They Told Me Not to Take that Job: Tumult, Betrayal, Heroics, and the Transformation of Lincoln Center

by Reynold Levy

When Reynold Levy became the new president of Lincoln Center in 2002, New York Magazine described the situation he walked in to as "a community in deep distress, riven by conflict." Ideas for the redevelopment of Lincoln Center's artistic facilities and public spaces required spending more than 1.2 billion, but there was no clear pathway for how to raise that kind of unprecedented sum. The individual resident organizations that were the key constituents of Lincoln Center -- the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera, the New York Philharmonic, the Juilliard School, and eight others -- could not agree on a common capital plan or fundraising course of action. Instead, intramural rivalries and disputes filled the vacuum.

Besides, some of those organizations had daunting problems of their own. Levy tells the inside story of the demise of the New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera's need to use as collateral its iconic Chagall tapestries in the face of mounting operating losses, and the New York Philharmonic's dalliance with Carnegie Hall.

Yet despite these and other challenges, Levy and the extraordinary civic leaders at his side were able to shape a consensus for the physical modernization of the sixteen-acre campus and raise the money necessary to maintain Lincoln Center as the country's most vibrant performing arts destination. By the time he left, Lincoln Center had prepared itself fully for the next generation of artists and audiences.

They Told Me Not to Take That Job is more than a memoir of life at the heart of one of the world's most prominent cultural institutions. It is also a case study of leadership and management in action. How Levy and his colleagues triumphantly steered Lincoln Center -- through perhaps the most tumultuous decade of its history to a startling transformation -- is fully captured in his riveting account.

Genres: Nonfiction

376 pages, Hardcover

First published May 12, 2015

Reviews

[Chuck Knudsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

It sounds so very interesting, about the man who took over the Lincoln Center and turned it around. I couldn't get past the first several highly congratulatory and ego-boosting early chapters. I really don't care about the wonderful jobs you did a wonderful job at before this, or how prestigious the job was and how lucky you were to get it, blah blah boring.

[yaniv · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting book... an inside and behind the scenes look at how many personalities there are involved in nonprofit management and any large organization with fundraising. However, my main qualm with the book is the writing. unfortunately the material comes out too dry to the point of boring, and I kept losing interest

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Synopsis: “My name is Reynold Levy and I’ve never made a mistake. A lot of other people have, though. Let me tell you about how they messed up, how they wouldn’t have if they’d listened to me, and how I compare myself to iconic American leaders because they named a pedestrian bridge after me.”

👍

[Celine · Rating 3 out of 5]

My take away from this book: I want to have lunch with Anna Wintour an have her tell me she likes my outfit.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically a tell all book that is summed up in one sentence. "I couldn't tell you then but I'm telling you now... you are all idiots"

[David Maywald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable autobiography, reflecting on a dozen years of leading the Lincoln Center (as President and CEO). Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a 16-acre complex of buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. During Levy’s tenure it was home to 12 resident arts organizations (including the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and New York City Ballet). They host some 5,000 programs, initiatives, and events annually. This makes it one of the most important performing arts precincts anywhere in the world… Levy is generous, ambitious/competitive, and has high Emotional Intelligence.

Non-profit governance has a stark difference between the United States and Australia when it comes to fundraising. American board members are expected to generously donate their time, talent, and treasure to their organisations. Levy strongly advocated for an expansion of the Lincoln Center trustees, from 43 to 80 during his decade as President. This brought new skills/relationships into the organisation, and also aided with a massive increase in donations (new trustees were expected to personally contribute US$250,000 per annum, in addition to sourcing US$3-5 million for the capital campaign).

When Levy took over there was rampant infighting, along with intransigence between the centre and the resident arts organizations. He led and corralled this motley group through a US$1.2 billion redevelopment, which modernised and improved the campus in many respects. In particular, Levy spearheaded the fundraising which was incredibly successful and innovative.

The book showcases the achievements as well as the challenges, details the interactions between key players, and doesn’t hold back. It is hugely enlightening and raw…

While the main messages could easily have been conveyed in a book of 200-250 pages (instead of slightly over 300 pages), Levy has shared a very valuable gift in his writing. He is clearly an exceptional communicator, and has a deep affection for non-profits/leadership/arts/books.

I loved reading this autobiography (at the recommendation of Julie Garland McLellan), and can highly recommend it. Especially relevant to leaders (both management and governance) of cultural organisations, as well as people with a passion for the arts.

[Diana Prentice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provided an interesting perspective of the internal workings of non profits. However, throughout the book there was a lot of patting on the back, name dropping, or otherwise settling scores. It’s dry like a CEO’s annual report, and rather repetitive. I think the book could be reduced by 1/3, because I already heard repeatedly how ineffective the leadership of the NY Philharmonic or NY City Opera was, or how wonderfully generous all the big donors of Lincoln Center were.

There are a few points worth pondering. The NY City Opera, before its demise, had hired a French guy names Gerard Mortier as the executive director. He was used to the way European arts institutions were funded largely by the national and municipal governments. In America, non profits are supposed to beg rich donors for funds. In fact, one of the most important jobs of the non profit CEO is to cultivate donors and raise money. Throughout the book it was made very clear that without rich donors, institutions would not survive on ticket sales alone. This brought various controversies and politics to the supposedly neutral performing arts institutions. For example, David Koch had donated $100 million and got the naming rights of the David Koch Theater. Koch’s politics does not align with most of New York’s cultural elites, and the Lincoln Center was embroiled in controversies in accepting his gifts.

