The Manager's View

In August of 2013 I wrote a blog on how to save newspapers ( http://gwrresearch.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-to-save-newspapers.html ) . This blog described the differences between print and digital editions of a newspaper and their websites. The article focused on creating a symbiotic relationship between the newspaper and the website. I see that newspapers are trying to create a business model that relies on inputs from electronic and print components but I don’t see much symbiosis.   Most of newspaper efforts still seem to be driven by the old model and its strengths.   News stories are printed in the paper and digital editions with reference to those stories being repeated in a different format and different timing on the website.   I saw, in one newspaper, a large photo (half page) of an event with a caption telling the readers they could learn more about the event on the newspaper’s website. Now there is a synergistic effort gone bad. The folks getting the ...

I have used a framework to guide my consulting projects and internal corporate projects for years. The approach has kept me focused on project completion and has helped in providing data driven solutions for complex problems. The approach to designing a consulting project framework is based on starting with the mission and vision of the organization I am working with and understanding how the objective of the project fits with the mission and vision. Before next steps are taken there needs to be an assessment of the organization’s current position vis-à-vis the universe in which it exists. Only then can you move forward to developing a strategy, its tactics and an execution plan. An exercise that should help in gaining clarity for your project relates to the acronym: M ission – How does the organization service a universal need? This is why the organization exists. As you consider your next consulting project it is always good to consider how the client’s organization...