Master your creative genius

Are you a creative problem solver and can-do person?
Do you share my belief that there's a genius inside you?
Don’t these times demand more creative thought?
The economy is in the tank. So are many of our clients.
Can we do business they way we did 18 months ago?
I’ll share 17 creative tactics at the NNA convention.
It’s Saturday in beautiful Mobile. Hope you’ll join us.
Here are five of the tactics. If you want the rest, email me.
1. Day dream in technicolor with the end in mind.
Visualize your results and how it will feel to achieve them.
2. Use a planner — it will save you lots of time.
They’re an inexpensive investment in your future.
3. Write your short- and long-range goals.
Short are for the next 12 months. Long the next 5 years.
4. List all the action steps with deadlines.
This is critical. You must visualize each task along the way.
You must give each task a realistic deadline and meet it.
5. Post your goals where you can review them daily.
How about beside your computer or the bathroom mirror?
Feeling fired up? My friend, start your pen or pencil.
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Dare to dream

Lexington County Chronicle readers love to travel.
They send us photos of themselves in exotic places.
They’re holding copies of their favorite newspaper.
We have published photos of readers all over the world.
Some skin diving, sky diving and mountain climbing.
Our friend Doris Reynolds is back from Copenhagen.
She sent us her photo with her favorite newspaper.
She was at Tivoli Gardens, a famous amusement park.
Walt Disney got his inspiration for Disneyland there.
But his idea for an amusement park started years before.
Walt used to take his daughters to a local park.
He was disappointed by the park’s maintenance.
He thought one day he’d like to build a park for kids.
The paint wouldn’t be chipped. The rides would work.
The place would be spotless. No graffiti or litter.
Most of us would have considered that a pipe dream.
That was long before the Mouse made Walt famous.
Walt didn’t give up the dream. See what happened?
Are you an idle dreamer or truly visionary?
Don’t dismiss your dreams. Make them real.
To comment on dreaming, please click on comment.
P.S. NNA asked me to conduct two convention sessions.
Saturday morning we’ll talk about innovative thinking.
Saturday afternoon about doing more with less.
I hope to see you in Mobile this weekend.

How newspapers can survive

Friday we talked about my Rx for your newspaper’s survival.
This week we’ll talk about what other experts predict.
You’ve seen the bad news. Almost all metros are cutting staff.
The giant Gannett Co. just announced it’s cutting 1,000 jobs.
That’s 1,000 newspaper families looking for the next paycheck.
What about the rest of the industry? Is it this badly in trouble?
Over the weekend, seven of us met in Atlanta to plot the future.
Bob Bobber reports circulation at his Florida newspapers is up.
Sure, the metros are hurting. The days of 40% margins are over.
And we can expect dailies to drop less profitable publishing days.
Many are already dropping Mondays. Is Thursday next?
An NNA survey found 83% of adults read a community newspaper.
If yours is a community newspaper, don’t feel smug.
None of us are out of danger. But the future is not as bleak.
Circulation expert Phil Hanna is betting on community newspapers.
Keep reporters on the street, he advises, and you’ll have readers.
Without strong local reporting, you’re irrelevant.
I was glad to hear Phil say that. I’ve preached that for years.
Get more names and faces into your newspapers.
Have readers saying, "I saw your picture in the newspaper."
That’s the kind of buzz you won’t hear about other media.
Tomorrow we’ll talk more about what the experts say.
To hold the line on your costs and expenses, click here.