Yesterday, I was all set to watch the first Titans game of the year on my very own HDTV. Even though I've had the new set for quite some time, I didn't have it during the football season last year.
You can imagine my dismay then, when I turned on the game and found out it was not in HD. For whatever reason, CBS didn't take their HD cameras and equipment to Jacksonville for yesterday's game.
I can understand it when certain programs aren't shot in HD. I've even excused Scrubs for remaining in regular TV world. But, HD is the best way to watch sports, especially ones like football and hockey, when you've got to take in a very large playing area.
Now, nearly everything ESPN films is in HD (including poker). They figured out that a bunch of guys were gobbling up HDTVs as early adopters, and so if they starting shooting Sportscenter and college football in HD, their share of the market could be larger.
It used to be (just a few years ago) that HD was remarkable. I even went to Best Buy or Circuit City just to catch a few minutes of HDTV, since I didn't know anyone who had one.
But now, nearly everything in is shot in HD, like The Office, Saturday Night Live, Good Morning America, and most sporting events. Even The Food Network is in HD.
HD is now standard.
So, by not offering yesterday's football game in HD, CBS is now not even average. When the remarkable becomes ordinary, you go from being ordinary to getting left behind.
Therefore, make sure you're always improving. In today's marketplace, if you're not moving forward, everyone else is, and by default, you'll be moving backwards. Take time to brainstorm new ideas, and implement the great ones immediately. What you start, someone will copy and may even do it better than you did to begin with. But don't worry - if you keep coming up with hits, people will choose (and stick with) you.