Top Ten Concepts to Consider When Creating Shared Value

Publishers pride themselves on coming up with creative ideas for new titles. Indeed, it is a requisite task for long-term success. But innovation for its own sake is less likely to lead to profitable new content or services (for both you and your customers) than will an inventive concept developed with your potential customers' needs in mind. Here are the Top Ten Concepts to Consider When Creating Shared Value:

1. Develop ideas that meet market needs and contribute to profitability
2. A first step may be to redefine your mission from that of publishing books to solving readers' problems with your content
3. Analyze your business model for consistency in purpose -- does it need re-invention
4. Recognize that solving market problems presents simultaneous operational challenges and opportunities for growth (on which will you dwell?)
5. Product and service innovations should be scalable
6. The result of a creative session is not just an idea, but practical content that when implemented benefits customers and your business.
7. The pursuit of shared value must be communicated internally and externally
8. Involve your customers, your mastermind colleagues and prospects in creative focus groups to develop concepts and implementation strategies
9. Establish milestones to evaluate progress toward optimum mutual benefit creation; consider an exit strategy if execution goes awry
10. Seek opportunities for shared value outside your core business (i.e., in special sales or non-bookstore segments)