From the opening:
We've been hearing for nearly a decade now that our industry is changing, that stores and publishers alike will have to adapt or be left behind. Some of us have been convinced for years, others have been skeptical, but as the last days of 2009 fly by, even the most hard-core doubters have seen the signs that doing what we've always done the way we've always done it would be courting disaster.And later:
And then further down:All of this is happening at a time when many of us are harder pressed than ever just to stay on top of "business as usual". As our stores and institutions cope with furloughs, layoffs and attrition from hiring freezes, the phrase "do more with less" is on everyone's lips. I know many days I feel I barely have time to think - let alone think outside the box! Trying a new program, implementing a new strategy, can seem impossible on days when, like Alice with the Red Queen, we're running just as fast as we can to stay in one spot. Nevertheless, carving out time to imagine and plan, and making the decision to act on those plans, is no longer optional. And no store or course materials department is immune from that imperative… not even mine!
The important point is that no matter how well we think we're doing in one area, innovation is still imperative. No matter how busy we already are, we can't tell ourselves we're too busy to try something new. Even if administrators are not banging at our doors we should be imagining what we'll tell them when they do - or better yet, be getting ready to knock on their doors with our own proposals for change.
She goes on to note that this year, the CACS Course Materials committee "will do our best to help our members find new energy for innovation even in hard times."
All I have left to say is "Hurray!" If it doesn't hurt, you have my support.
