Ben Hartley
On What We Can Learn From Arts and Artists
Ben Hartley is a very experienced art-world connoisseur who has worked at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Arts and Design, before being named the executive director of the National Arts Club in New York. The National Arts Club has strong roots in the American art-life. It was founded in 1898 with the idea of fostering and promoting all of the arts, visual arts, performing arts, dance, theater and music. During his career Ben has got to know how businesses and arts interact and also how they can support each other in renewing themselves. The relationship between the two, he emphasizes, should always be natural.
We had a chance to spend an evening with Ben at the National Arts Club New York (impressive) a year ago (yes, releasing the episode has taken some time). We discussed the role of arts and artists when developing company culture. Ben, a leader himself, also shared his general thoughts on leadership.
As Ben puts it well: “Artists, by their nature are failing more than they are succeeding. They are starting from a blank canvas. I mean, what business starts every day from a blank canvas?”
Enjoy this episode and find out what Ben thinks of narcissist-leaders and how staying silent can be your superpower when negotiating a deal. But first and foremost, find out what kind of a role art can have in business.