My question is, is placing our arts and cultural treasures in billionaires’ hands a good idea? I understand there’s a tradition of philanthropy in the American ultra wealthy, but does that mean it’s wise to be subjected to their whims? If the next generation of the 0.01% ultra rich do not care about operas or ballets or the fine arts, should the nation just let all of these wonderful institutions collapse? Are they worth preserving only when the rich think they are worth preserving?

[Mamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It can always cause a bit of trepidation to lift the curtain and check out Oz and the Wizard as they truly are, so I was a little cautious about reading a book that promised to look at the development of the current manifestation of Lincoln Center. I didn't want to be rolling my eyes and awash in disappointment as I read about one of my favorite places, thankfully, that did not happen. Reynold Levy does deliver an honest appraisal of the characters and challenges that informed his tenure at Lincoln Center, calling out actions which were not healthy and appreciating people and opportunities that increased the cultural, as well as physical, footprint of this beloved institution. It was interesting to learn more about famous people who are only names to me, and his insights into successful leadership and teamwork are valid for corporate boardrooms and local organizations. Sometimes I felt a bit lost in the details and names, but on the whole this book revealed an interesting open window into NYC.

[Fred Darbonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reynold Levy, president of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York City, from 2002 to 2014, shares instructive backstories in the redevelopment of the parent organization for the Metropolitan Opera, The New York City Ballet, The New York Philharmonic, the Juilliard School, and several other resident performing arts companies. He doesn’t wince at sharing accounts of the political intrigue, entrenchment, and even the opposition of the constituent arts organizations as he and his board worked to build the necessary alliances for redevelopment, and to more closely integrate Lincoln Center with its city’s life and landscape. He outlines how he built common ground among its sometimes-fractious constituents, modernized the governing structure, and developed private/public partnerships to expand the center’s public impact. Particularly helpful is learning how he expanded the governing board and increased leadership gifts from trustees and board members, and their process of identifying the strategic goals and first steps in this challenging project. The concluding chapter distills the critical leadership lessons gained in this process, which should benefit those involved in any organizational development process.

The rich bibliography of resources for governance, funding development, and leadership will benefit all leaders of nonprofit organizations, as well as broaden understanding among civic officials of the contribution arts organizations make to the social, economic, and cultural capital of communities.

[Olga Vannucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Billionaire philanthropists
Who love their naming rights
Enable great performances,
Put artists' names in lights.

[Nancy]

started not finished; I was expecting stories about the performers and performance organizations but got lots of details about the author.

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read Free for All: Joe Papp, the Public, and the Greatest Theater Story Ever Told a few years ago and was so inspired, I wanted to find any information I could on the beginnings of NY theater companies when they were just an idea and not the huge companies they are now. I was about halfway finished with this book when I realized this was not at all what I was looking for. In fact, it felt like I was in a board meeting and reading the one sheet of all the goals accomplished so we could go out and accomplish more. On top of that, Levy throws multiple people under the bus in terms of their contribution to helping Lincoln Center. This felt like a book report he wanted to write so he could make some more money and name drop a few of his friends.

But my absolute most favorite part of this book is how he paints himself as a lower/middle class guy from the city and how he wanted so badly to make all of Lincoln Center accessible to this group of people and then proceeds to, for 300 pages, talk about how he hob-knobbed with rich elite fucks for millions and millions of dollars.

Lincoln Center is a behemoth here in New York City and still has managed to somehow have no money when it comes to paying actors and performers. I digress. I did find that Beacon to the World: A History of Lincoln Center is a new book released a few years ago. Hopefully it will be less self-congratulatory.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterwork on leadership. Reynold Levy took over the top job at Lincoln Center after Nat Leventhal. There are 12 resident organizations at Lincoln Center, which is sort of a landlord. They told him not to take that job because unlike the UN Security Council which has 5 vetoes, Lincoln Center essentially has 12 vetoes. At first, the book seemed like a bit of chest thumping, but the more I read, the more I came to admire the work he'd done to move the organization forward, visioning and implementing a nearly billion-dollar rehab of the outdoor and indoor facilities. Levy explains at a high level, but with plenty of details on specific strategies and conversations, how he brought it about. He built consensus where it didn't seem possible. For example, because all 12 organizations couldn't agree on what or how to do the rehab, he formed "the coalition of the willing" organizations that were ready, able and willing to proceed, and worked his magic with them. The sit-back-and-wait group finally came around, impressed by the accomplishments and jealous that their spaces hadn't yet been addressed. It also provides a glorious description of the selection of the architect, what a gamble the choice was, and how it paid off in spades, for both Lincoln Center and the selected firm. I did tire a bit at the end, but was rewarded with a section on his regrets about things that he didn't get to while in office. Surprisingly, he names the names of those who were roadblocks and just plain idiots - interesting to know.

Highly recommended for those who know NYC and/or the performing arts, all nonprofit leaders, and for general management and leadership aficionados.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Constantly name dropping, effusively self praising, jarring flow of narrative.