The New York Times probably won't implement its brilliant innovation report

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When someone leaked a copy of a New York Times report on innovation (that was shockingly good), it clearly identified the major problems facing the newspaper in an increasingly digital world, and it made some smart recommendations for transforming the Times into a "digital first" publication.

If the Times were to follow them, it would have a large and positive impact on the paper.

Nevertheless, translating the report's recommendations into action will be very difficult. As Ezra points out, the report includes an excellent summary of Clay Christensen's concept of disruption. The report correctly observes that publications like Buzzfeed are posing exactly the kind of disruptive threat Christensen wrote about.

But what the report doesn't mention is the sobering conclusion of Christensen's research: companies faced with disruptive threats almost never manage to handle them gracefully. And the reality is that most businesses threatened by disruptive innovation don't survive. So even if the senior leadership of the Times accepts the findings of the Times innovation report, they're going to find it a huge challenge to make the kind of dramatic changes that will be required for the Times to master the web.


The New York Times probably won't implement its brilliant innovation report