
generation, the mutual interest leading to a
new collaboration, or the good-cop-bad-cop
sales pitch – the better bonded the team is,
the easier it is to implement new ideas.

34. Forgiveness
6. ST AFF // 69
beats permission
Continuous learning means experiencing
continuous failures as well as successes.
Unfortunately, fear of failure is a particularly
unhelpful British entrepreneurial trait. How many
of us feel mortified and even ashamed if our big
idea doesn’t work? Yet, as mother always says,
it’s better to love and lose than never to love at
all. Thinking of tombstones helps... ‘he had a go’
easily beats ‘he thought about having a go’. A
staff culture that encourages people to ‘have a go’
and creates space for failure breeds innovation.
After all, an entrepreneur with a failed project
is often the one to watch going forward.
“I have not failed. I’ve just found
10,000 ways that won’t work.” –
Thomas Edison, inventor and scientist
Trusty steeds
In cultural and creative business, trust is your
protection against risk and is a vital ‘lubricant’
for knowledge creation. But, according to
Leadbeater, it is in short supply as traditional
sources contract. Therefore, developing
genuine personal relationships are critical to
the success of innovations – treating people
‘as humans’, in the office as well as the bar.
Which basically means that informal, social
networking should be as rated as highly
as formal, professional opportunities. Bring
on the 5-a-side, the alcohol, the trips to
gallery openings...

35. 6. ST AFF // 71
Trade-offs
As an innovator inside a culture institution there
are some advantages over your entrepreneur
cousins; a desk, heating and monthly pay slip are
three that spring to mind. But it’s not all umbrella
brands and secretarial support: intrapreneurship
requires giving up some entrepreneurial givens.
For one, intrapreneurs must put the institution’s
needs ahead of their own. You can’t have the
security of employment without accepting
that the bozo that stood in your way may get
some of the credit when your idea is vindicated.
Second, if you’re successful, your idea will be
mainstreamed and you have to hand it over.
You won’t be the free-wheeling skunk works
forever. You must integrate into the system.
Google allows engineers to spend up to
20% of their time on their own projects.
Essential for a company that spread-
bets on innovation, openly accepting
that many inventions will not succeed.
Just rewards
It’s not always about the money. You do a market transaction, whereas gifts and other
have to make the reward worth the risk if forms of recognition keep people within a
you want to nurture entrepreneurship and social exchange. It therefore follows that if
develop a culture that accepts failure as we can frame business interactions as a
well as success. Entrepreneurs are rarely real social exchange, complete with all their
just in it for the dough; even when they complex emotions and connections, we can
are, this is often a route to autonomy and incentivise and reward innovation without
empowerment. Understanding their real always resorting to cash. Social contracts in
motivations is therefore essential to creating the workplace offer an intriguing way forward:
appropriate rewards that don’t necessarily a two-way agreement around a sense of
involve money. According to Dan Ariely, purpose, mission and pride, drawing on
mention of payment turns a relationship into instinctive motivations.

36. 6. ST AFF // 73
...every business is about
selling something, and
people have to believe
in you, and you have to
believe in yourself before
I believe others can believe in you.
Research among target audiences may some decisions at the end of the day, and
provide some forms of approval for your new have the guts to do it. Encouraging self-belief,
idea. Inevitably, however, every business is nurturing it through both feast and famine
about selling something, and people have periods, is deeply motivating. It also creates
to believe in you, and you have to believe a challenging tide of expectation for any
in yourself before others can believe in you. manager to handle.
Ultimately, confidence is a major ingredient
of decision-making. Market research as “Innovation distinguishes between a
much as you like, but you’ve got to make leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

37. 7. SUPPLYING
CONSUMER DEMAND
Got it? Good. So shout about it.

38. Boutique
7.
Brand-land hotels
SUPPLYING CON SUM ER DE MAND // 77
We’re surrounded by brands, but are they Do you want a straightforward business stay,
any more than just pretty (or not so pretty) a weekend of indulgence for the newlyweds,
decor? Well, according to blind taste tests, or a week of white knuckle excursions for
most people prefer the taste of Pepsi, and the thrill-seeker? The boutique hotel industry
yet the majority still buy Coke. Experiments has got it all covered: thousands of enticing
at the Baylor College of Medicine prove that options guaranteed for their quality… all
experiences of the Coke brand influence their deeply authentic, local and independent, yet
preferences. Who, after all, can resist a brand bound together and offered to the customer
that our lovable, rosy-cheeked Santa drinks! en mass in order to match to their exact needs
With this power, developments in applying (see for example TabletHotels.com). Enter one
fMRI, and consumers becoming as integral to of the hotel websites, and enter into a niche
creating the brand as the marketing manager, paradise. Enter another, and a whole different
expect to see the culture sector import many version of paradise unfolds. What if museums
more specialised brand strategies. or small theatres were like boutique hotels?
A niche of rich, authentic experience and
information, bound together with other niche
providers to create a vivid smorgasbord for
matching up to any requirement. What if…?
Don’t think small when you think
niche: The Cool Hunter blog has
600,000 visitors a month, whilst
DeZeen, an online architecture
magazine has 650,000. The demise
of traditional media channels means
the ‘next big thing’ could soon give
way to the ‘next little thing’

39. Consuming
7.
producers
SUPPLYING CON SUM ER DE MAND // 79
Institutional members of niche communities
are best placed to create an offer that truly
‘gets’ their target market. If, as an institution,
it makes your figurative hair stand on end,
it’s bound to do the same to your target
market. Such is the beauty of chasing
consumers in the Long Tail age: out there,
somewhere, are consumers just like us.
The mass market is now becoming a million
mini-markets (see the way micro networks
are emerging from the social networking
phenomenon). The secret is in knowing
which niche(s) we’re an authoritative
institutional member of, and finding the
space where that community resides.
Niche clusters
As the wonder of digital makes distance no Derive clear differentiation either through the
object, every niche is now finding its devoted product (think Transport Museum), or through
audience from the global melting pot. Smaller the consumer segment you’re targeting (think
culture institutions in particular can thrive families at Bestival or local residents at a
alongside their bigger cousins by adopting village museum). Better still, as Chris Bilton
a specialised niche strategy. Before the 90’s, suggests, institutions aren’t limited to the
if consumers didn’t come within a certain one niche – fill several niches at once, and
radius of the culture institution, chances are project yourself as clusters of interconnecting
they’d not be worth the marketing pounds. brands appealing to different niche markets.
Now they’re part of a niche – a potential This, in turn, makes light work of being highly
new friend and customer, wherever they are. adaptive to consumer needs.