Where Do We Get Machiavellian Arts Management?

Where do we get Machiavellian Arts Management?

As you read this, you may question the need for, or usefulness of, understanding Machiavelli’s management philosophy as presented in The Prince. Does Machiavelli’s philosophy really apply to arts management in the 21st Century? Can his theories, as presented to Prince Giuliano in 16th Century Italy, be applied to established arts organizations in America? Can an organization with entrenched board members really find advice in Machiavelli’s writings? Can a fledgling dance troupe that may not have enough funds for the remainder of its season find benefit from reading and applying
Machiavelli? I believe that the answer is yes.

The Prince applies to all of these situations because of one common trait held by all of these organizations, as well as all organizations in general. That common trait is transition. It is inevitable that all arts organizations, regardless of age, size, or location, will experience a time of change. That change can take several forms.

According to Carter McNamara, all organizations have at least four stages of life:
Birth- when an organization is conceived through the efforts of a person or group, the function and form not being fully developed;
Youth- when an organization has been in existence for a small amount of time, a direction has been established and efforts are geared towards reaching set goals;
Midlife- when an organization has been in existence for some time, gaining momentum and clientele;
Maturity- when an organization has reached its original goal(s), and has begun to set new ones.

The connection between the life cycles of most organizations and Machiavellian Arts Management is that the advice given in The Prince by Machiavelli was built on the experience of watching transition occur. Transition that occurred in the political culture of Italy, and transition in the life of Machiavelli.
Fifteenth Century Renaissance Italy was the volatile setting for the conception of The Prince. Composed mainly of city-states, Italy was being divided internally by warring families, empires, and religious leaders. These cities vacillated between being republics that were friendly to its countrymen and tyrannies ruled by power hungry monarchs.

During these transitions of power, Machiavelli became the target of political retribution. Machiavelli wrote The Prince, after being exiled to his family farm. He was sent there after being tortured by the Medici family and subsequently forbidden from holding any public office. During this exile, Machiavelli never faltered in his love for his country or his desire to help her regain her former splendor and freedom. He continued to conceive ideas and plans for doing this. He ultimately decided to write to the new prince, in order to advise him on how to return Italy to her former glory.

Artists and arts managers face a similar landscape of transition. Sales and funding sources have shrunk while overhead costs have increased at a steady pace. Public opinion about the arts may be improving, but its contribution to public school education and curriculum has diminished, if not disappeared. Artists and arts organizations have to change how they position their time honored crafts to the masses. Machiavellian Arts Management provides arts managers and their organizations with techniques to survive the present climate of transition.