Succession planning is something that I have often talked about in this column and Optician is about to enter its own period of transition.
Engaging the next generation in decision making and strategy is vital for businesses to keep pace with their markets, enthuse the next generation and secure the future. From this month I will be taking on the new role of editor-in-chief giving Optician the opportunity to welcome its seventh editor, Simon Jones.
It’s remarkable that in its 128 year history Optician has had so few editors, but they have a habit of hanging on. Twenty years ago I was approached by the then publisher to join the title with a view to broadening its appeal and changing its approach. Having edited magazines in the engineering and automotive sector I remember thinking how difficult it was going to be to fill a weekly title about optics. One thousand editions of Optician later I now understand how wrong I was.
My predecessor, the formidable, Alison Ewbank, remained with the journal for a further 15 years and she never once tried to tell me how things should be. I am sure she was often tempted. That ability to retain the knowledge, contacts and experience but mix it with new enthusiasm and ideas is an Optician tradition I intend to maintain.
Former journalistic roles saw me writing about high tech innovation, rubbing shoulders with politicians and discussing carbon footprints with scientists long before they became a fashion statement. Most of those topics centred around the cult of the new. I soon realised that supporting a vocation such as optics and helping people retain, and enjoy, the gift of sight outweighed the importance of any technological advance.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those optical professionals and industry folk I have met and now have the pleasure of continuing to work with.