ISPM Case 2 – NJHF Kriti Gaba

1. Mr. Rutland’s project is to establish a National Jazz Hall of Fame (NJHF) in Charlottesville, VA. The project

initially started out as a means to save the Paramount Theatre, however it became more focused on the NJHF

soon. The overall goal of NJHF project was to establish and maintain a museum, archives and concert center in

Charlottesville to sponsor jazz festivals, scholarships, and to promote activities remembering great jazz artists,

serving jazz enthusiasts, and educating the public on the importance of jazz in American culture and history. I

believe the mission of the project since the founding of NJHF was consistent, yet the approach to achieve the

objectives has probably changed with the establishment of a Jazz Hall of Fame in Harlem as the pressure of

competition forced Mr. Rutland to focus his efforts, and moving in that direction he is attaining new information

about the public’s preferences to devise a more focused strategy for his project.

2. Stakeholders in this project include: Mr. Robert Rutland (the founder of NJHF), The Board of Directors of NJHF,

Founding Sponsors of NJHF, The Consultant Hired by Mr. Rutland, The City of Charlottesville, Virginia Office of

Tourism, Western Virginia Visitors Center, Other Tourist Attractions in or near Charlottesville, National

Association of Jazz Educators, The Jazz Community, Jazz Composers, Artists, Fans. Competition includes CBS

Records & Harlem YMCA’s joint venture, including members of its committee. Other American Hall of Fames.

3. Out of all the skills mentioned, I believe that credibility and leadership skills would prove to be most valuable

for the success of NJHF. Further, team building, communication and persuasion skills are the specific skills in a

broader leadership skills category that are critical here. People need to believe that Mr. Rutland has the

enthusiasm and ability to direct jazz into the right direction and this belief comes with the c redibility.

Leadership skills are important as well because Mr. Rutland has to be able to keep the board and

existing stakeholders motivated, woo the potential investors as he attempts to successfully lead the

project.

4. Mr. Rutland is a history professor at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. He has enough credibility as

when he first came up with the idea of establishing NJHF, many others were convinced and supported him.

However, there is no evidence in the case of him as a leader. He has not set specific goals along with timelines

for the project and the board members do not have a clear understanding regarding overcoming the obstacles

coming in the project. But the efforts Mr. Rutland is putting seem to be a good start. I believe, he is on the right

path of gaining the skills of a leader as the project goes on. He needs the communication and persuasion skills

more than anything, his passion for the Jazz culture will help him in ensuring the national recognition of NJHF.

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ISPM Case 2 – NJHF Kriti Gaba

5. One of the major culture relevant to NJHF project is the music culture specially the Jazz and its ties to the

American history and culture; and arts culture. Other includes jazz artists, fans and history enthusiasts as well.

The project environment is very slow paced as there are no definitive time lines set. I would say that the project

is still in its inception stage as far as working on the national recognition of NJHF is concerned. Mr. Rutland and

the board of direction are yet to identify the necessities of success. One of project’s chief concern is to raise

sufficient funds in order to take concrete actions for achieving the goals which may be one of the reason for

slowing down the project in first place.

6a. Budget: acquiring adequate resources – Mr. Rutland should continue ways to fundraise capital by organizing

free shows, networking with more and more jazz enthusiasts and gain their support.

– Philanthropic organizations: organize jazz events reviving the ties of jazz with American culture in order to

appeal passionate side of the various organizations and thus generating donations from them.

– Governmental agencies: Seek government financial support for the restoration of Paramount theatre and for

the help in funding music education.

– Donations: Organize more fundraising shows, seek support and donations from jazz enthusiasts and from The

National Association of Jazz Educators by offering them involvement and say in the project.

– Memberships: Enroll members with an apt amount of donation that they are willing to pay and provide

exclusive incentives/benefits to the members to keep them loyal and interested.

– Visitors: Market using social and other media, send out flyers throughout the town especially major tourists

places around Charlottesville, VA; and transport means can be provided at minimal rate to commute from those

tourist places; promote ‘meet and greets’ with prominent jazz artists.

b. Budget: expenditures (consider Paramount theatre) - Since Board of Directors of NJHF already discovered

that they would need at least $600,000 to save the Paramount, an amount too large for them, so they should

seek financial support from government and community, given that it is a local landmark and of some historical

importance.

c. Performance: services/activities to offer – Organize jazz events to bring all the music enthusiasts together;

arrange performances to local venues and schools

d. Competition – Appeal to the competition’s support side by offering/seeking opportunities to merge with

already established jazz hall of fame in order to achieve the common goals collectively.

e. Schedule: deadlines, windows, milestones – Mr. Rutland should define milestones for the project first, and

set a definitive timeline for each milestone with detailed descriptions; form teams and assign persons and

budget to a set of tasks and then seek weekly/monthly reports on the progress.

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