Components To Creative/Content Leadership in the 21st Century Media

*BALANCE THE COMPANY: Breakthrough Media Companies will deliver excellence in revenue, technology, operations, engineering….and *content*. Programming leadership needs to execute the Company vision with the same intensity as the quest for financial superiority. Serious content/creative attention needs to be integrated into the highest level of the mix.

*RESPECT FOR THE PAST WITH PASSION FOR THE FUTURE: Media’s rich history is just that…history. There is much to learn from it, but only as a vehicle to help design the future.

*GUIDANCE:Creative/Content people need aggressive liberation from old playbook conditioning and ingrained assumptions in order to live up to their own personal and professional possibilities. Even the Beatles or U2 needed a great producer to organize their chaos.

*KEEP ONE FOOT IN THE STREET: As New media emerges, the leaders need to keep one foot planted firmly in the streets to avoid the ‘walled in’ cultures that fail to touch the nerves of the new mainstream. Disconnection from the street will lead to isolation which in turn generates media that follows and not leads.

*THE BIG FIVE Respectful, firm, engagable, committed and unfailingly passionate about the mission ….Important in an ego driven and often denial based business as media/entertainment.

*UNDERSTAND THE BALANCE OF ART & SCIENCE: Critical in the digital era. Some are artists, some are scientists. it’s the collective balance of the two that create magic. EMPATHY has never been more important in balancing the artists with the scientists. A high maintenance air talent is wired differently than a research driven Manger. Working with and understanding the DNA of each is powerful in itself.

*24/7/365: There is nothing part time about creating magic in this century. It’s too competitive to be anything less that completely engaged and focused.

*COMMUNICATION:The convenience of email cannot replace the power of leading through group, written and one-on-one. Communication is the key to developing the rapport that makes things happen. Honest, defense-free, low BS communication that is focused, clear and…exciting.

*INSPIRE (!) FOR THE RIGHT REASONS: Ratings and revenue are the obvious goals, but inspiring and teaching content brilliance is what drives it all. Too often while revenue is the goal, there’s a fuzzy creative road map on how to deliver the content that will *generate* the revenue, or a ‘how do you monetize it’ without understanding and developing ‘it.’

*WALK THE WALK: Being on the front line of the media war has never been as critical. Leading from the field. Living what you preach….in everything breath you take

*EVANGELICAL PRESENTATION TO ASSOCIATED BUSINESSES Especially important in media relationships. The traditional “promotion “ interaction is dead. There is a new era of engaging the media industry and SELLING the vision which can lead to partnerships that are modern, strong and noticeable.

*PEOPLE: The media war is so complex that it requires an Army of motivated people, liberated and focused, on creating the magic that can cut through and prevail. Again, there are different “types” that together can be a tour de force of invention and execution. The key is not a creative culture or a sales culture, it’s a *winning culture, one that celebrates mental diversity.

*HONESTY AND INTEGRITY: Sounds clichéd, but never more important. Quality and ‘doing things for the right reasons’ will be the winners. It’s part of “High Standards” in every aspect of content operations.

*MASS APPEAL INTELLIGENCE: This doesn’t mean elite or narrow. It means big and changing. I’m thinking the content equivalent of an Ipad. Intelligent…on a mass appeal level.

*URGENCY: It’s an attitude..not haphazard or rushed, but a sense of competitive urgency.

*Operating at the speed of 2012. *

*COMPLETENESS: An attention to product detail that is microscopically complete from the big picture to the way the receptionist answers the phone

*THE CREATIVE BATTING AVERAGE: Taking swings with new ideas…not being afraid to contribute…not being afraid to strike out. A person generating 30 good ideas out of 100 is an all-star….then again 0 for 100 is minor league

*THINK AND BEHAVE LIKE A TECH COMPANY: There’s a reason other than the technology itself that these companies are the emerging companies for the future. No reason a media company can’t adapt the often innovative and gutsy behavior that many of these new leaders posses. Devices are wonderful new two way transmitters, but the brilliance that is transmitted is what elevates from Average to Amazing…and average is not acceptable.

*THE COLLISION OF AMAZING CONTENT WITH AMAZING TECHNOLOGY: Often the technology is incredible and the content is average. Content managers and creators need to be as inventive and forward thinking as the device/technology creators. That collision of content with tech brilliance will determine who wins.

*MULTI DIMENSIONAL THINKING: Media can be one dimensional. A certain M.O…. Leaders need to find inspiration from all corners. Radio looks at other radio stations…TV looks at other TV stations…the REAL new thinking will come from outside those worlds. There’s so much out there to tap into in designing and executing media for the 21st Century. America is changing dramatically and media leaders need to pull out the stops to engage every nuance of America’s 2012 pulse. The Eye+Ear+Brain–starved for stimulation.

*CREATE A CONTENT CULTURE THAT DOES IT’S PART IN HELPING THE ENTIRE COMPANY BE……The place the smartest and best WANT to work. Realistically, Big Media companies do not necessarily have that perception…they can, but you have to MAKE it happen

*UNREALISTIC THINKING: Many of these points may appear unrealistic in today’s environment. They are not. They are just rare in traditional media.

*JOBS OR MISSIONS? Considering the rate of change and the “media war” that exists, I’d say mission is more appropriate than jobs.

*THE JOY OF WINNING IS ONLY ECLIPSED BY….The joy of creating winning media