Comments on: An interesting lesson about innovating http://www.fixjournalism.com/business-models/an-interesting-lesson-about-innovating/ a conversation about journalism's future Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:17:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: What questions does your company ask you? | fix journalism http://www.fixjournalism.com/business-models/an-interesting-lesson-about-innovating/comment-page-1/#comment-330 What questions does your company ask you? | fix journalism Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:38:28 +0000 http://www.fixjournalism.com/?p=630#comment-330 [...] are some questions we were asked by the leader of our newly formed Innovation Team. It’s our first real meeting, and these are our homework. I think these are the right [...] [...] are some questions we were asked by the leader of our newly formed Innovation Team. It’s our first real meeting, and these are our homework. I think these are the right [...]

]]> By: Noah R. Bombard http://www.fixjournalism.com/business-models/an-interesting-lesson-about-innovating/comment-page-1/#comment-313 Noah R. Bombard Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:00:17 +0000 http://www.fixjournalism.com/?p=630#comment-313 Your last paragraph is so true (well, the rest of it is true, too, but this one part I particularly identify with). I worked for eight years for a large newspaper chain and we did many sweeping projects, newspaper redesigns, new directions, but in the end I learned that constant small changes are often more effective. Take a newspaper redesign for instance. I was involved with a number of terrific newspaper redesigns. We'd revamp the paper, reshape the way we present the news, win awards and get lots of ooo's and ah's in the newsroom. Then the phone would ring off the hook from readers ticked off that you messed with their product. It took me awhile to learn that small incremental changes were more effective in most cases. I tried that with the last design I was involved with -- no big marketing campaign, no "new and improved" paper, just changed things over several months. The result? A trickle of phone calls and comments: "Paper looks good lately." "Did you change something?" The paper looked better, it was more functional, readers were happy and we were free to continue innovating. The danger with doing the big projects is everyone reaches a point where they feel it's "done." And that just leads to stagnation. Your last paragraph is so true (well, the rest of it is true, too, but this one part I particularly identify with). I worked for eight years for a large newspaper chain and we did many sweeping projects, newspaper redesigns, new directions, but in the end I learned that constant small changes are often more effective. Take a newspaper redesign for instance.

I was involved with a number of terrific newspaper redesigns. We’d revamp the paper, reshape the way we present the news, win awards and get lots of ooo’s and ah’s in the newsroom. Then the phone would ring off the hook from readers ticked off that you messed with their product. It took me awhile to learn that small incremental changes were more effective in most cases. I tried that with the last design I was involved with — no big marketing campaign, no “new and improved” paper, just changed things over several months. The result? A trickle of phone calls and comments: “Paper looks good lately.” “Did you change something?” The paper looked better, it was more functional, readers were happy and we were free to continue innovating. The danger with doing the big projects is everyone reaches a point where they feel it’s “done.” And that just leads to stagnation.

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