Lessons in reinvention -- from Apple
You wouldn't think Apple was a company that needed to worry about reinventing itself, but yes, apparently so. MediaPost's editor-at-large, Diane Mermigas, has this to say about how Apple "is morphing from a nimble electronic power into a formidable digital lifestyle company."
The lessons for newspapers?
- Get the right mix of creative and technical help (emphasis added);
- Be willing to blow up traditional organizational structure in order to minimize rigid top-down hierarchy and maximize flexibility and speed to market;
- Hone a keen sensitivity to changing consumer needs and demands;
- Do not be satisfied with incremental improvements; insist on creating completely new products and new business models;
- From Steve Jobs' commencement address at Stanford: "Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking."
