This week is kind of special to me. On Friday, I'm going to celebrate MorningNewsBeat's 20th anniversary.
I'm going to be honest with you - I never in my wildest dreams thought that MNB would last this long. When I launched it back in 2001, I was coming off a series of bad career experiences. I loved the work I had been doing - in print, on video, and online - but was dissatisfied with the lack of control I felt over my writing and career.
Some (all?) of this, to be honest, was temperamental. Mrs. Content Guy (I have no idea when or why I started referring to my wife this way, but it has stuck), a now-retired elementary school teacher, says it is because I don't play well with others. She'd know that better than most, and from the beginning encouraged me to strike out on my own, even if it was not always the most responsible financial decision.
Go figure - this has ended up, by a factor of six or seven, the longest gig I've ever had. And the best. Easily.
I wanted to do something different to celebrate, so here's what is going to happen…
Over the next week or so, running right up to Thanksgiving, I'm going to feature a series of "MNB / In Conversation" segments with really smart people, talking about innovation, company culture, technology, and a variety of other subjects. (One of the things I'm asking everybody is, "Where were you 20 years ago, and how has your thinking about innovation changed since then?")
Some of the folks are from within the food industry, and some are not - but they all are lively conversationalists who I thought could teach me something. If there's been one through-line in my career, and especially on MNB, it has been my good fortune at being able to hang out with people smarter than I am. They always make me look good.
This being Wednesday, I wanted to start with a familiar face - Tom Furphy, who occupies this spot with me every other Wednesday for The Innovation Conversation. Normally we're reacting to news and trends, but today I wanted to paint on a larger canvas and talk with Tom about innovation past and future.
My hope is to continue this series even after Thanksgiving, with more guests who will share their perspectives and thoughts about a wide variety of subjects.
Enjoy.
