Fear. Addiction. Paranoia. Blindness. Time for a check-up?

This is based on an Idea Lab article by Dan Pacheco, “How Fear, Brand Addiction and Paranoia Block Innovation.”  Take a few minute and read it – you will find it relatively objective and not so nearly focused on newspapers as you might first suspect.  Go ahead…read it.  Here some mood music for you, too.

 

I thought Dan’s post challenging to all the sub-cultures, egos and personas that exist in our lives; those that loath change; those that refuse to relenquish any ounces of Draconian control; those that just don’t know how to change; those that see change as an indictment on the past; etc.

I couldn’t help but try to mentally grade our progress and, more importantly in my mind, our readiness to make bigger, wider and more dramatic changes going forward.  I know some won’t visit the article link above, so here’s the recap of the criteria:

1) Fear.  Dan is verbose in his description and his real focus is on clutching to formerly successful paradigms.  Mine is simpler: accept those paradigms as dead or dying.  Publicly declare yourself to be a Young Turk of the new age of media.  Commit to crossing the Rubicon.

2) Brand addiction.  Dan’s focus is on newspapers’ focus on the existing customers, not their potential customers. We actually know this – we’ve heard it, discussed it.  We have to facilitate communities, not build them…they already exist.  Just imagine what a supreme failure the Cash for Clunkers program would be if we all viewed the value of our vehicles like some view the value of their products.  Kill off the weak and let the rut begin.

3) Paranoia.  I actually thought Dan missed a huge point on this one.  Media companies should have a decent balance in the community’s “trust bank.”  The media company should represent a trusted source and that alone is an extremely powerful position from which to operate.  It might be a scary proposition for some, but Sun Tzu nailed it when he said, “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

4) Business blindness.  Dan’s point is simple and needs no commentary: don’t forget the revenue stream when it comes to innovation. 

Once again, this was a good article and one I encourage everyone to consider as a basis for personal and organizational introspection.