Leadership Hot Take: It’s Not About What You Think
Early in my tenure at Philly.com, we got word that The Inquirer had an exclusive:
A local hospital had reportedly cured a specific form of blindness.
This was huge news — at least to us.
The digital team jumped into action. We had visuals, graphics, video, and quotes. We built a homepage takeover that gave the story major weight and scheduled it to publish on Saturday at noon when the embargo was lifted.
We were proud of it. And we were confident it would resonate.
And then… nothing.
Traffic was flat. Reader engagement was quiet. The story tanked.
We were stunned. We had the story — exclusively. We had done the work.
But the audience wasn’t with us — at least not right then.
So what happened?
Inside the newsroom, there was speculation. Maybe we did something wrong, maybe we didn't do enough, or maybe the digital team had failed—or worse, sabotaged the story.
That wasn’t true. But it highlighted something I’ve seen again and again in leadership:
If you don’t take time to explain how digital works, people will fill in the gaps.
Digital strategy is often misunderstood by those who don’t live in it.
To many of our colleagues, publishing is simple: put it on the homepage = success.
But what works on Wednesday afternoon doesn’t always work on Saturday at noon — and homepage real estate doesn’t guarantee attention.
As digital leaders, we sometimes forget:
You may live in it. Others are just visiting.
Education isn’t extra — it’s the job.
👉 Subscribe to receive posts in your inbox and join a conversation about how, not just why, we do the work.
What I learned
We weren’t wrong to believe in the story.
But we were wrong to assume timing and placement didn’t matter.
We led with what we thought was important.
And we forgot to ask: What is our audience likely to be doing, feeling, or needing on a Saturday at noon?
It didn’t mean the story didn’t deserve a strong spot.
It meant that spot may not have been center homepage, weekend drop, mid-day.
Audience-centered work doesn’t mean abandoning what matters.
It means delivering it in ways that meet people where they are — not where we wish they were.
The takeaway
Sometimes, leadership means stepping back from what you want to lead with — and asking:
👉 What does my audience need from me right now?
👉 And just as importantly: Do my colleagues understand the “why” behind what I’m doing?
If you don’t explain it, they’ll write their own version of the story — and you may not like the ending.
🗣️ Have you ever launched something you thought would soar — and it tanked instead?
Reply or comment with your own audience misread. We’ve all had them.
More hot takes (and lessons learned the hard way) coming soon.
— Yoni