Five Questions For... Mike Benard

Five Questions for ... Mike Benard
Former VP Communications & Public Affairs, Kodak
Speaker, Writer, Coach on Communications Issues

API: What is happening in the news industry and what is different about this transformation?

MB: Change has changed. We are now witnessing seismic transformations -- power shifts, if you will -- unlike anything we've seen in recent business history; and it bears no resemblance to typical up/down business cycles. This is massive and fundamental change, driven by shifts in technology; and it challenges the status quo - a status quo "that once seemed impregnable," as one news exec reflected. For example, the shift to digital technology dramatically impacted the photographic industry. A similar massive and fundamental change is underway in the news industry due to shifts in technology like the internet.

API: Is there reason for urgency?

MB: Yes! Transformations do not have happy endings for organizations incapable of adapting. Transformations become a battle for survival - though it needn't be a desperate battle. The good news is that there are lessons to be learned from Kodak's experience and that of the photographic industry. On top of that, API's Newspaper Next program offers a structured and creative approach to navigating one's way through this upheaval.

API: What are some key lessons?

MB: Activate innovation - this is not a platitude. Think about it. The technology shift has two sides to it: innovation and disruption. It is innovation that disrupts the status quo. Digital technology disrupted the photographic industry's traditional business model. But digital represents innovation. Likewise, the internet disrupted the traditional news industry; and the internet represents innovation. Organizations that can quickly move through the denial stage are in a better position to, first, adapt - then bring their own innovation to the new business model.

API: You speak of the Transformation Template - what is it?

MB: Transformations are fairly consistent, which is why we can learn from previous transformations such as that of the photographic industry. There are three fundamental shifts: A shift in Technology, which drives a dramatic shift in the Business Model; and a shift in the Brand/Reputation Model.

API: Is Brand important?

MB: We ignore Brand at our peril. Too often, Brand can seem like "soft tissue" that does not deserve the same level of attention as the shifts in technology and the business model. On the contrary, Brand is our reputation - an indicator of trust. For Kodak, the question we pursued was whether our Brand permitted us to migrate from analog to digital technology. Would customers and consumers permit us to be a trusted guide in this new world of technology? Fortunately, the answer to that question was yes. The news industry must ask and answer the same question about its Brand.