This article builds on the groundbreaking work of Ichak Adizes, introduced in his book: Corporate LifeCycles: How and Why Corporations Grow and Die, And What To Do About It. Ichak Adizes, Hard/Paperback 384 pages (May, 1990) Prentice Hall

Museums have a similar life cycle that, if understood, allows us to predict their behavior, problems, and capabilities, and allows us to distinguish between normal and non-normal problems.

The typical behavior or culture of any museum can be described in terms of relative strengths of the roles (Producer, Administrator, Entrepreneur, Integrator, PAEI) receiving focus in a museum at a given point in time.

• The strength and vitality of a museum grows when its behavior (PAEI) develops in a correct sequence, and the problems that are indigenous to every phase are handled at the right time, with the right method and in the right sequence.

• Aging in the diagram below should be interpreted as a "frame of mind" and style of behavior, and not as size or chronological age of the museum.

• Although all museums have a very strong tendency to age, it is possible to halt or reverse the aging process in a museum and keep it in its prime.

• All museums at the same stage have similar characteristics. These are described on the following pages.

The Museum Life Cycle

This article builds upon and extends the pioneering work of Ichak Adizes which can be seen in his book "Corporate Life Cycles" and many other works by this management expert.

1. The Growing Stages

Courtship (paEi)

Characteristics:

• Museum is not born yet; it's just an idea.

• Characterized by excitement.

• Focus on the future.

• Leadership is often overly optimistic. They may make promises that might not be kept later and which, in retrospect, may appear irresponsible.

• Lots of convincing talk occurs and builds the founder's courage and energy to act.

Unexpected/Pathological Problems

• A Museum can die before it is born if there is only willingness to entertain ideas, but no consideration of results (P), follow-through (A) and capability to get along (I).

• In this case, it is an affair (ooEo) with no commitment, not a serious courtship (paEi).

NOTE: The birth of an museum is not a phase, but rather a transition between courtship and infancy occurs when risk is incurred. If no one wants to take the risk a museum is not born.

What is needed for a healthy courtship?

• Reality testing
• Business planning
• Data on the market, costs, etc.

Infant (Paei)

The assumption of risk modifies the culture from "E" to "P".

Characteristics:

• Large infusions of cash are needed for working capital.

• Results are necessary to cover the risk.

• Eats money, time, relationships, and resources.

• All action—people doing or in the field.

• Has few systems, policies—employs unsophisticated management processes.

• Has trouble making ends meet.

• Is very vulnerable; every small problem is a crisis.

• Management by crisis.

• Inadequate space, crowded.

• Is inconsistent, little planning. The founder's commitment wills survival.

• Demands continual nurturing and attention.

• Board often the staff—unpaid, of course.

• Board may be founder's friends.

Throughout this stage:

• The museum and the founder bond.

Note: Museums within museums (e.g., departments, divisions) go through similar life cycles. An old museum may spawn infants when it launches new programs, new departments, etc.

Unexpected/pathological problems cause infant mortality.

• Not enough cash.
• Founder becomes detached loses commitment.
• Stays infant too long—people give up. Too much continuous pressure on money and time with no short-term rewards in sight.

What is needed for a healthy infancy?

• Energy and commitment from the founder.
• A realist's business plan, i.e.
  • The market really needs what you have at your "price".
  • You can provide what the market needs.
  • You have adequate resources.
  • You have sufficient luck/advice to avoid the infant diseases, e.g. personnel, legal, ethical, professional issues, etc.
  • Lack of fund raising skills.

Go-Go (PaEi)

An infant museum moves to this stage when it is surviving well enough that day-to-day crises no longer require all the founder's attention. This allows new ideas and vision to develop. Resources to convert the ideas to action are typical in Go-Go. The Go-Go museum sees new opportunities (E) AND goes after them (P).

Characteristics:

• Optimistic.

• Reports progress in terms of growth in programs or membership or "significant" exhibits and acquisitions (not in terms of financial stability).

• Often a one person show.

• Hires tomorrow those needed yesterday.

• Opportunity-few priorities.

• Creates own crises.

• Spread too thin, going after too many opportunities.

• Can run out of cash and credit.

