Fishing for ideas

Those of you who know me well know that, given a choice between five hours of golf and five hours of fishing, I’ll always choose the latter. Golf makes me crazy because I suck at it. I probably suck at fishing too, but I’ve never ended up frustrated, angry and ready to quit forever after wetting a line.

There’s something zen-like and deeply relaxing about spending time trying to trick a fish into thinking they’re about to enjoy a tasty meal when, instead, it’s the other way around. I love the whole process of fishing and the repetition of casting. Every cast is a new hope…a chance to battle nature using the simplest of weapons. Actually catching something is almost a nice bonus. Boating a fish is merely icing on the cake.

Last month, I went off the grid up in northern Ontario with a great group of friends to a place called North Caribou Lake. You can read more about the trip in my back-page column, but the short version is that it was fishing nirvana. We fished our brains out for 12 hours a day for an entire week. We caught hundreds of walleye and big, nasty northern pike. It was hot, it was cold, it was wet, it was dry…and it was totally awesome. Best guy trip ever.

Anyway, the awesomeness came to an end as I deplaned back in Cleveland to face the reality of work, family and real life in general. As I thought through my big, scary to-do list, I realized it was time to do a different type of fishing. This time, I’m fishing for ideas.

It’s been four years since I assumed the helm of GCI and I feel pretty good about what we’ve done. The most important thing is we largely turn over the editorial content to experts like Bruce Williams, Tim Moraghan, Henry DeLozier, Monroe Miller, Dr. John Kaminski, Bill Brown, Terry Buchen, Jeff Brauer, Brian Vinchesi and a host of supers who contribute regularly.

We’ve also dramatically expanded the number of platforms we use beyond just the magazine and website to include enewsletters, our mobile app, Twitter, Facebook, amazing podcasts on the Superintendent Radio Network and more. We have a great editorial team with Mike Zawacki, Kyle Brown and Guy Cipriano working their butts off to produce great useful content every day.

The only thing missing is…you.

I’m fishing for your ideas for our 2015 editorial plan. What solutions are you looking for? Do you need ideas about how to manage people better? Are you trying to figure out a way to reduce inputs? Are there specific emerging pest/disease issues that have you stumped? Are there experts or authors you wish you could learn more from? Are you struggling with water problems or trying to convince your ownership to fund a renovation?

In short, what’s on your mind?

A couple of years ago, Tim Moraghan said that GCI is at its best when we’re covering the topics that are being whispered about in the hallways outside turf conferences and chapter meetings. That’s what I want to hear about. What information do you need to be more successful, more rewarded and more effective in years to come?

My name is at the top of the masthead, but GCI is your magazine. Let me know what your article ideas and education needs are and we’ll put them into the big editorial machine and do our best to help.

So, I’m casting my bait here. If you want to bite, I’m at pjones@gie.net.