USA Today | The Guinea Pig

Fledgling businesses need to do a lot with a little.

When Sandi Timmins joined USA Today in 1985, the national newspaper was more media novelty than mainline staple. The brand was growing, but it was a long way from being profitable. Sandi's task was to efficiently establish a customer service operation that was second to none — one that was at the leading edge of new, emerging technologies. Sandi's solution was to form partnerships with technological entrepreneurs, offering USA Today as a sort of guinea pig for the practical application of new ideas. At virtually no cost, USA Today became the early beneficiary of technological advances and attained a major competitive edge.