Everyone ‘must be part of the quest for revenue’
Denny Hatch hits another home run in the article he published today called “Everyone ‘must be part of the quest for revenue’” based on a quote from Sam Zell. Denny covers many of the same topics I have been these past few days. He talks about the collapse of traditional media outlets, the need for innovation to become part of your corporate structure and the need for brainstorming across disciplines. It is a long article. I recommend you read the entire piece, but pay particularly close attention when you get to this section:
Marty Edelston
In 1994, two years after we took over Target Marketing, I wrote a cover story about our Direct Marketer of the Year: Martin Edelston, founder and publisher of the $125 million-a-year Boardroom mini-conglomerate of newsletters and books.
Then about five years ago, I began to feel uneasy. It was becoming evident that there were major flaws in the ways American managers were handling their businesses. And as a major advice-giver to America’s managers, that meant there were flaws in the advice we were seeking and publishing.
Edelston’s doubts were not only directed at American business, but inwardly to his own business, as well. Once, after a grueling day of working with consultant Peter Drucker, the great business guru asked, “How are the meetings in your company?”
“Pretty bad,” Edelston responded. “But aren’t they bad at all companies?”
Drucker’s reply: “Have everyone who comes to a meeting be prepared to give two ideas for making his or her own department’s work more productive. … Ideas that will enhance the company as a whole.”
Denny Hatch does a great job describing the problems facing traditional media and traditionally structured companies. His advice for solving these problems is also dead on. However, he doesn’t give much guidance on how to implement these changes.
I think that my somewhat disjointed entry “The Workplace 2.0” does a better job of identifying specific solutions you can use to implement the changes he calls for. My assessment is still a work in progress. Please let me know if you have tried these solutions and what your results were. Also, if you would like help implementing similar solutions in your business, email me for more information.
