Succeeding Under Siege

In today's tough economy, doing all the right things doesn't ensure a guaranteed stock turnaround.  During times of industry siege it is important to do more than stay afloat, it is imperative that decision makers move quickly to right the ship with savvy, well calculated moves, but even when the storms  have been weathered, there is absolutely no guarantee that you will see immediate positive results. These are the times when a great board demonstrates real leadership, digs deep, finds its core values  and measures performance in terms of delivering on their mission rather than relying on stock price to give them confidence. Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (National Post) is a company trying to succeed while under siege.

The National Post has seen their company and industry under siege.  Establishing a new brand is difficult in the newspaper industry and initially the brand struggled against two very tough and well entrenched competitors. On top of that, their parent company went under and they were acquired only to see their new found suitor go into bankruptcy as well.

They have been hit the hardest by rapid growth of the web, mobile advertising from Google, Facebook and the adoption of social media, and finally the phenomena of texting, tweeting and citizen journalism.

They've made bold moves and maintained the strengths and core beliefs of their brand and their founder's vision. They know there is no value in creating a "me too" communication brand that can only succeed in one medium.  Like Xerox, they're moving forward by taking calculated risks after careful and intense scrutiny of all options.  The jury is definitely still out on whether or not Postmedia Network Canada Corp has what it takes to go the distance, only time will tell.