This book is a call for confidence in the core values of museums, the transformative power of museum professionals, and the potential of museums to impact the way we perceive our world. Mission matters more than you realize and can generate efficiencies beyond the monetized measures of a spreadsheet.

The book is organized into five parts:
· "The Business of Museums" challenges common assumptions that museums can be measured in monetary terms and that their ever-expanding board rooms should be governed by those who donate the largest sums.
· "Objects in Our Care" questions the one-way flow of acquisitions into collections, the dubious value of more, more, more, and the increasingly challenged ethics surrounding deaccessioning.
· "In Lieu of the Common Wisdom" examines a range of museum practices-stores, restaurants, and galas; rental policies and staff compensation; and the benefits of working in museums-by envisioning how they might change if we truly valued mission more than money. Simple questions lead to surprising recommendations.
· "From Town & Gown to Gown, then Town" is specifically for academic museums posited on the notion that a commitment to object-based learning can produce special benefits beyond the capacity of most public museums.
· "Impossible Job" concludes the book with reflections on museum leadership and the immense promise of museums to change people's lives.