It’s costly and challenging to switch between doing expansive creative work and tactical operational work. Michael and I would both prefer to spend our time on creative work, and we both become unhappy when operational tasks are too heavy. Also, operational tasks simply aren’t our strengths. Given all that, we should strongly consider finding someone to help us with ops.
Laura suggests we find a Chief of Staff / COO-type figure, though when I asked her about finding such people, she admitted that it was a huge struggle for her. For the most recent such role, she interviewed dozens of people and rejected them all, before finally stumbling onto a good fit via her network.
Michael suggests that arts administrators may be a good source of talent for this type of role.
Patrick suggests we should first consider working with someone with a background more like an executive assistant, or an ex-McKinsey associate. Then perhaps over time we could cultivate a deeper match (which will likely arise through serendipity).