Monday, March 28, 2011

Memo: The really mean kids are on Team No. 5

The following memo was distributed to employees late this morning.

Craig A. Dubow
Chairman
Chief Executive Officer

A few weeks ago, I shared with you the next step in our ongoing strategic efforts to transform Gannett. As noted then, it is critical that we accelerate our internal rate of change to address the rapid rate of change taking place within our industry for consumers, advertisers and competitors. To accomplish this, we launched an integrated, cross-divisional effort that includes a number of strategic initiatives and teams designed to create and deliver transformational ideas.

Since that time, we have accomplished several things and, as promised, I want to keep you posted on the progress we are making on this important company-wide initiative.

First, we have organized our strategic work around five areas that collectively represent key opportunities for Gannett. Second, we have created teams comprised of strong, diverse leadership from throughout our company. Here are the questions that each team will tackle and the members of those teams:
  1. Content Monetization: How should Gannett best generate value for the content we create? Led by Craig McKinnis, director of Content Acquisition and Distribution -- Gannett Digital Ventures. Team members include Matt Jones, Kevin Poortinga, Laura Ramos, Maribel Perez Wadsworth and Jeffrey Wilks.
  2. Content Vertical Expansion: In what content areas should we either significantly expand our coverage or offer new content for our consumers? Led by Heather Frank, vice president of Consumer Media -- USA Today. Team members include Jennifer Carroll, Randy Lovely, Akin Harrison, Carla Wojnaroski and Mark Wasiljew.
  3. Business Adjacencies: Which areas of the media, news and information industries should we expand into or enter? Led by Steve Hauber, publisher and chief executive officer -- Gannett Healthcare Group. Team members include: Dan Ehrman, Laura Hollingsworth, Scott Lyon, Grey Montgomery and Josh Resnik.
  4. Local Products and Advertising Services: How can we best serve the needs of small and medium-sized businesses in reaching and retaining consumers? Led by Steve Zuckerman, chief executive officer -- Clipper Magazine. Team members include Anthony Diaz, Dan Donaghy, Tricia Kelly, Brad Robertson and Reggie Murphy.
  5. Transformational Cost Restructuring: How can we best ensure we have the right resources in the right areas to meet changes in the industry and our portfolio? Led by Paul Saleh, senior vice president and chief financial officer -- Gannett. Team members include Mark Cornetta, Stacy Cunningham, Susie Ellwood, Don Lemire, Susan Motiff and Evan Ray.
I am very pleased with the teams senior management has put together and the leadership and expertise each person brings to this process. The teams have spent the last month outlining issues and work plans, as well as gathering data from the market and from throughout the many corners of Gannett. They have started to develop early ideas about areas of opportunity which will be tested, refined, supported -- or dismissed -- in the weeks to come.

As the teams began to outline their work, a question emerged which you may also share: what exactly is a “transformational opportunity” and how will we know it when we see it? A transformational opportunity fulfills the following three criteria:
  • Achievement would add substantial profitable growth by the year 2014.
  • We can clearly state Gannett's “right to win,” that is, the unique advantage that we bring to the table vs. other players.
  • We can outline the path and actions necessary for success.
The transformational teams have been chartered to identify and qualify these opportunities.

In the course of the work our teams have underway, we also expect they will identify other near-term opportunities. While those opportunities may be smaller, they will also have a more certain impact on our company over the next one to two years. In addition, our teams will identify long-range opportunities which require positioning today in order to bear fruit five or more years from now. These will be noted and explored. However, the core purpose and work of the transformational teams is to champion those ideas that will have a significant impact on our business over the next three to five years.

While our business has both historical strengths and current health, we must achieve transformational change in order to fully thrive in the future. We have the right people in place with the right level of commitment, creativity and bold, strategic thinking to design and drive this important change.

We will continue to share updates with you about our progress. Thank you for your continued support of this work, these teams and our company.

[Artwork: Despair.com]

53 comments:

  1. Actual journalists on these committees: 0
    # Of times transformational used in memo: 6
    # of times strategic is used: 4
    # of layoffs expected as a result of plan: 5000

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  2. Diverse leadership from throughout the company? Not!!!!!!!

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  3. Doesn't CLIPPER magazine count? It has more editorial content than Weekend magazine.

