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Pat Dooley, columnist for The Gainesville Sun in Gainesville, Fla.

Have you heard of Dooley? No, it’s not a new social media term or web site, but it is the last name of Pat Dooley, featured sports columnist of The Gainesville Sun in Gainesville, Fla, and author of Game of My Life Florida: Memorable Stories of Gator Football. Having an extensive journalistic background in the history of the University of Florida’s Gators, Dooley is the go-to guy for Gator sports.

But during his visit with the Gainesville Advertising Federation in September, Dooley’s usual playful banter took a more sobering turn as he discussed his struggles with adapting to the fluctuating climate of today’s marketing media.

Many of Dooley’s colleagues have shown resistance to today’s continuously morphing communications market. They refuse to blog and get upset when they have to do a podcast after the game. But Dooley recognized the need for change and simply said to himself, “I want to keep my job and that’s the way it is.”

“You have to be involved,” Dooley added. “You have to do so many things,” because the idealistic view of writing for the sake of writing is quickly falling by the wayside. It used to be that you would write a column and be done, “but now there is so much other stuff to go along with it…I have to do TV, radio, tweet, blog, and occasionally I write a column,” Dooley said.

“Every once in a while I’ll squeeze [a column] in there,” a column “that used to be [my] whole life,” said Dooley with gravity, “Now it’s just a part of it.”

The newspapers wasted a lot of time in jumping on the Internet wagon, firm in their beliefs that the art of newspaper journalism would hold strong. But because of their delayed response, they are now struggling to compete with an online medium that can deliver on a faster, more entertaining and interactive platform.

It’s not Dooley’s goal to disparage anyone from pursuing their dream, but he still feels the need to warn, “You can sit down and write the greatest story ever written…but they’ll say, ‘Yeah that’s great…but did you do a podcast on it? Did you do a video? Did you blog it? Did you tweet it? That’s all that matters any more.” If you are willing to go the distance, be prepared to do the extra advertising legwork to get noticed.

It’s a new ball game, folks. Writers, advertisers, sales people, business owners—you name it—have to be prepared to play. And as Dooley stated, the message is hard-hitting but clear, “You all have to evolve or be left behind.”

By April FitzGerald
In honor of John Spence’s new book, Awesomely Simple, I am reprinting an article I wrote after attending his presentation in Gainesville, Fla.

The buying and selling of stocks left and right, layoffs on the high, and profits on the low. Are you doing your best to weather the storm? Is your company meeting the increasing demands of today’s consumers to make sure you remain on top?

John Spence, author of Awesomely Simple, entertains with his boisterous, matter-of-fact presentation on how businesses can simply apply Focus, Discipline and Action to everyday operations. By employing these methods, business owners can sustain a competitive edge via continuous self-education and simply learning to listen to the Voice of the Customer (VOC).

There are six areas of Focus, Discipline and Action to consider:

1. Measure Key Drivers
2. Clearly Communicate a Survival Plan
3. VOC Surveys
4. Be Proactive
5. Hire Only Top Talent and
6. Disciplined Execution

Now the breakdown:

Measure Key Drivers
List 5 or 6 things that drive your business forward every day. Create a “dashboard” of your top 5 or 6 drivers that measure health, vitals and long-term success.

Clearly Communicate a Survival Plan
Create a Survival Plan for success over the next 18 to 24 months that is clearly communicated throughout the company. This is the time to not be afraid to discuss the difficult issues that have been so artfully avoided up to this point.

VOC Surveys
Use surveys. Gather as much information as possible from your consumers to better build your service. Giving a survey doesn’t have to be a challenge. Surveys can be given via a simple phone call, email or letter. If you really want to get fancy, then take a group of your top clients to lunch and get their feedback. Participate in tradeshows, professional and community associations, consumer panels, advisory boards…The options are endless.

Be Proactive
Meet with customers and give them what they want: Quality, Value and Fast turnaround. Find great partners to help deliver superior customer service by building a network of people who want to see you succeed. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice from someone who may know more than you do. Be sure to listen to employees and customers. In short, learn to learn.

Hire Only Top Talent
Maintain that level of high expectation or mediocrity sets the standard of your company. A mediocre employee can inhibit execution of company ideas and goals, create an inability for staff to work together or disrupt company culture. If an employee is holding onto to the past and is unwilling to change as the company moves forward, it’s time to change the employee.

Disciplined Execution
Figure out where you are going and hold onto the strategy. Make a commitment to your plan and verify that it is in alignment with the company’s vision and goals. As no plan is perfect, adjust and continue to be innovative as needs change. Open the lines of communication and leave no room for misunderstanding. Maintain your support group by terminating those who do not meet expectations and raising those who exceed it.

As we round up one year and fall head-first into another, keep these key points in mind to stay ahead of the pack: Focus, Discipline and Action. Remember, as John says, “mediocrity sets the standard of your company.”

Don’t you think it’s about time to raise the bar?