While driving to Manhattan last week to visit Columbia University with my soon-to-be-trying-to-get-into-college daughter, I heard aninterview with Michael Kaiser, head of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.  Though Mr.Kaiser is prominent in the non-profit world, his advice for performing arts organizations applies to any business.

You can hear the interview here.

Mr. Kaiser is embarking on a national tour to meet with arts groups and advise them on how to survive the current economic situation.  His advice: don’t fall victim to the “bunker mentality” that can lead arts groups to cut back on either the quantity or quality of programming.  You can’t “save your way to health,” Kaiser says.

Instead of doing less of the same thing, Kaiser suggests that a bad economy requires arts groups to get even more creative and to put more energy into collaboration.  A down economy is the time to take some risks, at least artistically.

It struck me that this advice for non-profit arts groups really applies to almost every type of business or institution. A tentative economy presents a great opportunity to honestly assess what you are doing, toss out that which is least effective, and think in new and creative ways to accomplish your business goals. If all you are doing is “hunkering down,” then you aren’t moving forward.  And not moving forward is a bigger threat to your business than a lousy economy.