Data is everywhere in today’s cultural sector, but usable insight is rarer.

Okay, let’s acknowledge the obvious: for most arts organizations, your building is essential. It’s the space where art comes to life; the stage, the gallery, the gathering place for the community you serve.

Arts leaders are rich in experience and instinct. But when anecdotes masquerade as facts, even the best intentions can send organizations off course. To lead with confidence, we need more than intuition: we need evidence.

Arts organizations are surrounded by numbers. Ticket sales, donations, clicks, likes; it’s tempting to measure everything. But here’s the truth: most organizations are tracking too much, and much of it doesn’t actually drive change.

Arts organizations chase dozens of reports. Ticket sales, revenue totals, social impressions, email open rates; the list goes on. But most of those numbers don’t tell you what you really need to know. The most actionable metric might surprise you:...

Arts organizations don’t suffer from a lack of data. They suffer from overload. It’s not a question of “what” to measure; you have the numbers. This is about the “how”: how to turn that tidal wave of data into clear action. Without a culture of...