(February 02, 2004) - From a policy perspective, managing the attraction and retention of the Artist segment requires the same level of flexibility with which these players are treated. If the Core Group functions as the organization's captain, the Artists are the "make it so" bunch. While an enduring operation clearly requires that the bulk of the workforce be managed quantitatively, the qualitative issues clearly emerge when evaluating the value and performance of the Artists.

More so than any other operational aspect, there must be room for artists to fail. The creative end of business (and any other organization) is a messy affair filled with half baked initiatives. From product integration problems to new market initiatives, the Artists take the messy and make it work.

Artists dominate the space in which new jobs are created. To use a familiar example, who were the first webmasters? They were almost always anyone but members of the IT Department (who were quite busy claiming that HTML was unimportant). The Artists tackle new and unforgiving challenges for the organization. They define and redefine until the new work can be proceduralized and professionalized. They are the function that defines and polishes new jobs.