"The percentage of mistakes in quick decisions is no greater than in long-drawn-out vacillations, and the effect of decisiveness itself 'makes things go' and creates confidence." Anne O'Hare McCormick

"The most successful business man is the man who holds onto the old just as long as it is good and grabs the new just as soon as it is better." Robert Vanderpoel

"There are but two powers in the world, the sword and the mind. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the mind." Napoleon


Why's Conde Nast's Portfolio So Bad?: Elizabeth Spiers writes via The New Republic...

"My central complaints about issue one: It was pretentious without being sophisticated. It lacked substance and didn't have the courtesy to compensate with style. It talked down to the reader and spent much of its editorial space explaining simple concepts and background information that its supposed target audience--mid-to-senior level executives in their early 40s--would already know. It was fluffy. And it didn't bring any substantive new information to light.

The second issue is slightly better in small ways but still suffers from those primary weaknesses."

Bravo Elizabeth! Well done. Elizabeth also shares her pov on how to fix the book, including a recommendation on a new leader. Read her entire writing here.

Psst, wanna see some pictures?: Radio star Fred Winston is also damn good with a camera, check out the pics here.

MTV + RealNetworks = new iTunes competition: Ethan Smith and Nick Wingfield have coverage via WSJ. Read MTV, RealNetworks Join to Battle iTunes here.

Better off than a year ago or not? As we approach the first anniversary of his hire it seems reasonable to ask, what has Jeffrey M. Haley accomplished? Is the first tribe of wireless better off today because of his leadership of the RAB? The most direct and candid response seems to be - we don't know. Further, what we can suggest, at this point, is Jeff and team have yet to produce a single significant result. They deserve credit for targeting and soliciting new business, however, they need to put a win on the board.

The responsibility of leadership is to produce results.

In contrast to the RAB, the NAB appears to be on a roll. David Rehr and his N street team are active and aggressive on all fronts. They have raised awareness on critical issues, they have engaged in the important conversations and brought a sense of urgency to the most relevant debates doing so with a new, refreshing intensity, and with purpose. They are serving as advocates, deserving of recognition and praise.

"Be extremely careful in the accuracy of your statements." William Swanson

Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management: unwritten rule number fifteen...

"You should be passionate and inspiring, but what you say must be true. People are counting on your words for information and may act on what you tell them. When you say something, you want people to be able to 'take it to the bank.'"

Elizabeth Spiers is the subject of Friday's Jon Friedman MarketWatch post, Blogger Spiers knows where old media go wrong. In this latest installment of his wits of May series Jon writes "Old media have suffered self-inflicted wounds, Spiers contends, because they prefer to jump on a trend instead of trying to come up with something wholly original. Their mentality seems to be to throw money at a problem, rather than daring to be different." Bravo Elizabeth! The legendary founding voice of Gawker is scary smart and her take on old media is spot-on. The focus of old media is too often on getting better when they should be getting different. Kudos to Jon on another good writing. Hey Jon, why stop the series in May? You're on to something.

What is your mobile strategy? Back of the envelope arithmetic: about one billion internet users, about one billion TV households, about 2.5 billion mobile customers. MediaFLO USA now live in 27 domestic markets with video content partners including ESPN, CBS, FOX and NBC. They are using the Verizon platform now and others are coming including ATT. They're broadcasting using channel 55 nationwide. They will reach millions. Opportunity for radio folks: they will offer audio. The killer app will be designed for mobile rather than any content re-purposing. Think obvious, topical, local. Why wait? Team up!