Needs Topic

Winning: Execution and innovation

Winning: Execution and innovation

The Table Stakes outlined here are about what news enterprises need to do to “get in the game.” But you don’t just want to play. You want to win. Learn what it takes to differentiate your news organization from others in ways that help you move from “survive” to “thrive.”

9 min

Douglas K. Smith, Quentin Hope, Tim Griggs, Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative, September 2017

Plan default plan tagline

Identify your innovation gaps

Before you can “win” you need to understand your gaps in both capacity for innovation and your institutional capability to innovate.

4 min

Douglas K. Smith, Quentin Hope, Tim Griggs, Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative, September 2017

What winning looks like

Once you’ve mastered the table stakes, there are things you can do to win. What does a winning local news enterprise look like?

10 min

Douglas K. Smith, Quentin Hope, Tim Griggs, Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative, September 2017

Do default do tagline

Put a team in charge of enterprise wide innovation

You must have a team who manages, oversees and tracks progress toward fundamental innovation.

4 min

Douglas K. Smith, Quentin Hope, Tim Griggs, Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative, September 2017

Complexity: Intermediate

Partner to expand your capacity and capabilities at lower and more flexible cost

You must figure out how to collaborate – among yourselves and with others.

Douglas K. Smith, Quentin Hope, Tim Griggs, Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative, September 2017

Complexity: Intermediate

Embrace fast following

You must monitor innovations that emerge with an eye on quickly ‘following’ – using innovation disciplines to test whether and how what works elsewhere will or might work in your market.

Douglas K. Smith, Quentin Hope, Tim Griggs, Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative, September 2017

Complexity: Intermediate

Establish a budget for fundamental innovation – and use criteria to choose among competing ideas

You MUST establish a pool of money and explicitly dedicate resources to experimenting with fundamentally new and different ways of adding value to your markets and local communities

Douglas K. Smith, Quentin Hope, Tim Griggs, Knight-Lenfest Newsroom Initiative, September 2017

Distinguish continuous improvement from fundamental innovation

All news enterprises must continuously get better at what they do. But you also must be able to truly innovate.

10 min