Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Problem solved?

My excellent adventure in posting a podcast on our newspaper server appears to be drawing to a close, and it looks like it will be a happy one.

The lesson, which is really just a current version of the ultimate organizational lesson: Find the right person, communicate with people who care, and things happen. Right now there are two helpful, professional people working to resolve the hosting issue for my podcast. With any luck, the feed will be available in just a few minutes.

As I was saying earlier about how innovation is ALWAYS a hassle, I want to amend that comment. That's me talking without editing. Innovation is USUALLY a hassle, and when it's a hassle it's almost always because you've run into one person who is supposed to help you but doesn't.

I think most organizations are rife with people like this, and they often sit at key intersections of action and communication. In my editing days I spent huge chunks of my life cajoling and sometimes brawling with these people.

So, it's a reminder to those of us who get excited by thinking about media transformance. We have got to connect to the other people who care, the people who are willing to get things done. Sometimes we'll have to go over heads, sometimes we'll have to bash them, but the first step is getting OUR heads together. If we leave things to the "business as usual" chain-of-command and communication, nothing will happen.