In This Month's Newsletter
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- Holiday Message from BK Authors Board President Emily Axelrod
- Soulful Connections at the BK Authors Retreat
- Time to Shine at Next Year’s Marketing Conference
- Share your Stories: Sharon Rowe and Ruth Pearce
- New Faces on the BK Authors Board
- New BK Books and Bestsellers
- Last Word
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Holiday Message from BK Authors President Emily Axelrod
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Holiday Greetings,
As I write this the snow is blowing down in Chicago - predicted to be 8-10 inches. Winter is here!
I want to wish everyone peaceful, healthy and happy holidays!
I am grateful to the Board and all the volunteers that have made this year a good one. We have had a great marketing workshop in Washington, a soulful, fun authors retreat outside of Philadelphia, and we launched a newsletter. We welcome your suggestions and want to hear any ideas you may have to make the co-op work for you.
We will be launching two new salons this coming year. One in Chicago with Gail West and Emily Axelrod and one in San Francisco with Pete Neuwirth. Get in touch if you are interested.
Thank you for connecting people and ideas to create a world that works for all!
Emily Axelrod
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Soulful Connections at the 2018 BK Authors Retreat
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This year’s BK Authors Retreat lived up to its motto of “Soulful Connections.” The event took place Oct. 18-21 at the Quaker retreat and conference center Pendle Hill, outside of Philadelphia. Some 40 authors and BK community members got inspired by speakers, laughed during the talent show and auction, and had opportunities to forge and deepen friendships. Big thanks to organizers Karen Phelan, Marilee Adams, Sharon Rowe and Christél Fairchild.
A few testimonials from those attending:
“The BK Authors' Retreat is a wonderful opportunity to authentically connect with others who share BK's mission to change the world for the better. I have been to two retreats, and each has resulted in new relationships and refreshing perspectives on life, work, and the world around us. It's an inspiring time that I look forward to each year.”
Jessica Rohman,
co-author of
A Great Place to Work For All
“Attending the BK Authors Retreat offered me the opportunity to connect with mindful authors who truly want to make the world better for all. The sessions were informative and relevant to new and experienced authors. I took away several insights to help better prepare for the launch of my book as a resource for advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace.”
La'Wana Harris, author of the forthcoming
Diversity Beyond Lip Service
“I found incredible value in the BK Author’s Retreat. Everyone in the community brought their gifts, talents and skills to make the experience both practical and inspiring. If you want to be encouraged to write by going safely deeper into your challenges or if you want to gain the support of your colleagues to market and sell your book, this retreat is made for you.”
Kanu Kogod, aspiring BK author on a book about leadership, mindfulness and inclusion
What’s more, BK author and attendee Bruce Rosenstein is writing a blog about his experience. Here's a sneak peek: “Through both organized and spontaneous activities, we experienced a powerful phenomenon: if you can get to know and understand someone more than superficially, it’s much easier to work productively with them, or to help each other,” Bruce writes. The full article will be
published here
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Time To Shine at Next Year's BK Authors Marketing Conference
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Next year’s BK Authors marketing event promises to be one of the best ever.
Alexandra Watkins, author of the BK book
Hello, My Name is Awesome
, is spearheading an effort to elevate the experience of attendees and has already lined up a terrific group of industry experts, nearly all of whom are speaking at a BK marketing event for the first time. The two-day conference will take place July 11-12 at the Island Palms hotel on scenic Shelter Island in San Diego, with the theme of helping authors shine in all their promotion and marketing efforts.
Speakers will include
Among the topics covered will be Amazon Sales Secrets, Bulk Books Demystified and Courting Journalists. And you won’t want to miss the poolside "Flocktail Party" at Alexandra’s funky home, dubbed “Candyland South”!
Early bird pricing is in effect for the event.
- $499 for BK Authors members through January
- $599 for BK Authors members from February through June
Prices do not include lodging. Various lodging options are available in the area.
Contact BK Authors Community Coordinator
Christel Fairchild
to reserve your slot at next year’s event.
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Share Your Story
Sharon Rowe
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The Magic of Tiny Business: You Don't Have To Go Big To Make A Great Living
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1.
