Media Meltdown

Since the consolidation of the radio industry in the mid-90s until now, the competitive landscape has evolved dramatically. Long gone are the days of just anticipating, tracking and responding to the encroaching moves of a direct, or indirect, format competitor. There are more formats due to fragmentation and more competitive media due to technical and creative innovation. Competition for listeners’ time, attention and ears is everywhere.

So, what’s on the horizon in 2007, 2010, and beyond? Well, be assured that there will only be more exciting challenges and changes ahead—including competitive threats we haven’t imagined yet. As they say, the only thing in life (or in business) that’s constant is change. But now, help is on the way. Leadership expert John Kotter and co-author Holger Rathgeber offer new strategies for dealing with change in their new book, “Our Iceberg is Melting,” a simple business fable with profound lessons for working and living in an ever-changing world.

Here are John and Holger’s 8-steps for Changing And Succeeding Under Any Conditions:

Step 1:
Create a Sense of Urgency
Help others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately.

Step 2:
Pull Together The Guiding Team
Make sure there is a powerful group guiding the change—one with leadership skills, bias for action, credibility, communications ability, authority, analytical skills.

Step 3:
Develop the Change Vision and Strategy
Clarify how the future will be different from the past, and how you can make that future a reality.

Step 4:
Communicate for Understanding and Buy-in
Make sure as many others as possible understand and accept the vision and the strategy.

Step 5:
Empower Others to Act
Remove as many barriers as possible so that those who want to make the vision a reality can do so.

Step 6:
Produce Short-Term Wins
Create some visible, unambiguous successes as soon as possible.

Step 7:
Don’t Let Up
Press harder and faster after the first successes. Be relentless with instituting change after change until the vision is a reality.

Step 8:
Create a New Culture
Hold on to the new ways of behaving, and make sure they succeed, until they become a part of the very culture of the group.

For more from these change agents, click here.