How National Theatre and boom saloon future-proofed their businesses using the North Star Methodology

Following the success of the inaugural breakfast for the arts, FT Strategies and Substrakt co-hosted a second roundtable for leaders in the arts and culture sector on 20 November 2023. The focus of the discussion was centred around how arts and culture organisations of all sizes can use the North Star methodology as a practical tool to foster long-term growth.

During the session, FT Strategies provided an overview of the North Star methodology that the Financial Times successfully used to achieve the goal of 1 million paying subscribers a year ahead of schedule in 2019. To bring the theory to life, the National Theatre and boom saloon shared their experiences working with FT Strategies to develop a North Star framework for their respective organisations, concluding with a dynamic discussion amongst all the guests. Below is a summary of the most insightful takeaways from the morning.

The North Star is a proprietary direction-setting methodology that was created and evangelised by the FT to enable organisations to work towards an ambitious future goal and develop actionable initiatives to achieve it. A fully built framework consists of:

• A goal which aligns with the broader mission and vision of the organisation
• Outcomes which include specific metrics that must be delivered to realise the goal
• Hypotheses which are statements that provide possible answers to a question or solution to a problem, which can be tested to validate assumptions
• Experiments which are a structured way of quickly testing ideas and validating the underpinning assumptions of a hypothesis that have the potential to realise desired outcomes and ultimately the goal

Amid mounting challenges to funding and business models, coupled with the imperative to adapt and cultivate diverse revenue streams, it is now more critical than ever for arts and culture organisations to plan for the future. A North Star allows for this by building:

• An ambitious shared vision for the future of your organisation amongst stakeholders. This is particularly relevant for arts and culture organisations, as there are often competing priorities amongst individuals and teams. By developing this vision cross-functionally, strategic alignment and buy-in is achieved, ensuring everyone in the organisation is working towards a single goal.
• Focused prioritisation to drive effort and resources to what truly matters. A common pain point for arts and culture organisations is that they are often time and resource-restricted, and these have to be managed carefully. The North Star framework allows teams to concentrate on the high-impact activities that truly matter. It provides teams with a clear focus, which makes for a more productive and collaborative journey. It also allows teams to take accountability and ownership over initiatives, which can benefit organisations in the arts and culture sector, where there are often many different business units and priorities.
• A culture of experimentation and ongoing iteration. Arts and culture organisations are often unsure of how to test initiatives in a low-cost, low-risk way. Developing an experimentation mindset allows for a culture of continuous improvement, and allows organisations to ‘fail fast’, learn iteratively and adapt quickly, validating assumptions in a way that does not require significant investment.
• Harmonising creative and business initiatives. The arts and culture industry is unique from other industries in its need to often balance the creative mindset of the people involved and the wider business and commercial goals it aims to deliver. A North Star assists with this by preserving a space for creativity to thrive, while also ensuring that any initiatives work towards the long-term sustainability and goals of the organisation.
• A practical governance structure that enables ongoing review of strategy. Due to the complex way in which arts and culture organisations are often structured and run, it is vital that a governance approach which is practical and bespoke to each organisation is put in place. Developing a governance structure as part of the North Star process enables a forum where cross-functional teams can convene to align on priorities, track process and share learnings in order to achieve the North Star goal, and should be characterised by the principles of empowerment, collaboration, transparency, and being evidence based.

FT Strategies worked with the National Theatre and boom saloon to help build North Star frameworks for their organisations. At the event, they shared their experiences, key takeaways and insights from developing a North Star.

The National Theatre and FT Strategies worked together on their streaming platform, National Theatre at Home (NTAH). NTAH launched in the pandemic as a response to theatres being closed and post-pandemic, once theatres started reopening, there was a need for NTAH to evolve. FT Strategies worked with the NT team to build a longer-term strategic plan for a sustainable subscriptions model. The North Star framework enabled NT stakeholders to think of the ‘bigger picture’ and gave clarity as to NTAH’s place within the NT’s overall structure and the wider theatre landscape. It forced the NTAH team to face the difficult questions and collectively focus on one ambitious goal, while also providing a tangible roadmap that made it feel achievable. Developing a strategy using the North Star framework with an experimental mindset has been transformational in helping to align teams and workflows across the department and organisation, ultimately galvanising the team.

boom saloon is a global movement to democratise creativity for good via print magazine, community projects and creative studios that was launched on Kickstarter. They have participated in the Digital Immersion and North Star Foundation programmes run by FT Strategies and through these, developed a North Star framework. boom saloon found that building their North Star has enabled them to clearly vocalise their vision and pull the team together. As a small team working across many different initiatives, the North Star brings clarity and ensures the team has a clear roadmap to working towards a goal. boom saloon praised the way the North Star structure allows flexibility - being able to test, hypothesise and iterate has allowed boom saloon to be agile and continuously improve in order to take the steps to reach their goal.

If you would like to hear more about how you can use the North Star to accelerate your organisation's growth ambitions or would like to join us for future events, please contact us.