On Wednesday, May 13, 2015, Steven S. Koblik, outgoing president of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, spoke to a Town Hall audience about his "Reflections on Leadership in the Museum World from an Outsider." Koblik discussed why doing good work does not equal survival for nonprofits, and the importance of knowing your audiences as a nonprofit. At The Huntington, Koblik said he works with six audiences: scholars, boards, major donors, members, K-12, and the general public. Although he admitted that meeting the needs and interests of each audience is not easy, it requires simple listening and understanding to deliver a truly meaningful experience for all.
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"Good work does not equal survival. ??I???ve been on many nonprofit boards, educational ones, museum boards, opera boards, and I???ve been on social work boards. ??And we???re all doing good work. ??But most of these institutions will fail. They fail for multiple reasons, but all of us here in Los Angeles have good reason to understand how difficult it is to run a nonprofit over time."

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To read a transcript of the speech in its entirety, click here.