NAS seminar for museum professionals in Oman. The focus for this day is core strategy concepts and environmental analysis. The presentation was designed for participants who are not responsible for strategy but make day-to-day critical operations decisions. We focused on a set of concepts identified as most relevant for these managers and their current organizational goals.

1. Thinking Strategically
Ideas that can help you make great choices
© 2013 National Arts Strategies.

2. Tools for Great Decisions
2© 2013 National Arts Strategies.
Strategic
Thinking
Integrated
Action
Planning &
Communication
Collective
Action
Community
Value

3. Our Plan for Today
3© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
8:30 – 10:15 Using Strategy to Make Decisions
10:30 – 12:00 More Work on Using Ideas from Strategy
12:45 – 1:45 Making Sense of Your Outside Environment
2:00 – 3:00 More Work on Your Environment
3:00 – 3:30 Reflection on the Day

4. Will this action create value?
Using strategic thinking to make decisions
4

5. What Strategy Is
© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
Game
Plan
Pattern of
Actions
Resource
Choices

6. What Strategy Is NOT
© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
Formal
Documents
Public
Statements
Financial
Goals
Slogans

7. Strategy Touches All of an Institution
7© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
Value
Promise
Audience
Engagement
Operations
Financial Model

8. Strategy is about making choices
Choices
Choices
© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

9. Choices are difficult to make…
Allocation+Uncertainty+Irreversibility
… but are necessary to
create the most value.
© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

10. Strategic Thinking for Daily Choices
10© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
Strategic Thinking Filter
On Goal 
Right Target 
Supports Logic 
Builds Uniqueness 
Right Time 

11. Filter #1: On Goal
How well does
this action support our
value promise?
11© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

12. Filter #2: On Target
Does this action help us
better serve the people
we have targeted to serve?
© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

13. Value
Promise
Audience
Participation
Impact &
Education
Ministry
Allocation
“Participation Logic”
Filter #3: Supports Logic
13© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

14. Participation Logic in a Museum
14© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

15. Will this create value?
Continuing our look at using strategic thinking
© 2013 National Arts Strategies.
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16. Strategic Thinking for Daily Decisions
16© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
Strategic Thinking Filter
On Goal 
Right Target 
Supports Logic 
Builds Uniqueness 
Right Time 

17. Filter #4: Builds Uniqueness
17© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
Low Cost Strategy Differentiation Strategy

18. Typical Sources of Uniqueness
o Breadth of programs
o Customer Service
o Visitor friendliness
o Availability
o Price
 Image
 Novelty
 Quality
 Customization
 Pre / post visit service
© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

19. American Visionary Art Museum
19© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

20. King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture
20© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

21. Filter #5: Right Time
© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
Growth in
our Dreams
Growth
in Real Life
Consider:
1. Value Added?
2. Urgency?
3. Have Resources?
4. Credible to Do?
5. Creates Options?
Our Value Today

22. Staging in a Museum (Example)
22© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
Create Digital
Presence
Add
Educational
Programs
Increase
Special
(Traveling)
Exhibits
Create
Dynamic
Exhibit
Platform
Engages new
audiences at
lowest cost for
them to try
Expands
opportunities for
discovery
Ensures variety
and discovery,
leverages
partner
resources
Allows rapid
redesign of
physical
experiences
Value Promise:
Why:
Why
Now:
Urgent need to
fit with audience
behaviors /
preferences
Ensures promise
is credible, uses
existing
resources
Adds to
credibility of
promise; long
lead times to
book
Requires time for
funding,
construction,
design
“Your Place for Constant Discovery”
What:

23. Strategic Thinking for Daily Decisions
23© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
Strategic Thinking Filter
On Goal 
Right Target 
Supports Logic 
Builds Uniqueness 
Right Time 

24. Thinking About the Outside World
What matters and what doesn’t?
© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
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25. The Outside World is a Mess
THE MUSEUM
Employees
Ministry Department
Competitors Audiences
The Media Special-Interest Groups
Suppliers
Social Variables
Technological VariablesEconomic Variables
Political Variables

