Managing Change in Publishing Jabin White Exec. Director, Electronic Production Elsevier June 2,...

Managing Change in Publishing

Jabin WhiteExec. Director, Electronic ProductionElsevierJune 2, 2004

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Managing Change in Publishing I like to use a

piggy bank A purse is also a

good idea Don’t take any

wooden nickels A penny saved =

penny earned

Jabin White - Elsevier

Let’s Try This Again

Sorry about that…


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Agenda Introductions Change in general Change in publishing Case Study 1 Case Study 2 Experts on change management, and

what that means to us publishers Conclusions


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And you are? Started as Editorial Assistant, then DE Learned SGML at Mosby working on

drug reference Moved to W&W in 1997, led SGML

group; merged with Lippincott Handheld startup in 2000 Current position since November,

2000, merged from HHS to Elsevier in 2001


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Change in General

It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.

W. Edwards Denning


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Are we unique? We live in the

information age Is change happening

faster now than ever before?

Probably – but everyone thinks that the pace of change in ‘their’ time is unprecedented

Technological advances make it seem as though the pace of change is quickening

"There is nothing permanent except change.“

Heraclitus (6th Cent. BC)

"Everything changes but change."

Israel Zangwill (1864-1926)

"No one will need more than 637 kb of memory for a personal computer

Bill Gates (1955-- )


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What is the lesson? The only constant is change Two choices:

Resist and suffer Embrace and flourish

Understand that change = opportunity

Control change – ie, change for the better, not for the sake of change


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Change in Publishing Change is inevitable - except from

a vending machine. Robert C. Gallagher


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New Terms in Publishing


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Enough Already!!!


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Change in publishing From Guttenburg to the web

1454: Static print pages 2004: Dynamic contentPrinted book pages Web


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Technology’s Impact on Publishing Products

Print, web, handheld Integrated electronic products

Processes Efficient, multi-purposed content, faster,

cheaper Content Management is moving from ‘nice

to have’ to ‘must have’ People

More advanced skill sets required More likely to leave (training expenses!!!)


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Outsourcing Shift in core competencies 1980’s

Desktop publishing boom Copyediting was core competency

Today Copyediting, pagination, conversion

are becoming outsourced commodities Publishers as ‘project managers’


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Offshoring Strategy is to outsource, and then

find cheap labor to perform Developing countries are perfect fit

– quality has gotten much better Political, ethical issues


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1980’s Workflow – Let’s Make a Book!

Acquire content (agreement to submit) Pages received on paper Pages photocopied, edited on paper (AU queries inserted) Composition marks inserted on paper Pages mailed to comp Comp typesets pages (includes AU queries) Pages returned to publisher Pages copied, mailed to authors and proofreaders Authors make AAs, respond to queries Pages mailed back to publisher Proofreading corrections, query responses mailed back to comp New pages typeset Galleys proofed Final pages produced Bindery Distribution in print form


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Today’s Possible Workflow Acquire content (agreement to submit) Receive content in MS Word (w/ or w/o templates) Edit electronically Convert to XML (if not already) FTP to comp Comp typesets based on stylesheet (ideally with XML ‘aware’

pagination system) Produce PDF proofs Email PDF proofs to AU, or send them to website to download AU responds to queries electronically Re-flow pages Proofread final pages Print and bind book Send XML content to website, aggregator, CD-ROM, PDA, etc.


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What were those changes again? Changes in processes Changes in employee skills Changes in expectations Changes in financials (ROI) Changes in knowledge (Alphabet

soup, TMA)


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Case Study 1 If you want to make enemies, try

to change something. Woodrow Wilson


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Case Study 1

Problem: Building and implementing a customized version of MS Word to produce SGML, used by copyeditors


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Background Before MS Word even understood

XML Customized version of Word ’97 Combination of VBA & Omnimark to

produce SGML on back end of editing process

Rolled out to copyeditors, who ‘lived’ in the system


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Results System rolled out for journals Never for books Being phased out for journals Largely deemed a failure


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Why did it fail? Didn’t solve a problem the end users

had Didn’t have top-level support for

project Middle management was allowed to

not support project Culture change was too big Failed at expectation management

The “meeting”Jabin White - Elsevier

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Lessons Learned People matter You cannot communicate too much Change MUST align with company’s

strategic goals Must have top-level management support

Particularly with passive aggressives Don’t try to solve people and process

issues with technology What is your strategy? Does change project fit?


