Innovation Versus Fear

Recently, marketing guru Seth Godin wrote about the contrasting problems of “this is the best I can do” and “it’s not good enough.” (Go to sethgodin.typepad.com for more marketing wizardry.) The first response describes a scenario where innovation dries up and the second is one where the ideas are there, but fear of failure prevents action.

What I believe Seth was getting at is a point I wholeheartedly embrace: in today’s business environment, it’s more important than ever that we are constantly looking forward, consistently innovating, and implementing new and better ways of doing business.

For you, constantly innovating might mean learning a new aspect of the drilling trade. With the current soft residential homebuilding market, water well drilling isn’t as robust as we’d like. Yet other drilling markets are all abuzz. Yes, that might mean at least a temporary relocation, but success requires sacrifice. Maybe it means learning a new trade, then coming back home to teach other water well drillers how to find success with the knowledge they have in today’s market.

For us at National Driller, our mission is to provide superior information to help our readers succeed. We must continually identify new opportunities for you, our reader, and deliver that information in the format that you desire (print, smartphone, website or tablet).

Constant innovation at National Driller means in the coming months we will begin taking an even closer look at other markets of the drilling industry. We will bring you better information in more formats. We will overhaul our website. We will do other things we haven’t thought of yet.

Jeremy Verdusco, see his introduction below, will be helping to lead the charge as your new editor of National Driller.

Dan Murfey, publisher



Editor’s Note - Embracing Exploration

In work and in life, exploration moves us forward. We find new ways to work, welcome new ideas and try new fields. It’s in that spirit that I take over as editor of National Driller, the preeminent source for news about, by and for the drilling industry.

My background includes more than 10 years in media-most recently at a daily newspaper covering Michigan’s biggest city, Detroit. So I come to National Driller as an experienced editor and reporter. I’ve interviewed everyone from cops to university officials to teenagers. I’ve written articles about bank robberies and new restaurants. I’ve worked on stories about national elections, city governments, the auto industry, state politics and everything in between. I bring the integrity to fairly and accurately reflect the current state of the drilling industry, and the trends that will take it into the future.

That know-how will help me guide growth in coverage and reach as National Driller works to meet readers wherever they are-be it in the field on a smartphone or tablet, in their inbox, on social media, in print or on the web at www.thedriller.com. News about the industry is valuable to you, whether you’re learning about the latest innovations or making choices about equipment purchases. We value it, too, and think that passion will show even more in issues to come. Of course, we’ll still have the features and columnists you’ve come to depend on and look forward to each month. But we also have a few ideas in that works that we think will make National Driller even more of a go-to source, so stay tuned.

I look forward to helping readers make their best business decisions through ongoing coverage of new and innovative products and methods, and interesting people in the industry.

National Driller has a lot of potential. I’m excited to get exploring.

Jeremy Verdusco, editor