Unexpected/Pathological Problems (Founder's Trap):

• Museum remains one person show. Founder does not delegate "E"

• If this happens, museum may not die, but will not grow to its full potential. Museum will likely die with founder or soon there after.

• Pursues opportunities it can't afford.

• Pursues opportunities with little expertise.

What is needed for a healthy Go-Go?

• Strategic and tactical focus.
• Delegation and empowerment at least to senior staff.
• Desire to get organized and efficient.

Adolescent (pAEi)

The struggle to institutionalize "A" generally results in trauma for the Founder and all other "E"'s. This is the time of the shift from entrepreneurial to professional management. In this stage the Founder accepts museum policies, and the Founder's "E" is institutionalized so that the Founder is no longer essential. In this transition to adolescence, the museum is born again as a separate entity from the founder.

Characteristics:

• Has conflicts (A vs E). Conflict between those who want to get organized and preserve what they have, those who want growth and are ready for more risks/growth.

• Can be a very inconsistent time where goals are not clear.

• Incentives often inconsistent with corporate goals.

• Has "too many unproductive meetings".

• Is cliquish (new vs. old timers, A vs E).

• Internal fighting (we-they syndrome).

• Board may become rubber stamp.

• Board-Founder conflict is likely.
  • Board-Staff conflict is likely.

• Organized around people, not functions.

Unexpected/Pathological Problems:

• Premature aging (PAei). Museum sacrifices "E" rather than "P" to develop systems. Loses vision and appetite, begins aging. Sells future for today's profits.

• People are not willing to take responsibilities for accountability.

• Divorce (PAei vs. PaEi), or suicide, or sell out. Insurmountable conflict between "A" and "E" components so that "A" and "E" elements decide to part company

• Old-timers fired, or heavy turnover of new staff.

• Premature hiring of new Director.

• Technical innovation seen as a panacea.

• Capital campaign masks the real problems.

What is needed for a successful adolescence?

• Keep the "E" alive.
• Engage in productive conflict to resolve issues.
• Founder willing to let go.
• Staff sufficiently competent to take charge.

Prime (PAEi)

If the adolescent museum develops "A" and does not lose "E", its "P" soon grows and it is then a prime museum with a balance of PAEI.

Characteristics:

• Is results oriented (P).

• Follows systems and policies (A).

• Has vision and follows it (E).

• Is aggressive and growing. Has Go-Go growth without the risk.

• Tracks growth and financial strength.

• Has the performance and growth of Go-Go, but predictably.

• Begins to generate new "infants" and may not have enough qualified staff for new growth.

Unexpected/Pathological Problems:

• From this point on, the aging process is to be expected. The museum will normally go through a series of changes that limits its vitality and strength.

• The trick for museums in prime, is to stay there—although this is not the natural tendency because most museums late in prime can easily become:
  • less risk oriented
  • more conservative
  • less creative ("E" begins to deplete)
  • less willing to have conflict over ideas ("I" increases, but it is not productive "I")

What is needed for successful prime?

• Conscious and regular reinforcement and revitalization of the Prime culture.

• Maintain creative tension between future vision and current reality.

• Moving the "I" which the leader often supplies, into the culture.

• A strategic information system which assesses future value of present decisions.

2. The Aging Phases

Transition from Growth to Aging

When an museum reaches Prime there is a strong pull to move to the top of the Life Cycle curve and rest in the Stable phase. The phase represents the transition from growing to aging. The key differences between growing and aging are outlined below.

Growing		Aging
1. Building momentum		1. Running by inertia
2. Management in control of system		2. System in control of management
3. Everything is permitted unless expressly forbidden		3. Everything is forbidden unless expressly permitted.
4. Emphasis on content (what we do)		4. Emphasis on package (how we do)
5. "Get what we want" attitude		5. "Want what we get" attitude
6. Exhibit, program, education departments carry power.		6. Power transferred to accounting and finance and development departments.
7. Age of intuition		7. Age of judgment
8. Function more important than form.		8. Form more important than function.
9. Problems are opportunities.		9. Opportunities are problems.
10. People are kept for their contribution despite their personality.		10. People are kept for their personality despite their contribution.
11. Cash poor		11. Cash heavy.
12. Success comes from seeking risk.		12. Success comes from avoiding risk.
13. Consultant is needed.		13. "Insultant" are needed.