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  4. Suspicions confirmed: Apparently Kate Marymont, vice president for news for the community newspapers, really is a non-player in the corporate hierarchy. She doesn't rate inclusion on any of these "teams."

    It certainly isn't because she's too busy elsewhere leading the charge for quality journalism. In fact, has anyone at any community newspaper heard from her directly lately?

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  5. He's looking at a growth plan for 2014? This co will implode by then. Unlike his compensation.

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  6. Marymount is on Dickeys Golf N Ride Go Team committee.

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  7. While Dubow talks, others walk
    http://nie.mn/dJ5VrH

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  8. That memo was truly grade A Bullshit!! I think Dubow and Co. really do have their head in the sand. LOL, Gannett is so doomed.

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  9. Executive scoring as determined by team leadership has Jack Williams - 3, Dave Hunke - 1, and Gracia - 1.

    With the real winner being Craig McKinnis, leading a team of VPs as a director. Well played. Go Craig!

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  10. Does Gannett cover news anymore? Or just provide wrap around advertising "content"?

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  11. Holy buzzwords, Batman!

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  12. Did this guy go to school ... at all? Stopped reading at paragraph one, as it seemed like he had simply plugged buzz words into his computer and let the machine write the memo.

    I'm sure some people will say he's winning because he has a lot of cash, but jeez does he sound like an imbecile.

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  13. The inability to communicate in English remains astounding.

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  14. I guess Dubow wants a 28th Amendment added to the U.S. Constitution: Gannett's Right to Win!

    That memo was just painful to read.

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  15. If they really were serious, they'd lay off at least half of the people on the committees. Or maybe all.

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  16. Yes. We have every right to win. That slogan was no. 2 on the sci branding campaign.

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  17. Craig needs two hires. Someone to dress him. Someone to edit his nonsensical memos.

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  18. Charlie Sheen is Craig's new ghostwriter.

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  19. The stuff coming out of dubow's office is starting to put Charlie Sheen in new light.

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  20. Give him some credit; it's finally dawned on him that GCI needs to find out what this Internet thingy is all about.

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  21. I do not recognize anyone here who might be from broadcasting or Newsquest. Who am I missing?

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  22. That memo is completely insane...who talks or writes like that except a moron on an insane person.

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  23. "The point is that Gannett is still 70 percent revenues in print, it's not so easy to just shut down papers and try to survive overnight. Therefore, ALL papers are in "transformation" mode....

    Above from a previous post. What most people don't realize (and Jim as a business reporter you probably know this) but almost all of Gannett's digital revenue is from Careerbuilder (upwards of 90%) so of the 30% revenue figure almost all is from Careerbuilder. However, since Gannett owns 51% of Careerbuilder they count 100% of Careerbuilders revenue in their annual revenue (which is an allowable accounting practice) but is not reality. So the bottom line is that the digital revenue that does not come from Careerbuilder is incredible smaller compared to the overall picture and what Careerbuilder revenue that is counted is doubled. Hope that makes sense to all of you, no math and account types, but Gannett is so heavily dependent on print and with declines continue basically forever, GCI will find themselves in a very tight financial situation soon.

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  24. "4. Local Products and Advertising Services: How can we best serve the needs of small and medium-sized businesses in reaching and retaining consumers?" Uh... have advertising done by LOCAL people instead of India and Indiana? Just a thought... maybe then advertisers would stop walking. Brilliant. (I'll be expecting my gazillion-dollar bonus.)

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  25. Jim -- where did you find that parody poster. Funniest I've seen in ages.

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  26. ...he writes like this, and he is the head of one of America's largest communications companies ?????

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  27. I hate to just add to the long list of disturbing questions, but how are they going to fit these titles on the team T-shirts? I feel sorry for the outside vendor who gets that contract. Maybe they'll have a 'series of sessions' where they can develop 'agreed-upon initiatives' to solve that one in a transformationally strategic way.

    We can hope.

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  28. Sorry, I don't buy it... in a few months, this will be history or - most likely - forgotten.

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  29. 5:45 -- despair.com

    Lots of good stuff, very relevant.

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  30. @5:45 PM -- I wish my ads were done in India, they'd be a hell of a lot better than the crap I get from the GPC!

