Change in publishing organizations: What’s necessary and how do you get there?

by drm on February 18, 2010

I’ve been invited by Tony Silber of Folio: to sit on a panel at their annual conference with Forbes’ Dan Bigman to talk about being an Agent of Change in a publishing organization.

As the three of us kicked the topic around, it was clear that Tony was looking for a basic blueprint for how publishers can really change their organizations to leverage the digital marketplace. He was appropriately forceful with us: Don’t talk about change around the margin, talk about real changes that can help the business.

A couple of big questions immediately sprang to mind:

  • Are there core underlying differences in the assumptions about print media and online media that are easily defined?
  • What do you want the outcome of the change to be?
  • What is getting in the way of change? Is it cultural? Is it short-sighted management? Is it resources? Is it skills? Is it desire? Is it just that there really isn’t a good model to change to?
  • What frustrates the people who do the work in publishing organizations the most?
  • What kind of change are our customers asking for from us? Both the advertising customer and the content customer?

The best way to get answers to questions like this is to ask. So, I’m asking. Let me know what you think.

What do magazines really need to do to change?

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  • Bill Walker

    Dan Check out Joe Webb's Newsletter http://members.whattheythink.com/news/index.cfm…. He is discussing the trouble printers are having and the trend to become more than printers become marketing services companies. The bottom line is it is hard to change your spots.

  • Robin McCabe

    The biggest obstacle I see is the failure by so many to understand how earth shaking; the changes are going to be. I see too many managers, trying to save jobs when they need to be saving publications.

    The economy pushed 5 or more years of change into 2, so now we have many publishing houses with no foundation, building a new wing on solid ground will not save the part of the house that lost its foundation. In many cases the only answer is to completely demolish the old house and build new from scratch, and if the new foundation is smaller than the old, that is what it is.

  • http://www.viralhousingfix.com danielrmccarthy

    Love the image of 5 years of change being pushed into 2.

    So, in building the business up from scratch on a new foundation, where do you start?

  • Robin McCabe

    Just the same as any other house demolition, get outside; take it apart one piece at a time, build a foundation, then use the good pieces in building the new publishing house.

    The front door, and windows might look the same, but there probably will be new solid wood (or steel) underneath.

    The key is we cannot hide in the bedroom and say go away, we have to do something, there are lots of good pieces in the house, but they have to be put together in a new way.

  • Robin McCabe

    The biggest obstacle I see is the failure by so many to understand how earth shaking; the changes are going to be. I see too many managers, trying to save jobs when they need to be saving publications.

    The economy pushed 5 or more years of change into 2, so now we have many publishing houses with no foundation, building a new wing on solid ground will not save the part of the house that lost its foundation. In many cases the only answer is to completely demolish the old house and build new from scratch, and if the new foundation is smaller than the old, that is what it is.

  • http://www.viralhousingfix.com danielrmccarthy

    Love the image of 5 years of change being pushed into 2.

    So, in building the business up from scratch on a new foundation, where do you start?

  • Robin McCabe

    Just the same as any other house demolition, get outside; take it apart one piece at a time, build a foundation, then use the good pieces in building the new publishing house.

    The front door, and windows might look the same, but there probably will be new solid wood (or steel) underneath.

    The key is we cannot hide in the bedroom and say go away, we have to do something, there are lots of good pieces in the house, but they have to be put together in a new way.