Unbound Edition - The Times They Are A Changin'

Gotta love Bob Dylan. For so many reasons, he’s the best. One of the things I love most about him is his willingness to accept change. You don’t have to like change, but you have to recognize it. To fail to appreciate change, or worse, to outright ignore or fight it, can prove incredibly costly.

The newspaper, television and music industries all need to take heed: the present now will later be past.

Circulation is down. Ad revenue is down. CD sales are down. These are not anomalies. These are indicators of the future. And if you want to be a part of it, then you must change. Never be so married to your current form that you are unwilling to change. You will pay dearly for an attitude like that.

In the amazing New York Times article about Rick Rubin, he is quoted as saying, “Until a new model is agreed upon and rolling, we can be the best at the existing paradigm, but until the paradigm shifts, it's going to be a declining business. This model is done."

In an article in Fortune, Warren Buffet is quoted as saying, “The present model isn't going to work."

Two visionaries with, I’d imagine, very little in common (other than being visionaries) saying pretty much the exact same thing about two different industries.

Rubin spoke about the music industry. Buffet discussed the state of newspapers. And as Vint Cerf said, television is approaching its “iPod moment.”

All of these industries will look and act extremely different in 10 years. It’s up to the current “leaders” to adapt. Otherwise, it’s the way of the dodo.

Change is not a bad thing. Embrace it. Love it. Profit from it. Because, as Dylan said, “You better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone. For the times they are a-changin'”

Weed files
written by bkostl, September 05, 2007 02:09 PM

I thought these guys were on to something. Too bad they failed. The idea of paying original downloaders a commission for passing along a file to another person who purchased it was brilliant.

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2004/11/65774

Honesty...
written by E.R., September 05, 2007 02:13 PM

As we're swimming in the sea change, I'm reminded of advice I read when I began playing poker: The difference between professionals and amateurs is that the professionals keep accurate records, no matter how painful. You'll notice that casual players will always overstate their big wins and characterize any losing session as "I broke about even," or "I lost a couple of bucks."

What I realized is that, on the whole, I enjoyed cards but wasn't a top-tier player. If I was going to make a life-long study of something, it sure wasn't going to be poker.

Many companies need to come to this sort of realization. They're not going to be able to fake it. They can't dress up the old model and call it a revolution. Stop lying to yourselves about the flexibility of your organization and the vision you have for the future. Become comfortable with your twilight, and find out where the things you're truly good at fit within these emerging models.

E.

Ford should take your advice, E.R.
written by bkostl, September 05, 2007 02:32 PM

Bold they ain't.

Looky here
written by boots of spanish leather, September 05, 2007 03:22 PM

He is a man of constant change:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZTCFhS7IIgM

i heart bob dylan
written by *LB, September 12, 2007 12:01 PM

http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2007/09/12/toronto5/

Behold the power of change.