Endings and Beginnings

Five and a half years ago, I arrived on the doorstep of 800-CEO-READ. Never prior to that moment would I have every thought I would work in the publishing industry. Life is sometimes wonderful and serendipitous like that.

Books are amazing objects. They inspire and entertain. They inform and guide. They create unseen worlds. And they always provide a mirror, showing us the good and bad in ourselves and others.

I have never felt the esprit de corps as I have at Dickens Books. The pride and responsibility of being a bookseller is at the base of that organization. And I am proud to have been a part of that tradition.

I want to thank all of you--Aaron, Carol, Dylan, Jack, Jake, Jon, Kate, Meg, Mel, Michelle, Rebecca, Roy, Ryan, Scott, Sally, Shane, Shawn, Todd, and Zach. All of you played a part in this amazing period.

The big news is I have decided to leave 800-CEO-READ and pursue a set of newly discovered passions. The 100 Best Business Books of All Time was an incredible experience and I want to write more, something I never imagined I would say. I really enjoyed speaking to groups during the tour, another unexpected discovery and I am going to pursue that as well.

Blogging is where all of this started. Since 2003, I have written over 2,100 blog posts at the original A Penny For blog (you can find that archived here) and at the 800-CEO-READ blog. That will continue to be an important part of the mix.

So, toddsattersten.com is my new home. I hope you'll subscribe to the RSS feed (the email form is on the right side) to keep updated on my new projects.

You can also follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn.

To everyone - thank you, thank you, thank you!

Posted onWednesday, Oct 28, 2009 | Permalink | Comments

Plain and Simple

I am going with an off-the-shelf Typepad design for now.

I built some great templates, but I can't quite get them all working with the service.

If you know Typepad really well, drop me a note at my gmail account (you can certainly guess the address).

Posted onWednesday, Oct 28, 2009 | Permalink | Comments

A Manifesto

 

This was my call to action in 1995.

Posted onSunday, Oct 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments

My Mission Too

“To take part in a severe contest between intelligence which presses forward and unworthy, tumid ignorance obstructing progress.”

-The governing editorial philosophy at The Economist

Posted onFriday, Oct 16, 2009 | Permalink | Comments

What We Still Need

"UNLESS, we admit that rules of thumb, the limited experience of the executives in each individual business, and the general sentiment of the street, are the sole possible guides for executive decisions of major importance, it is pertient to inquire how the representative practises of business men generally may be made available as a broader foundation for such decisions, and how a proper theory of business is to be obtained. The theory of business, to meet the need, must develop to such a point that the executive , who will make the necessary effort, may learn effectively from the experiences of others in the past what to avoid and how to act under the conditions of the present. Otherwise, business will continue unsystemic, haphazard, and for many men a pathetic gamble, with the failures of each serious business depression made up largely of the best moral risks.

No amount of theory can be a substitute for energy, enthusiasm, initiative, creative ability, and personality, nor will it take the place of technical knowledge. Now, however, all of the personal qualities may be coupled with an adequate technical equipment, and yet the executive of wide experience may fail through our inability to grasp the broad underlying forces controlling business, a knowledge of which would give a sound basis for judgment. It is a serious criticism of our business structure that it so long lacked an adequate method by which these broad forces may be appraised, their probable course charted, and their application to individual executive problems made reasonably clear."

Essential Groundwork For A Broad Executive Theory by Wallace Donham
The opening article from the first issue of Harvard Business Review in October 1922

Technorati Tags: HBR

Posted onThursday, Oct 15, 2009 | Permalink | Comments