By: Nikkia Adolphe, PR Director

From enduring the longest government shutdown in U.S. history to news spurring around potential job cuts from media and publisher giants Buzzfeed, HuffPost and Gannett, the first 31 days of 2019 have been – for many – a brink of bad news and unforeseen situations. The media industry, in particular, continues to experience drastic shifts in the midst of today’s digital-first transformation.

It’s with the realization of digital avenues dominating every part of our lives I realized something pretty significant for agency professionals to consider: are we really intentional about fueling a digital-first perspective across the work we create today, especially on the brink of entering a new decade in the digital transformation era?

With this notion, the importance for industry professionals to adopt a 2020 digital-first mindset has never been more critical. There are two core traits PR professionals should start mastering now to instill this level of thinking: being open to growth and collaboration.

The art of evolving

There are two types of people: those with a fixed mindset and those with a growth mindset. Characteristics of people who hold a fixed mindset often rely on a static approach to everything, and this can be precarious for one core reason: they’re hesitant to adapt to change. As we have seen within the media industry, this is not an optional mindset to take.

The contrary – and only option industry professionals must consider – is having a growth mindset. This thinking evokes curiosity and always-present desire to learn and putting in the effort to take on (for example) new skill sets to add to ones’ arsenal. For PR professionals, the openness to evolve is critical.

Collaboration uncovers unique perspectives

While there’s an upside to thriving in an always-connected era (ie. easy access to information), the downside is information overload does occur which can oftentimes complicate our roles as PR professionals. This is why it’s important to rely on a collective environment where various thoughts and ideas are shared and incorporated. Varied perspectives make for big idea thinking – a distinct trait all agency professionals must hold to acquire a next-level digital-first mindset.

In the pursuit of a 2020 digital-first mindset, PR professionals must realize that now is the time to explore integrating behaviors that reflect innovation and disruption. Practicing ways to introduce behaviors like openness to growth and collaboration forge patterns that are often difficult to break. Let’s start now.