26. THE MUSEUM
Employees
Ministry Department
Competitors Audiences
The Media Special-Interest Groups
Suppliers
Social Variables
Technological VariablesEconomic Variables
Political Variables
“Six Forces” Creates a Clear Lens
Level of Rivalry
Threat of New
Entrants
Substitutes Complementors
Buyer PowerSupplier Power
Do Museums
Compete with
Each Other?
Are New Museums
Entering the Field?
Do Audiences Have
Substitute Options?
Can Others
Complement Your
Work?
Can Audiences
Set Critical Terms?
Do Suppliers Set
Critical Terms?
26© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

27. Do Museums Compete with Each Other?
Competition grows
when there is:
 Limited revenue
 Slow growth
 Equal institutions
 No differentiation
 High fixed costs
 No one exits

28. Are New Museums Entering the Field?
The number of entrants
increases & decreases with:
 Government policy
 Resource requirements
 Access to locations
 Efficiencies for big
organizations

29. Do Suppliers Set Critical Terms?
Suppliers set the terms
when:
 Few suppliers
 Hard to switch
 Critical to your vision

30. Can Audiences Set Critical Terms?
Audiences set terms when:
 One big customer
 Can easily switch
• seller’s industry

31. Thinking About the Outside World
Continuing our look at what matters and what doesn’t
© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
31

32. THE MUSEUM
Employees
Ministry Department
Competitors Audiences
The Media Special-Interest Groups
Suppliers
Social Variables
Technological VariablesEconomic Variables
Political Variables
“Six Forces” Creates a Clear Lens
Do Museums
Compete with
Each Other?
Are New Museums
Entering the Field?
Do Audiences Have
Substitute Options?
Can Others
Complement Your
Work?
Can Audiences
Set Critical Terms?
Do Suppliers Set
Critical Terms?
32© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

33. Do Audiences Have Substitute Options?
Substitutes are plentiful
when:
 Preferences vary
 Switching is easy
 Pricing varies

34. Can Others Complement Your Work?
Complements can:
 Increase interest in
participation
 Increase attention
 Enrich experiences
 Share resources
34© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

35. THE MUSEUM
Employees
Ministry Department
Competitors Audiences
The Media Special-Interest Groups
Suppliers
Social Variables
Technological VariablesEconomic Variables
Political Variables
“Six Forces” Creates a Clear Lens
Do Museums
Compete with
Each Other?
Are New Museums
Entering the Field?
Do Audiences Have
Substitute Options?
Can Others
Complement Your
Work?
Can Audiences
Set Critical Terms?
Do Suppliers Set
Critical Terms?
35© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

36. A Look at Our Day
Brief reflection on the day and plans for tomorrow
© 2014 National Arts Strategies.
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37. What We Covered
 Ways to think about day-to-day choices
 Strategic thinking about your internal environment
o Goal
o Target Audiences
o Participation Logic
o Competitive Advantage
o Staging
 Strategic thinking about your external environment
o Six Forces framework
37© 2013 National Arts Strategies.

38. Key Ideas to Take With You
 Strategy isn’t just “planning,” it is a way of thinking
about your goals and the world around you
 Strategic thinking helps you make day-t0-day choices
that create the most value for your communities
 A lens for analyzing the world you work in helps you
see opportunities and challenges more clearly
 Substitutes and complements are often overlooked in
planning and decision-making
 How we define our world makes a big difference – our
audiences are here in Oman but also around the region
and the world
38© 2013 National Arts Strategies.

39. All the Technical Terms
We Talked About… The Strategy Literature Calls It…
On Goal Value Proposition
Right Target Segmentation and Targeting
Participation Logic Economic Logic
Right time Staging
Uniqueness Differentiation
Competitive Advantage
Do museums compete with each other? Rivalry
Are new museums entering? New Entrant
Can audiences set critical terms? Buyer Power
Do suppliers set critical terms? Supplier Power
Do audiences have substitute options? Substitutes
Can others complement your work? Complementors
39© 2014 National Arts Strategies.

40. Thank you
40© 2013 National Arts Strategies.