Nothing Fails Like Success

When the War between the States was fought, some commanders did not realize at first that strategies which had worked before the railroad and before other technological advances were doomed because they were outdated. After World War I, when General Billy Mitchell insisted that bomber airplanes could sink surface ships, almost no one would listen.

In both the above situations, the problem was that people have a tendency to believe that if something has worked in the past, it will automatically work in the future. The problem is that history has shown over and over again that what used to work will frequently become unsuccessful as time passes.

Apparently, this is the same mistake that many newspapers including the Wall Street Journal are making. Like those in the military hierarchy who refused to listen to General Mitchell, they also refuse to see that "the times they are a changin' "

In Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is making the same kind of mistake. Ignoring that anyone can circumvent their signup screen by using bugmenot, and the fact that almost all the news wires are publishing their content freely and that over 50 newspapers are using RSS feeds to distribute content, the AJC hides its articles inside a password protected section for seven days and then attempts to charge anyone who wants to read anything older.

This approach, as discussed in the article about the Wall Street Journal, is self-defeating. Technology is not going to go away and you can not turn back the clock. You must either adapt or like the Pony Express you will become extinct.

If you own a business, or if you are a salesperson, you need to also heed this advice. The strategies which worked yesterday, do not always work today and if you do not adapt to the changes in technology and society, your competition will !