What the Bhutan Times episode tells us

As new papers were established in the last few years, all of us celebrated the growth of media in Bhutan. And in all the frenzy and excitement, the papers seem to have forgotten that they are a business. With five papers and almost a stagnant readership, the competition for ad revenues and circulation is very intense - and it means tremendous pressure on the management of our media organisations.

I don't know if this contributed to the recent situation at Bhutan Times (BT) but I find it interesting for the following reasons -

1. A glimpse of leadership style of a Bhutanese CEO which is authoritarian. Authoritarian management is very much passé. Except in the military, it rarely works. It stifles creativity, de-motivates people and eventually leads to the failure of an organisation. We are in the 21st century and every manager has to change with the times.

2. BT seems to have failed to identify and manage their most valuable assets - the people who write for the paper. There may have been issues but good managers find ways to engage with them and manage their expectations. As a business, if you are unable to manage your key assets, success will elude you.

3. And the most interesting piece of communication from the CEO of BT - which demonstrates little respect for the stakeholders and little grasp and control of the situation/crisis. It doesn't help in any way.  A harangue like that is unprofessional and can only be tolerated in Bhutan. I definitely wouldn't work for somebody with a similar temperament.

However, in the whole process - the BT brand has been marred badly and I can only wish BT good luck. I remain most glad that I am not a shareholder of this paper.