Encyclopaedia Britannica, the 244-year-old company, recently announced it would stop printing encyclopedias. Of course this triggered a flurry of talk about the end of printed books, magazines, and newspapers and a once-great company humbled by shifts in technology. But to fall into that narrative is to miss the greatest lesson of the story. Innovating, creating something new, playing the beginning of the game is the easy part. Britannica offers us invaluable insight into the much harder half of the innovation process: how to play the end game.You see, every game--chess, tennis, business--has an end. Every business will eventually die. We cannot escape this inevitability. Yet we hold on to the fantasy that somehow OUR company will be different, that our company is “built to last.” The key to long life in business is knowing how to play the end game so that you can position yourself to play the next game. Britannica seems to be doing that well.The Wi-Fi PatternTo understand what is going on here, think about Wi-Fi (wireless Internet) service. Ten years ago when you walked into a Starbucks you had to pay for Wi-Fi access. Now you get it for free. If something doesn’t cost anything to provide, eventually someone will give it away for free. Or as an economist would say, over the long run, the market price of any competitive product or service reaches its margin cost.Wikipedia has proven that there are lots of smart people out there who are willing to write content for free.... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2012-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
Young readers and teens will find a feast of programming at this year’s show—and there’s also plenty for their parents to check out, too. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For the second season of their National Geographic Channel anthology series "Genius," showrunner Ken Biller and producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer turn their attention from Albert Einstein to Pablo Picasso. It's a fairly diverting if not really a convincing piece, slight and sometimes silly... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The latest project from prolific thriller novelist James Patterson will aim to bring a love of Albert Einstein to young readers. Patterson is partnering with the Albert Einstein Archives at Hebrew University of Jerusalem to write a series of middle-grade books focusing on “Max” Einstein, a... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The forthcoming novel by James Patterson and Bill Clinton, as well as Karen McManus' YA bestseller 'One of Us Is Lying,' are among the books that have been optioned this week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former President Barack Obama might be getting all the attention for that reported $65 million book deal, but former President Bill Clinton is soon coming out with an unusual book: He's writing a novel with prolific thriller writer James Patterson. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2017-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former US president Bill Clinton and James Patterson are collaborating on a novel, publishing with Cornerstone, called The President is Missing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The President Is Missing,' slated for June 2018, was sold in a joint deal to Knopf and Little, Brown. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As Facebook’s chief operating officer, she is one of the most powerful women in the world. How did she cope with the sudden death of her husband?• Scroll down for an exclusive extract from Sandberg’s new book Sheryl Sandberg’s last words to her husband, like all last words, assumed a haunting... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lauren Redniss was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship for her nonfiction graphic storytelling, work that is both grounded and distinctly artful. “Radioactive,” about the relationship between Pierre and Marie Curie and their scientific discoveries, was a finalist for the National Book Award; it was... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Marie Curie and WH Smith have partnered to launch their second Big Readcycle to help support people living with a terminal illness. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Head of Zeus has signed a non-fiction book on Albert Einstein and the theory of relativity. Editorial director of non-fiction Neil Belton signed UK, Commonwealth and European rights to The Hunt for Vulcan: How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet and Deciphered the Universe by Tom Levenson in a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Maurie Perl, the longtime chief spokeswoman at Condé Nast, is hanging it up after 21 years at the company. For 12 years, Perl built and oversaw the PR machine of the publishing company, reporting to parent Advance Publications Chairman Si Newhouse and then-Condé Nast CEO Steve Florio, who since... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2013-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Following the call for a break-up and reorganization of McGraw-Hill Cos. by investors last month, McGraw-Hill announced today that it will split into two separate public companies: McGraw-Hill Markets, focused on the capital and commodities markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, focused on... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Tue, 08/03/2011 - 09:44 Sonny Mehta, editor-in-chief of Alfred A Knopf, is to be awarded the eighth Lifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing by London Book Fair. Mehta has published authors including Thomas Mann, Willa Cather, Albert Camus, John Updike, Toni... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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