What Old Mainstream Media Taught Me about New Media

Reading the Sunday New York Times each week is something that I hold sacred. Even though I am completely hooked into all digital media formats, nothing quite replaces the physical newsprint with its smudging ink and messy sections that lay around the house for days. I’m not likely to listen to a podcast while wearing slippers and munching on a bagel with cream cheese, but that is precisely what I want to do while reading my weekend morning paper.

So it’s something of a wakeup call, and a bit stronger than my cup of morning Joe, to read the Times these days. They are writing a lot about the changing landscape of media, as blogs, videos and other digital forms continue to body slam analog forms of communication. Chief among these writers is Virginia Heffernan, whose The Medium column (and blog) is really tapping into the general zeitgeist right now. Consider this from her most recent article:

People who work in traditional media and entertainment ought either to concentrate on the antiquarian quality of their work, cultivating the exclusive audience of TV viewers or magazine readers that might pay for craftsmanship. Or they should imagine that they are 19 again: spending a day on Twitter or following a recipe from a Mark Bittman video played on a refrigerator that automatically senses what ingredients are missing and texts an order to the grocery store (it will soon exist!). Then they should think about what content suits these new modes of distribution and could evolve in tandem with them. For old-media types, mental flexibility could be the No. 1 happiness secret we have been missing.

As someone who has worked with old media for years, I couldn’t put it any better myself. We do need to stretch our minds to wrap our heads around all the changes taking place. The week before she wrote this, the Times had an entire magazine devoted to the proliferation of screens everywhere and how this is upending our traditional textual modes of communication. Kevin Kelly wrote in the Idea Lab about Becoming Screen Literate.

As I’ve written before in this blog, the advent of digital video is forever altering how we communicate. Kelly’s article really lays out a vision for the visual future that’s actually becoming reality right now.

A couple months ago I opened the magazine and read “Facebook in a Crowd” by Hal Niedzviecki. That article really floored me because it articulated what turns off some marketers to social networking – the illusion that what happens online automatically translates into something real offline. His article demonstrates that those you’re calling “friends” in Facebook don’t really hold the same weight as your friends in the real world, and that this brave new world has a whole new set of rules. (It’s a hilarious article and well worth reading.)

If you’re already incredibly immersed in all things social, then this is old news to you. But with constantly evolving means of communication, the idea that any one person can know everything about our changing online world is simply laughable. But, I just hope that while I cling to my Sunday morning old media tradition, my mind remains flexible and open to the ever-expanding online media universe. That, and a good bagel and coffee, are my number 1 happiness secret.

<

The Tribe Has Spoken

I spent some time last month listening to a free audio book called Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization. I knew that the book was available as a free download because I follow the Twitter tweets of Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com. If Tony, an innovator and business leader, recommended it to his followers, I knew that it would be well worth reading. He actually contributed to the audio book’s forward, and having listened to the book, I can see why the authors chose him.

 

The book revolves around the central concept of companies existing as bands of tribes (from as many as 20 people to 150 people per tribe). In effect, an organization is like a state with multiple small towns within it. These are not necessarily your department, but loose associations of thought leaders and colleagues. Tribal groups are formed by the replication of what the authors call “triads.” Triads are strong three-party relationships. This is important factor for organizations with a tribal culture, because the authors know that only a three-legged stool can stand, and that by sharing work among colleagues, there is a mutually-supportive structure, rather than a top-down, one-on-one, senior-to-junior dynamic at work.

 

If you look for it, you will see these triad relationships everywhere in successful companies. Think about LinkedIn, which relies on you working through your existing contacts to reach another contact in the system (a triad). The book also focuses on the fact that successful tribal company cultures are not about “me”, they are about “we.” While company cultures can focus on the superstars, they do so at their own peril. Real superstars are always forming triads and bringing out the best in their colleagues. They are using what helped the Celts win the championships – Ubuntu – and the knowledge that no one can make it alone.

 

The book provides case studies of the companies that are getting Tribal Leadership right, like Amgen. Companies, as well as individuals, can be found on a continuum from stage 1 (totally failing) to stage 5 (incredibly successful). About half of all companies in America are in stage 3 where self-accomplishment is the core value celebrated (it’s about my success). Companies at stage 5 are in a league of their own (they don’t see themselves as having competitors, just major problems to solve – cancer, bad customer service). Companies at stage 5 are also incredibly open and share information fluidly among the tribal members (and social networking is increasingly helping them create this openness and transparency).

 

There’s something extremely attractive about a stage 5 tribal culture, and a lot to admire in Tribal Leaders. While these leaders can exist at companies that have yet to make it to tribal excellence, the book suggests that through practicing the creation of triads, being group-oriented and checking their egos at the door, leaders can help to elevate their companies. Next time you’re in a meeting, count the number of times someone says “me” when they could be saying “we.” Now listen to yourself. And, definitely listen to this important book, for free.