Viable strategies for success

Newspaper Next produces excellent foundation for action

When the American Press Institute undertook Newspaper Next to research and test new business models for our industry, the overall goal was to find ways for newspapers to survive the “strategic inflection point”—the recent period of disruptive changes including declining circulation, rising costs and downward revenue trends. This well conceived, thorough initiative has produced excellent strategies for leadership and transformation within the newspaper industry. Now it is time for us to execute those strategies in the most effective and sustainable way.

Driving deep
One of the key components of Newspaper Next is to think of “jobs to be done” versus products. This is akin to the story of the drill bit salesman who sells the value of quarter-inch holes instead of quarter-inch bits. This kind of thinking must occur from top to bottom in today's newspaper organizations and marketplace. So how do we get there?

To follow the lead and direction established by Newspaper Next and other positive initiatives, newspaper organizations must empower themselves to do what they are capable of doing and, in fact, must do to survive. Specifically, every newspaper organization should develop a leadership program that drives deep, one that will take publishers and their direct reports out of their offices and into the company and community to drive top-line performance.

Let’s look at some actions to take through such a leadership program based on the ten competencies outlined in Newspaper Next.

1. Vision – Prepare publishers and their direct reports to leave their offices twice per week for a leadership walk. Over about one hour per walk, they should have one-on-one conversations with employees to address concerns and share vision for strategic goals, innovation, creativity, learning and accomplishment.

2. Customer Focus – Enable publishers and their direct reports to call on advertisers who have not advertised within the last six months. Imagine how impressed a car dealer will be to look up and see your publisher in the dealership working to understand and address its advertising needs. Additionally, publishers and their direct reports should listen to an hour of customer service calls each week. In all cases, they should be focused on opportunities to fulfill the wants, interests and needs of existing customers and new ones.

3. Championing Change – People will not change unless they are encouraged to do so. The newspaper’s leadership team must develop and commit to using new skills with their people. Emphasis should include the need for positive attitudes, embracing change and taking personal responsibility. As leaders use their new skills and adapt to the new paradigm, they will master those skills—and it will make a tremendous difference.

4. Driving Results – We must focus on top-line business. For example, each newspaper call center needs, in plain view of everyone, a scoreboard with target results. When leaders update the scoreboard, they should do so with fanfare and positive reinforcement for top achievers. Using these kinds of tactics will set high expectations, measurable goals and accountability in an atmosphere of persistence, positive thinking and recognition.

5. Interpersonal Communications – Publishers and their direct reports should receive coaching to improve their ability to communicate in a compelling way with their people. Ideally, a class or seminar should be organized that uses public speaking as the vehicle for driving change. Set goals to ensure that any representative of the newspaper can establish good rapport and communicate effectively inside and out.

6. Relationship Management – Obviously human relations skills are critical in meeting goals, working collaboratively and understanding the needs of internal and external customers. One suggestion is to establish a program that gets publishers and their direct reports to pick one human relations skill per week that needs improving, and then work on it during that week.

7. Coaching and developing – As a top priority, leaders must master the skills they need to coach and develop their direct reports on work-related competencies and career growth in a highly effective, sustainable way. It’s hard work and likely requires outside help to implement, but just think of the positive impact this will have on top-line revenue!

8. Integrity – It is my belief that a leader either has integrity or does not, and adults cannot be taught integrity. However, leadership must make it clear that integrity is an absolute within the organization. It is critical to reinforce the value of working with integrity on every level and at every step.

9. Business acumen – Every leader has certain strengths. It is critical to assess and tap the talent of leaders and their teams. Do so under the premise that everyone must first understand general business and financial concepts, and then be able to coordinate and put to work specific competencies for maximum positive impact on the organization’s business.

10. Learning agility – For an organization to have learning agility, its leaders must look constantly for ways for its team members can improve. This is essential in adapting continuously to the newspaper marketplace and maximizing individual and organizational performance.

Meeting the challenges
Without a doubt, Newspaper Next has been a highly valuable and essential initiative for the industry. It has put the ball in play and in our court, and newspaper organizations must react by retooling themselves so they can maximize the Newspaper Next competencies—a comprehensive ten-point framework that will help us meet the challenges of the 21st Century.