Nielsen’s New Corporate Values: ‘Integrated, Open, Simple’

CEO David Calhoun’s approach to the ‘Google World.’

By Matt Kinsman
05/05/2008 -14:17 PM

NOTE: FOLIO: editors are in California this week, filing reports from American Business Media’s annual Spring Meeting.

LA QUINTA, California—Incoming ABM chairman and Meister Media CEO Gary Fitzgerald opened the ABM general session by saying, “It’s time for leaders to lead.”

For Nielsen Co. chairman and CEO David Calhoun, that means establishing a new series of corporate values to direct the company in “The Google World.”

“We chose a set of leadership values that’s what changes the nature of a company. Sounds soft but it’s measurable. Didn’t pick value changes we thought we were good at.”

Those values include:

1. Integrated: “Advertisers want to put things together,” says Calhoun. “There’s a notion that integrated data will save the day. We gave our people a blank check and have them working on how to integrate processes. This isn’t about saving a buck but how to begin to put data together. This is measurable and our leaders know they are accountable.”

2. Open: “If your values preclude you from looking at the models of others, you will lose,” said Calhoun. “Proprietary systems were the world we used to aspire to but that’s the world we need to crush.”

3. Be Simple: “It’s getting harder every day in the Google World but if you can provide clarity in an open environment, you will win,” Calhoun added. “We aren’t going to budget our way to change. We all have to get a clear view and a lot of emotion behind it before it’s real.”

FOLIO:'s Spring Meeting Coverage:
The New Must-Have Skills for B-to-B Media: Project Management
Publishers on Redefining the Role of Print