Breaking Boundaries Generates Business Ideas

When Elisabeth Palombo arrived at Bonnier Corporation in Florida, there was no question about what she could do. Palombo, who works for Bonnier Media University in Stockholm (BMU) at Bonnier AB, was on an extended visit to Bonnier Corporation to investigate how BMU could operate in the U.S. market. After talking with Bonnier Corporation CEO Terry Snow, it was obvious that her experience could immediately be put to use.

"We discussed how important it is to have people work across the usual boundaries, and that they wanted to meet people with similar jobs in different companies within the bigger Bonnier Corp.," Palombo says.

Terry Snow asked her to hold a series of Business Process Meetings that would encourage cross-work-area cooperation and generate new business ideas. Every workshop consisted of two teams, each from a single brand within Bonnier Corp. However, the team was mixed with members coming from different areas across the company - sales, marketing, editorial, online and circulation.

Using a process tailored by Palombo and BMU to the needs of the group, the teams began by focusing on the brand position and competition. The members then spent the rest of the time brainstorming practical business ideas that could be monetized. The best of the ideas were then presented to Snow, the respective brand Group publisher and in one case Jonas Bonnier, CEO of Bonnier AB who happened to be in New York at the time.

For Rachel Fishman, online director at Parenting, one of the biggest benefits of the workshop was "getting the chance to hone several ideas we've brought up in the past, and focus in on the select few that have that crucial combination of both user- and sponsor-appeal," she says. "The chance to connect more closely with colleagues across departments will strengthen all the projects we work on together, not just the new ventures we came up with during the seminar."

And Palombo was impressed with the ideas that the teams came up with. "They were so creative. And a lot of the ideas could actually be implemented immediately."

More workshops are planned for the future with other brands and magazines, with Palombo and BMU happy to support the process. "The important thing is that they are designed so that the team members can take the concept back and do their own workshops on a regular basis to continue to generate smart business ideas," says Palombo.