What is your BK book (or if more than one, which one are you most proud of)? What’s the gist of the book?
I wrote “The Magic of Tiny Business” to bust the misleading cultural myth of “go big” as the only recipe for success and impact. Tiny is Mighty, as Seth Godin said, about my book. There’s a lot to be accomplished if you can articulate why you’re doing something, what big idea or problem you are focused on and how you want to be in the world as you work. In my twenty eight years as an entrepreneur, creating a business to inspire a cultural shift around a big problem (single use plastic bags and plastic waste) I’ve seen first-hand that staying positive and persistent can have very big payoffs if you keep focus on two things – what’s most important to you and cash flow. You can build a successful business to address significant change in the world as well as an asset without wrecking your health or destroying relationships.
2.
Tell us how you came to be a BK Author.
My path to BK is a clear example of community. My business is a B Corporation (Best for the World, too!) since 2013. I’m also a member of the Social Venture Network. I asked if anyone knew anyone and an aspiring BK author and community member of SVN and B Corp said I should talk to Neal at BK. The timing was perfect because B Corp was having its annual conference and both Neal and I were attending. Neal and I met, I pitched him and the rest is history.
3.
How does the book fit into everything else you do?
The book is an amplifier of how I’ve run my business since 1989, putting family first, building an asset and staying laser-focused on using business to solve the problem of single-use plastic bags. I took a long view on the business and didn’t rush or push for more-more-more. I found that happy medium (through trial and error, lots of tears and laughs) of how to create work that works for me and inspires a cultural shift. I’m super happy to share what I’ve learned so that more entrepreneurs step into the change-making space.
4.
What’s something the BK Author community probably doesn’t know about you?
The BK community probably knows I was an actress and am trained in improv. But what really roots me is my family - my husband Blake (married for 32 years) who’s an amazing
improvisational pianist
and my kids, Julian (who’s been published in
The New Yorker
and did the cartoons for my book) and Eva (who is a structural sustainable engineer who rock climbs and is heading to New Zealand to work).
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Share Your Story
Ruth Pearce
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Be a Project Motivator: Unlock the Secrets of Strengths-Based Project Management
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1 What is your BK book (or if more than one, which one are you most proud of)? What’s the gist of the book?
I am excited that my book
Be a Project Motivator: Unlock the Secrets of Strengths-Based Project Management
is being published this month. The book helps project managers make their lives – and the lives of their team members – easier through Strengths-Based Project Management (SBPM). The book explains and demonstrates simple ways to incorporate tools from positive psychology such as character strengths, growth mindset and learning and planning styles to bring out the best in themselves and others. Project Motivators don’t need a huge budget, support from management, or lots of dedicated time to feel both personally engaged and engaging. SBPM is for ALL project managers everywhere!
2.
Tell us how you came to be a BK Author.
I was already working on my book when I met Neal Maillet at the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) conference in Montreal in 2017. We struck up a conversation about a book integrating positive psychology and project management, and he invited me to submit a proposal. I was excited to get my book idea considered and I was so impressed by the team and the experience, that I cannot imagine working with any other publisher!
3.
How does the book fit into everything else you do?
Be a Project Motivator
is based on my own work experience as a project manager and the tools I have learned from the fields of positive psychology, law and complex project management, so it is a natural extension of me and my work. My goal is to boil down the wealth of information out there on leadership, team engagement and personal motivation into a practical and applicable approach to cultivate project managers and enhance the value and impact of project management across all types of organizations.
4.
What motivates you these days?
My top strengths are appreciation, bravery, curiosity, fairness and gratitude, so I am motivated by seeing and calling out the best in the people I work – and play – with, and in trying new things that take me out of my comfort zone. Personal growth combined with helping others to be their best are very important to me. Exercising my top strengths every day keeps me energized and engaged and creates more and more opportunities to bring out the best in people and for people.
5.
What’s something the BK Author community probably doesn’t know about you?