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Case Study 2 Faced with the choice between

changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.

John Kenneth Galbraith


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Case Study 2

Problem: Changing Harcourt production methods to Elsevier production methods


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Harcourt/Elsevier Production The HARCOURT Way Copyediting in-house Product-centric

approach Formats dependent

on needs, circumstances

“Local” production methodologies

The ELSEVIER Way Copyediting

outsourced Process-centric

approach Enforced formats,

tools given to suppliers

Global production methodology


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From there to here… Copyediting downsized

Outplacement services Computer-skills training Long notice, good severance packages A “humane” approach

Outsourced majority of production Supplier management, project

management


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Why it worked Clearly defined strategy (changes

matched up with that strategy) Communication, communication,

communication Helped greatly for the “survivors”

Excellent support from the top (ie, these are the changes, and we’re not kidding)


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Experts on Change Management, and what that means to publishers

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

George Bernard Shaw


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Keys to implement change Clearly defined and communicated

strategy Effective organizational structure Effective processes, including

communication processes


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Keys to achieving ‘buy-in’ Convince employees of need for change Listen to employee concerns and needs Involve employees in a meaningful way Communicate the plan, and the strong

belief in the plan by upper management


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What the experts say, and what that means to publishers 7 of 10 change initiatives fail to achieve their

intended results Employee resistance is cited as the chief

reason for failure People support what they helped create Change is about ‘feeling’ – facts alone do not

win people over; they must FEEL that the change is good and purposeful

The issue is not whether people have negative emotions – it’s how to deal with them


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What is the nature of your change? Some change is mandated

Y2K, for example Some changes need buy-in

Organizational and individual commitment sometimes requires extra attention

The key is to find out what *your* change is and strike a balance


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Traps to avoid Don’t ignore or fight the ‘troublemakers’ Don’t be fooled by majority opinion

Beware the ‘vocal minority’ Make sure leaders are completely on board Beware of politics and history Don’t focus too much on differences Don’t focus too much on ‘top down’ or ‘bottom

up’ change – most effective is through combination

Iterative change processes: 1. Plan, 2. Assess, 3. Reinforce, 4. Test implement, 5. plan next level and expand


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The Change Process Three basic

phases to the change process Managing

Change

ReinforcingChange

Preparingfor Change

Source: Change Management Benchmarking ReportLoveland, CO www.change-management.com


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The Change Process Preparing for

change Define your change

management strategy

Prepare your change management team

Develop your sponsorship model

ManagingChange

ReinforcingChange

Preparingfor Change



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The Change Process Managing change

Develop change management plans

Take action and implement plans

ManagingChange

ReinforcingChange

Preparingfor Change



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The Change Process Reinforcing change

Collect and analyze feedback

Diagnose gaps and manage resistance

Implement corrective actions and celebrate successes

ManagingChange

ReinforcingChange

Preparingfor Change



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What this means to publishers Publishers are ‘slow’ to change

Remember Guttenburg Recognize this, and plan for it Expectation management Publishing is a ‘white-collar’ world,

so manage accordingly


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Conclusions When you are through changing,

you are through Bruce Barton


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Change Happening *To* You Did I already say that change is a

constant? You can either get on board the train, or

be pulled under the tracks Staying up-to-date in technology is a

full-time job So if you already have a full-time job, find

someone you *trust* to validate technology decisions


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Change you want to make happen People matter Communication is critical Have a plan, and stick to it! Change management is a skill In publishing today, change

management is a NECESSARY skill


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Thank you Questions?Contact info: Jabin White, Elsevier170 S. Independence Hall W., 300EPhiladelphia, PA [email protected]@jabin.com

Slides available at http://www.jabin.com/presentations.html


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Managing Change in Publishing Jabin White Exec. Director, Electronic Production Elsevier June 2,...

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