Stable (PAeI)

A danger in the prime museum is that it will get overconfident, become
more conservative—less aggressive, and begin to lose vision and courage (E).

Characteristics:

• Achieving maximum financial strength and productivity.

• Has lower aspiration for growth.

• Has fewer expectations to conquer the world.

• Declining investment in new ideas.

• Is interested more in interpersonal relations than risk.

• Creativity and entrepreneurship are discouraged or supported only in well-defined and limited areas.

• Rewards those who can do what they are told and who get along with others.

• Enjoys growth patterns of past rather than the development of the future.

• Expects what it gets (wants what it gets rather than gets what it wants).

• Avoids interpersonal risk- e.g. tough debates on issues where disagreement is likely.

• Normal measures of museum performance makes Stable look stronger than Prime.

What is needed to reverse aging in stable?

• Reinvigoration of latent "E" primarily through culture, strategy, marketing and R&D.

• Evaluation of Aging factors and trends.

• Used high level, cross-functional teams to redesign, improve and problem-solve.

• Avoiding denial of what is happening

Aristocracy (pAeI)

When "E" stays down long enough, "P" will eventually decline.

Characteristics:

• More emphasis on how things are done, rather than what. Formality of dress, address, environment and facilities.

• Slows down.

• Motto is "don't make waves".

• Individuals concerned, but as a group there is "business as usual" and acceptance of what is happening (the Finzi-Contini Syndrome).

• Money is spent on systems of control, benefits and expensive facilities.

• Fees raised to maintain or increase profitability (artificial corrective action).

• Endowment heavy.

• Low internal innovation

• Hires E's to obtain new ideas.

• Declining profitability addressed by raising fees and cutting cost.

What is needed to reverse aging in aristocracy?

• Increase the "P" function by focusing on results, holding people accountable. not accepting excuses.

• Paying attention to what the public and donors value.

• Recreate a competitive strategy and use this to redesign the structure.

• Reinvigoration of latent "E" primarily through culture, strategy, marketing and R&D.

• Evaluation of Aging factors and trends.

• Used high level, cross functional teams to redesign, improve and problem solve.

• Avoid denial of what is happening.

• This is close to the museum's last chance to reverse the aging process.

Early Burearcracy (pAei)

Due to the "artificial corrective action" of aristocracy, there is a "day of reckoning." If "P" stays down long enough, there is a severe loss of market share, funding support and managers begin to look for the "reason for our problems" they usually attribute to individuals.

Characteristics:

• "Witch hunt" begins—people fired, Director replaced.

• Ritual sacrifice procedures not real changes.

• Staff layoffs become routine, but add little value.

• People are paranoid. "Who is to go next?" is the big question.

• Much conflict and mutual attacks.

• Internal focus—focuses energy on protecting yourself and fighting each other rather than fighting the competition.

What is needed to reverse aging in early bureaucracy?

• This is the time for the classic turnaround: cut costs, focus on core business, demand results.

• Recreate strategic plan and restructure.

• Invariably needs a skilled and tough-minded outsider to take charge.

• Reversing aging at this point is very difficult.

Burearcracy (oAoo)

The internal focus and fighting creates a defensive reaction and
a cumbersome, unproductive system.

Characteristics:

• Disassociates from environment; customer needs are unknown and neglected.

• Many complex and slow systems.

• Alienated people and managers, not well integrated.

• Outsiders and visitors find it hard to connect with the museum.

• Difficult to survive this stage without cash support which is not related to producing results.

• Committed donors may provide generous bail outs which only prolong the agony.

What is needed to reverse aging in bureaucracy?

• Normally the resources required to reverse aging are not available.

Death (oooo)

Aging Factors

The following factors appear to significantly encourage the aging process in an museum.

1. The loss of E.

2. The mental age of the leadership.

3. The perceived relative market share of the museum.

4. The alignment of the key strategic factors.

5. The functionality of the leadership style.

Aging Analysis

Which of the above factors may be present in your museum?

Which of the above factors may be aging your museum?

What evidence do you see for the responses you have given?

Life Cycle Analysis

Life Cycle Stage of the Museum

The Museum Life Cycle

Evidence:

Key Developmental Challenges facing the Museum based on Life Cycle: