Landmark managers' meeting, May 1995
Every day when I pick up the paper now, I read today's surprise about the media business. New products offered, new technologies announced, mergers, joint ventures, new competitors invading others' markets. There has never been a time in our business when change was as swift and as revolutionary as today.
It's natural to ask in a time like this, "What is the future for a medium-size, private media company like Landmark?"
It is easy to focus on the perils and threats brought on by galloping change. There's no doubt that the risks are greater and the stresses of change can be unsettling.
It is also true that the greatest opportunities are usually spawned in times of extraordinary changes.
I believe Landmark's future depends on how skillfully and aggressively we create and seize new opportunities. We have what it takes to develop and exploit opportunities successfully.
First, unlike our sister company, TeleCable, Landmark is not threatened by radical structural changes and consolidations in our industries. None of our businesses is at a real disadvantage because of size. None requires expertise or capital resources we cannot supply or acquire.
We do face competitive threats and technology changes that challenge us more than ever before. But that's more a way of life in every media company today.
We have assets, many of them unique, that can give us powerful competitive advantages in the media business.
Because Landmark is private, we are not shackled by the short-term mentality of Wall Street. We operate with a long-term investment strategy. That was never more important than today.To develop new business opportunities and build competitive strength now requires investments that take years, rather than months, to pay off. Investments of all kinds. Investments in team management, in developing people, in building new products and market share, in experimenting with new media. Throughout Landmark, we are making investments that many others would not consider because the payoff will not come quickly. Our long-term horizon is a major advantage.
Landmark has a long track record of successful innovation and entrepreneurship.
We were one of the early pioneers in cable TV. When our capital was very limited, we built a strong cable company through resourceful franchising rather than paying fancy prices for acquisitions.
When most observers thought we were nuts, we started The Weather Channel. Its key success factor was our own invention of the means to deliver local weather forecasts to every cable system.
Later, we recognized an opportunity to develop a national business by consolidating small classified publications. The value we added with management, marketing skills and new-product development produced a fast-growing company in Trader.
There have been scores of innovations in each of our divisions. In just the last year, divisions have undertaken new ventures like careerWEB, a Latin American Travel Channel, The Vacation Store, four new publications in Citrus County, 45 new titles at Trader Publishing, five new collectible titles. Others are in the works.
Not everything we have done has been a winner. But failures, in an odd way, are a mark of success in an innovator as long as they are not too big and too many.
At the root of successful innovation is a willingness to take intelligent risks. Landmark has done that well.
Almost as important today is a willingness to move fast. That often means moving before we have a clear picture of where we are headed. For some years, the newspaper industry has been mulling over what to do about electronic publishing. While others are ruminating, we have started InfiNet. It's too early to tell where InfiNet will lead us, but we are playing the game now. We will learn much more as a player in the marketplace than by attending seminars.
Skill in innovation is probably the single most important strength a media company needs today.
Continuous Improvement gives us a unique opportunity to become a high-performance organization.
We have always striven to get better every year. But in the past, initiative for improvement was driven largely from the top down. CI and team management are the means to engage the entire organization in improvement. Most of the knowledge of what customers want and where our work processes need reform lies with people who serve customers and do the work. Imagine the energy we'll have for improvement when we learn to tap into all that experience.
We are still in the early stages of Continuous Improvement. I know that time-consuming emphasis on training and process has been frustrating and sometimes stressful. But CI has already produced important gains. We will demonstrate a few of them today. If we are patient and tenacious, our results will grow and keep growing.
Through CI, Landmark is far ahead of other media companies in building the mechanism to become the leader in customer satisfaction and productivity. Translating that mechanism into major gains in customer satisfaction and productivity is our largest challenge.
We have a long-standing commitment in Landmark to develop our people. We have a history of taking risks with people - of giving them responsibility and freedom to act.
Now we must provide them with more help and support. Competition requires it. Our work is more sophisticated and demands a broader range of skills. And people need more opportunities to learn and grow for their own stimulation and fulfillment.
Three Landmark teams proposed ambitious initiatives for making this promise a reality. We are determined to make these initiatives in development part of everyday life in Landmark.
We have one of the strongest organizations in the media business today. With a more focused development effort, the skills of our people will be a very large advantage.
Landmark has a reputation in our industry and in our communities for high ethical standards. People trust us. You can't put a price on that, but it is an incredibly valuable asset.
A few weeks ago, someone we were discussing a risky business venture with told me, "In the end, the reason we decided to do this with you is that we trust you."
I don't know of anything else I would rather hear said about Landmark.
Just as important, we produce products we can be proud of. Products that are valuable and important in the lives of our customers. Most of our products are themselves public services.
That's not easy to say today about many media companies. The media marketplace is full of trash and sleaze. An explosion of media voices has created a mad race to capture audience. Even some old-line media are exploiting sex, violence and sensation to get attention. I blanch at some of the fare on the broadcast networks.
We are not perfect. But almost everything we produce is a useful, valuable service to our customers. It helps the spirit when you can go home at night knowing you have contributed to something worthwhile.
Now I hope you understand some of the reasons I'm confident about Landmark's future.
A long-term investment horizon.
A record of successful innovation.
The potential of Continuous Improvement.
First-rate people and a commitment to develop them.
A reputation of trust.
Products we can be proud of.
These are assets that really count. They give us an opportunity to become something special - a media company that is known for excellence. Excellence in business performance and excellence in service to customers and the public.
We are not there yet, and that's OK. Excellence serves best as a pursuit. Looking back on Landmark, I think we've run a long race well, have gained in skill and endurance, and are prepared to keep up a steady pace toward our goals.
Copyright 1995 Frank Batten
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