It's Time To Take The Offensive!

For the last couple years, newspapers have been on their heals feverishly trying to follow the rules of the new game unfolding before our eyes. A smart businessman understands that in order to succeed, one must either follow the rules or if the rules don't conform to your world view and outlook, you must change the rules of the game to your advantage.

Newspapers currently have so many opportunities it is astounding, but many of these opportunities involve rewriting or revamping our business model and changing the rules of the game.

In addition to changing the rules of the game, newspapers must come to the realization their business model is unsustainable at best and WILL fail if we maintain the same business course we are on. Until we can face that stark reality, we will be unable and unwilling to stare reality in the face and make the business decisions needed to succeed over the long haul.

This blog is all about throwing out old assumptions, reinventing our business model, changing the rules of the game, instilling the ability to innovate and lastly CHANGE. It is the ability to change that allows all the other needs mentioned above to surface, change is an art as well as a science; mastering change takes practice. I recall a few years ago I was presenting a project that required several minor changes in order to implement fully, I was accused of changing for the sake of change, I stand convicted. Yes, oftentimes change for the sake of change is actually the only smart thing to do - for it is through those little changes that we develop the habits we desperately need to change. It is those that are practiced at change that can change quickly when it is no longer a fire drill and real change is needed and needed now. Our industry no longer has time for fire drills, the flames are growing and drills are history.

I invite you to join with me as I throw out potential solutions, some small and some quite large that will help our industry change the rules of the game and re-establish the confidence we need to succeed.