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  31. Of course, 6:43. It'll be added to a long list of failed ideas at Gannett:

    News2000.
    Real Life, Real News.
    Local Information Center
    ContentOne

    I'm sure I'm missing a few of the national ones. Plus, where I worked, we had a few local targeted ones as well. They too, were forgotten about. Sometimes within a month.

    Fact is, until Gannett finds a workable strategy AND sticks to it, their credibility in terms of coming up with initiatives is ... none.

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  32. 5:46 I found it through a Google search. I've now added a credit line.

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  33. Jargonization impedomizes comprehensionism of this obtusified, buzzwordened claptrapathon. And the gobbledygooking doesn't incentivize me to attempt to decipherize such jumbonic superfluities.

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  34. I wonder if the consultants from http://rhsa.com/ are managing this transformation the same way they managed USA Today's.

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  35. There are two broadcast names in the mix. Do your own homework.

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  36. blah, blah, blah. It's all just a bunch of meaningless words strung together with and, the and to.

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  37. Anybody want to bet Core Strategy Group (aka overpaid consultants) wrote this. Ever worked with consultants like McKinsey, etc. They charge a million bucks for a thick PPT deck that says absolutely nothing anyone can decipher.

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  38. I've used my secret decoder ring and the Dubow memo actually says- "We're not really just a newspaper company anymore and although I'm not sure what we are, we need to get there quickly. Please forget all the new directions that get mentioned every few months over the past several years, this time we've assembled several teams of top leaders who will be at fault when we announce new directions in the future. I'm especially impressed mentioning the importance of "transformational change" although I really don't know what it means. But I'm convinced more than ever we'll get there unless this doesn't work. Actually, we really don't have a plan to determine what success is in relation to the plan so let me just end by saying it's a great plan unless you lose your job due to transformational change."

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  39. Where's Karen Crotchfelt in the "diverse leadership"?

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  40. 9:08 p.m., that's excellent. Jargonization, etc.
    The "right to win" line is such entitlement baloney.

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  41. Right to win. Dats so beasties boys. Word to your muthah, dog.

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  42. this memo makes the same amount of sense if you read only every 5th word. try it!

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  43. This is the list of usual suspects. They are all Gracia and Craig sycophants. Makes me sick. For example, what the hell has Jennifer Carroll done to add value? Or Dan Donaghy, the Leprechaun? Seriously someone tell me what they have done!

    Dubow writes like an idiot, but worse off, Robin Pence actually wrote this for him.

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  44. A "Transformational Opportunity" is when this leadership team gets FIRED!

    Craig you are stupid!

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  45. Let me get this straight: There we are suppose to work on transformation since 2006 and nothing was done other than laying off the masses or furlough.

    Profitable growth by the year 2014. Man, why not 2020 at the pace you are going? LOL!

    Wow, do we really need 5 teams? Looks like a work-providing measure to me. Gracia and Craig, beat the tar out of them if they don't come up with an idea! LOL!

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  46. Seems a tad late to be getting around to this stuff. I'd have thought this would have been on the table what, five, six years ago?

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  47. It's pathetic that the man considers this to be progress. What the heck has Gannett been doing all along?

    It's simply depressing that this is what tens of millions of dollars is buying Gannett.

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  48. Wow. This is great. Our well-compensated leadership is taking action and forming committees, er, teams.

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  49. 4:29 PM, LMAO!

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  50. 8:44 ask My Boss. Where is she these days?

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  51. It's great that Jim posts these memos for the world to see. That way investors, stock analysts, etc., see just how clueless upper management is. Not only is this memo an embarrassingly bad piece of writing, what little information it contains demonstrates that Dubow is incapable of forward thought.

    These committees are all focused on basic business issues that should have been at the forefront of the company's mind for decades. That we are now forming teams to address them seems to indicate that Dubow himself has no vision ... so he's hoping somebody else can find one.

    Too bad the board of directors doesn't take this thing into account and oust him. Even with his massive golden parachute, it would probably be cheaper in the long run to buy him out and hire somebody who's actually a leader.

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  52. In just over a year and a half, the following people from these teams have quit or been pushed out the door from Gannett: Jones, Wojnaroski, Ehrman, Montgomery, Resnik, Diaz, Murphy, Saleh and Ellwood. Probably more I'm missing. That's nearly one in three. Not a great record of retaining talent.

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Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."

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