by Tim Cynova, Chief Operating Officer at Fractured Atlas I used to work with someone who would always ask “Which would you rather” questions. Which would you rather: Wear a bathing suit in Antarctica, or a snow suit in the desert? Which would you rather as a musician: Be a one-hit wonder with a song that defines summer for a generation, or a member of a band with modest success for 10 years?

An interview with the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Creative Many Michigan Joe Voss, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Creative Many Michigan This is an interview in a series featuring a broad range of reactions to President Trump’s first 100 days in Office, conducted by Lauren Ruffin, Vice President, External Relations at Fractured Atlas. In this interview we hear from Joe Voss, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Creative Many — Michigan’s creative sector advocacy organization.

An interview with Tiffany Wilhelm, Deputy Director of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council

Communicating over space and time [Editor's Note 3/17/10: While the information below is still useful — particularly how channels are used — we also published this related and updated piece.] “Communication is key” is one of those business-isms, like “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” that seem to appear in most of the articles I read about organizational culture. It’s not misplaced. Open, honest, and respectful communication is a key ingredient in high performing teams and organizations.

Interview with Founder & CEO, Shaheen Lavie-Rouse Earlier this year, Hire Notes — a booking platform for musicians that helps them manage their paid gigs , seamlessly get paid on time, and find new bookings— was selected as an honoree for the 2017 Arts Entrepreneurship Awards. We sat down with Hire Notes, CEO and Founder, to talk about how a music conservatory student founds their own technology start up.

Poetry and its unique use of language are how some of us make sense of the world and our place in it. It’s how some of us got through our turbulent adolescence. And for some of us, it just reminds us of high school English class, trying to find some meaning in the words to write a coherent essay before the bell rings. No matter your relationship with poetry, we’ve all been touched by that perfect phrase, that perfect rhyme, and that perfect cadence. Poetry is vital to culture, both now and throughout history, and we at Fractured Atlas are thrilled to celebrate it in April with National Poetry Month. Periodically throughout the rest of the month, we’ll be sharing some of the poems that are important to us and even some that we’ve composed ourselves! So, whether you’re a poet yourself or haven’t thought about Poetry since school, check back in every once in a while this April to possibly find your next favorite poem and learn more about us as people in the process. Be sure to follow us on Instagram to get them in your feed as soon as they’re posted.

Interview with Founder & CEO, Robert Warren

by Tim Cynova, Chief Operating Officer at Fractured Atlas Over the years at Fractured Atlas, we’ve invested a great deal of time, effort, and research into improving and honing our hiring process. In this episode of How We Work — created primarily for those staff members involved in our hiring process — we delve into the history, our philosophy, and the stages of the interview process.

The quality of our team, our organization’s very ability to deliver on its mission and remain agile and relevant, relies on the skills our staff bring to the office and use every day. In this episode of How We Work:TV, we explore ways to develop our most valuable of organizational assets, our people. We’ll cover eight strategies — all that don’t cost a dime! They include: (1) Career Conversations (2) Musical Chairs (3) Bring in Outsiders (4) Never Eat Lunch Alone (5) Co-Learning (6) SMART Task Forces (7) Job Crafting (8) Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) Want more ideas, tips, and assistance? Check out my previous posts about creating innovative workplaces and investing in our people, the job crafting workbook available from the University of Michigan, the Inspiring and Motivating Teams course by National Arts Strategies, or try Radical Focus to learn more about OKRs.

A little over a month ago, I announced that I was stepping aside from day-to-day Fractured Atlas responsibilities for 6 months to explore the idea of launching a new impact investing fund. Now that I’ve been doing this for a few weeks, I thought I’d share a brief update for anyone who’s interested in stalking me.