What Is This Now?
We talk a lot of story here at Fast Company. And I’m talking not just print but digital, where I dwell, mostly, as the Editorial Director, Digital. This is worth noting because it’s rare among digital publications. Hell, many don’t even really edit what they post. I think that’s what makes us different. I’m not saying it always works, and plenty of times posts go up raw. But for the most part, we stop, take a minute and talk through stories and angles—to make sure we’re writing about new solutions to real problems, that we’re considering the most engaging ways to write about it all for our readers. And we talk story to make sure the stories are going to the right places: Fastcompany.com when the best point of entry to a story is its big idea; Co.Lead when a reader needs help getting the idea in motion; Co.Create when the idea leads to new, creative processes; Co.Design when the processes lead to actual, problem-solving things; Co.Exist when those things, ideas, and processes change the world (and business) for the better.
The big secret behind these chats is that they’re really satisfying—they’re the real reasons we all never really stop working. The kinds of conversations we have tend to keep churning around in our heads well after we quit posting for the day (and with obsessive writers in Portugal, the U.K., L.A., San Francisco, New York, and elsewhere, there aren’t that many hours when someone isn’t on shift). The ongoing nature of the conversation around certain topics is why we tend to keep our eyes on a group of Most Innovative Companies or Most Creative People and Design Innovators and return to them again and again. Talking about them and their ideas and how they’ll play out as stories is incredibly stimulating. Writers like it because it gives them a chance to educate editors who might otherwise presume to know better (if things are working like they’re supposed to the writers know more than the editors about their subjects). Editors like it because they get to feel smarter afterward.
I don’t mind revealing what I think is the secret ingredient in Fast Company’s approach. I think you might be inspired to contribute to it. So I’m going to do a little experiment and use this Medium to jot down the chats we have before we do stories (when possible). I hope it’ll solidify my thinking and help me help writers do the same. I’m wondering if this becomes a place where you lend an idea to the process as well. We’ll see.
