When I went to business school, virtually all of my classroom instruction was centered on studying cases. These cases were used to illustrate all of the challenges which business managers might face--from big strategy questions to how best to handle accounting issues, from high finance to manufacturing. No matter the case, there was one question which you could always count on the professor asking at some point during the class: what business is this company in? How you answered that question often determined the actions you would recommend that the company take in response to whatever the day's problem might be.

For many years, when asked "what do you do for a living" I would answer "I'm in the newspaper business". When I came to ALM, I transitioned that answer to "I'm in the publishing business" to encompass not just newspapers but also magazines, books, newsletters, etc. It seemed like a good answer at the time.

Beginning a few years ago, when asked that question, I changed my response to "I'm in the media business" so that my answer encompassed not just traditional print forms of publishing but also live events and digital media.

And yet, that answer still seems unsatisfactory. Because as the world has developed, it feels too narrow to define oneself by the platforms we use to distribute information. Too limiting.

The truth is that we are all now in the "content development and information distribution business". I know it doesn't exactly sing as a job or business description, but I think it's more accurate. It doesn't limit us as to how we develop the content--whether we create it ourselves or work with others. It doesn't narrowly define the means by which we distribute the information we gather--whether print or online, live or beamed directly to a handheld device. And it doesn't narrow how those activities are paid for--whether by an advertiser with information to share with our audience, or by the end-users themselves.

The question "what business are we in" is not just relevant at the company level, but also for our individual departments and divisions. You should be asking yourself, what business are we really in? Who's needs do we serve and what do they want from us? How would they define what it is we do for them? How those questions are answered will have a big impact on the kinds of products we develop and the way in which we market them.

Some examples:

1. If you are in the business of selling advertising into print or online directories, are you in the "Directory Business"? Or are you in the business of helping certain kinds of firms or individuals market themselves?

2. If you are engaged as a book editor, are you in the "Book Business"? Or are you in the business of creating substantive legal content that will be valuable to particular groups of lawyers?

I intend to use the next few months to explore with as many of our departments and groups as possible what business they think they are in, and what the implications are for our future planning. In the meantime, I hope everyone will be thinking about the answer to that question: What Business Are You In?