By Corey Vilhauer CHAPTER 10adapt both how we do things and what we do in the first place. We raise the
banner for structured content. We adopt content tools like GatherContent^1 ,
or editorial tools like Editorially^2. We lobby for more dedicated content
strategists within our organizations.
We start to ask for change. And against that change comes resistance.
These are not easy things to take on. When Chip and Dan Heath, au-
thors of Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard^3 , say “Change isn’t
an event; it’s a process,” they’re warning us that people aren’t hardwired
to switch directions on a dime. In our jobs, within our teams, in whatever
situation we find ourselves, our worth is defined by what we do.
Imagine you’re working with a Web content editor at a major univer-
sity. As part of the Web design process, we push for changes to how the
home page is laid out, or how content flows through the system, or what
CMS is used. We may also suggest advanced technologies like personaliza-
tion, and we ask the content editor to take a deep look into a new taxono-
my so they can efficiently pull content blocks in from across the website.
We’re not just redesigning a website. We’re also rebuilding their pro-
cess, which, in turn, redefines their role at the university. Change means
more than just the simple adaptation of how we create a spread-sheet or
what it means when we say “content audit.” It’s a full-scale meta-morpho-
sis in what we mean to our co-workers, bosses and partners.
Jonathan Kahn, principal at Together London, says “We’ve got plenty of
ideas, we work with skilled people, and our tools get better every day—but
until we start changing our organizations’ culture, we won’t achieve our
objectives.”^4 This means changing our expectations of what content work
really is and who’s in charge. Because we’re all in charge now.
1 https://www.gathercontent.com
2 https://editorially.com
3 Heath, Chip & Dan; Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, http://smashed.by/switch
4 Kahn, Jonathan; “Start Changing Your Organisation’s Culture Using Storytelling & Startup
Techniques”, http://smashed.by/cult-video