The BK Annual Meeting - The Kids are Alright!

A number of years ago I made a small investment in BK shares, 100 shares for each grandchild. I reasoned that that BK shares would be a meaningful part of their ed funds, a good purpose - and I felt sure that the principle was safe even if we never saw much gain. I left the annual meeting last week with a happy feeling about both purpose and gain. It struck me that I was grateful for Steve P's leadership - and I gave some thought to what I meant by that. Here are a few things I came up with. Steve is sturdy and on the level; a straight business guy in one way, and yet he takes unusual shots with books, staff, authors and strategy; he's faithful to the intention he set when he left Jossey-Bass to found BK (as I understand it) - to create a world that works for all, starting with his own organization. Looking at BK I see the evidence of good leadership in many areas. People like me who are shareholders and reviewers are welcome, shepherded by the funny, smart, good listener Jeevan, who invites critique; authors have arguably the best author experience in the whole publishing universe; social media strategy is supported by the likes of David Marshall, author Deanna Zandt, and friend-of-the-house Nettie Hartsock; higher paid staff take cuts to prevent a layoff; the staff is safe as only a good family can be - and consequently free to take smart, creative risks. It's a rare leader that brings such a wide (wild) mix of safety and creativity to the table. It seems to me that Steve is that guy. This year, in a tough publishing universe, there were no BK layoffs and we made a profit. The kids are alright!