The Atlantic CEO took the job despite massive financial losses because the core product—the journalism—was exceptional. He believed a broken business model is far easier to fix than a mediocre product, making the high-risk turnaround feasible from the start.
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When corporate parent IAC sought to sell the struggling subscription service, Reich offered no cash but gave them a minority stake. This non-traditional deal, effectively 'idiot insurance' for IAC in case of success, allowed Reich to take control and pivot the company creatively.
In a turnaround, a leader's most critical first step is restructuring their direct reports. McLaren's CEO replaced every key leader—CFO, HR, commercial, etc.—to create a unified group that could then drive cultural change down through their own departments.
The most difficult pivots aren't from failing ideas, but from successful ones. The ultimate test is your willingness to abandon a stable, profitable business ("good") that you're known for in pursuit of something potentially phenomenal ("great"), even when the outcome is not guaranteed.
Contrary to the belief that costly journalism is subsidized by lifestyle products, the NYT CEO asserts that hardcore news is the most economically value-creating part of the business because it generates a massive audience and brand authority.
When evaluating investments, Danny Meyer prioritizes leadership quality over the initial concept. He believes a strong leader can pivot and improve a mediocre idea, whereas even a brilliant concept is doomed to fail under poor leadership. This highlights the primacy of execution over ideation for investors.
When faced with an existential cost crisis, Ather's founder explored two pivots: a cheaper product and a software platform model. Both were dead ends. The ultimate solution was to resist the distraction of pivoting, stay the course, correct pricing, and fix the core operational issues of the original product.
David Remnick, admitting he didn't know parentheses on a balance sheet meant losses, successfully pivoted The New Yorker to a subscription-first model. He identified the brand's deep reader loyalty as an untapped asset, correctly predicting it could outweigh declining ad revenue in a crucial move for legacy media.
For a mission-driven organization like The Atlantic, owned by a philanthropist, the financial goal is sustainability, not profit extraction. The strategy is to achieve profitability and then immediately reinvest the surplus back into the mission by hiring more journalists and expanding influence.
The NYT CEO sees the widespread belief in the need for shared facts, even among political opponents, as a powerful market driver. This demand for independent reporting creates a durable business model, despite low overall trust in institutions.
The Atlantic's CEO Nicholas Thompson chose his role not because he was the best at it, but because his skill in building journalism business models was stronger relative to his peers. This focus on comparative advantage, rather than absolute best skill, guided his successful pivot from journalism to business leadership.