I started to appreciate that we can change our perspective and our life course when I started studying positive psychology. The concepts I learned in that first program uncovered a route to personal change. For most of my life, I struggled with anxiety to the extent that the things I am doing now – writing, speaking, teaching and coaching – seemed impossible dreams that belonged to someone else. Positive Psychology led me to a learning/coaching program from the UK that helped me overcome my anxiety and life keeps on expanding! I am living proof that anxiety does not have to be permanent and
is
surmountable.
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Want to share your story?
These profiles will touch on your book, your business and your being - what makes you tick and what's on your mind these days. The interviews will be conducted over email and will require 1-2 hours of your time.
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New Faces on the BK Authors Board
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Our board has three new members. We are excited to welcome to our leadership team:
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Cheri Torres,
Co-author of
Conversations Worth Having
Cheri’s passion is helping people use everyday conversation to create positive dynamics in their relationships, organizations, and communities. She specializes in leadership, team development, and whole system strategic planning, emphasizing the art of productive and meaningful engagement through intentional conversation. In 2009, Cheri founded Collaborative by Design, reflecting her commitment to collaborate with clients and other consulting groups for positive change. She currently is a founding partner or Associate with a number of such groups, including NextMove, Innovation Partners International, Insight Shift, the Taos Institute, the Center for Appreciative Inquiry, and UniteWNC.
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Tamara Belinfanti,
Co-author of the forthcoming
Citizen Capitalism
Tamara is a Professor of Law at New York Law School. Along with Lynn Stout, she co-founded the Ethical Shareholder Initiative, a nonprofit that seeks to revolutionize share voting to create a more sustainable corporate system. Tamara’s scholarship focuses on corporate governance system design and the relationship between corporations and communities. In 2013, Tamara was named an Aspen Ideas Scholar for her work on the roles and rights of corporations in the broader societal sphere. She has written on corporate governance in the context of the proxy advisory industry, corporate purpose, executive compensation, and most recently shareholder rights and stewardship.
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Jeff Kulick,
BK Reviewer
Jeff Kulick has reviewed numerous BK books, and serves as a marketing instructor in the School of Business at George Mason University. He received his MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Business and his BA from Oakland University. Jeff began as an adjunct faculty member at Mason in August of 2001 and is now a full-time faculty member. He teaches courses in marketing management, principles of marketing, managing in the global economy, sales management, international marketing, business and business marketing, nonprofit markets and other marketing-related courses at both the Mason MBA and undergraduate levels.
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New BK Books to Look Out For
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These are the Berrett-Koehler books that have been published in the past few months. We encourage you to check them out. As an author community, we can help each other by reading our peers’ books, promoting them to our networks and writing reviews of them on Amazon and elsewhere
BESTSELLERS:
For the latest on BK’s top-selling books,
click here
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** Click on the image for more information on the book
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How To Break Deadlocks and Resolve Ugly Conflicts
(Without Money Or Muscle)
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Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old
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Why Tech Is Winning the Battle to Control Your Brain--
and How to Fight Back
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Strategies for the Long Haul
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The Structure of Belonging
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Creating the Foundation for Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries
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The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust
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The Curious Past and Perilous Future of the Global Accounting Monopoly
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A Guide for Social Entrepreneurs
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Inside the Secret World of Female Islamic Radicals
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How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others
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The Future of Government, Economy, and Society
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Rituals and Routines That Redesign How We Work
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Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance
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How to Create Systemic Change for Organizational Inclusion
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Accelerating Trust, Inclusion, & Collaboration in the Workplace
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How to Prove Your Competence and Win People Over
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Creating a Non-Hierarchical Organization, One Practice at a Time
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Unlock the Secrets of
Strengths-Based
Project Management
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"You want to discover something new, which is impossible if you're attached to the conviction that you already know all the answers. Valuing not-knowing is the basis of learning and all creativity and innovation. It's the state of mind that's open to all kinds of new possibilities and even hoping you might be surprised
.” —
Marilee Adams
, Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 12 Powerful Tools for Leadership, Coaching and Life
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We invite you to share this newsletter with your professional and personal networks.
Also, please share our social media content with your friends and colleagues to broaden our reach and work toward our collective mission of a world that works for all.
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BK Authors
312.972.5711
www.bkauthorsco-op.org
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