The "What About Bob?" Approach to new product development.

Remember the 1991 movie "What About Bob?" in which Bill Murray plays a ridiculously neurotic patient? Attempting to deal with his multiple phobias, his psychiatrist (played by Richard Dreyfuss) urges him to take "baby steps" in overcoming his neuroses--rather than offering some overarching solution.

The approach is to tackle one fear at a time, baby step by baby step.

At last June's NEPA conference in Washington, D.C., IOMA president David Foster said "What About Bob?" is their approach to new product development. Rather than laying out a grand plan for a newsletter launch or new series of conferences, IOMA just takes "baby steps."

One conference at a time, or even one mailing to explore the viability of the conference.

Growth by shrinkage

During the same conference session, called "35 Ways to Boost Your Profits--A Best Ideas Conference Summary," Brian McCallum of WD&S Publishing recommended "growth by shrinkage." He advised delegates to cut marginal products, "resist the effort to put time and money into products and services that don't contribute to your overall, focused strategy."

Growth through partnerships and consultancies

Others on the panel offered other ways to approach growth with a minimum of financial outlay.

One method is to enter into mutually beneficial partnerships with other publishers, associations, or conference sponsors.

Another is to build a consultant business using outside consultants. Pay them two-thirds of the profits. Again, this involves no initial investment.