Berrett-Koehler Publishers - A community dedicated to creating a world that works for all

Vol 4: 1  Jan 7, 2010
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BK Communiqu�

"We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves."

                                     - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Spotlight
I Have Seen the Problem, and It Is Me

The Book: Leadership and Self-Deception, expanded second edition

Why Read It? We all use subtle psychological processes to  conceal our true motivations and intentions -- even from ourselves. This practice leads to an endless cycle of self-justification. This book shows readers how to tap into and act on our innate sense of what's truly right versus what we deceive ourselves into believing is right.

The Bottom Line: The first edition of this bestseller has sold over 750,000 copies in twenty-two languages. An anomaly in the book trade, this work has sold more copies each year since 2004 than it did in any of the first four years after publication -- almost entirely by word of mouth. Isn't it time you found out why?

Read an excerpt here and buy the book for 30% off. Then, join the conversation on our book blog.

For media and review copies, please contact Publicity Manager Katie Sheehan.

Publishing News
Why We Lie to Ourselves

In this issue of the Communiqu�, we explore how we can often allow ourselves to be influenced and deceived by our own biases and intentions.

Self-deception is more common than you think -- even in intellectual circles. Look at this issue's list of Five Case Studies of Professional Self-Deception.
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Other News

+ Ebooks now outsell print editions 3:1 according to O'Reilly Media.

+ The bestselling author on a book about Twitter has deleted his Twitter account and dumped his 83,000 followers.

+ Laredo, Texas, will soon set a national record of a negative sort.  It's soon to be the largest U.S. city without a single bookstore.

+ One publishing house found that releasing free Kindle editions on Amazon actually landed them on the Kindle bestseller list and boosted sales for the backlist hard copy editions.

+ You know times are tough when authors resort to stealing their own book from stores.

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Freebies

+ Free Excerpt from a New York Times Bestseller:  Super Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Read it here or download a free audio excerpt from iTunes here.

+ Free Software: Why go for just a gigabyte of online memory when  SkyDrive gives you twenty-five gigabytes of free memory?  Save movies, several iPods' worth of music, and your entire photograph collection -- all in one password-protected location.

+ Free E-books: Search the Internet for e-books using a search engine that's a lot like Google -- PDF.geni.com.


BK News

2009's Five Greatest Hits

Here are the past year's most popular newsletter features according to clickthrough statistics:

1. The second updated edition of Steve Piersanti's legendary 10 Awful Truths About Book Publishing
was the hottest download of the year.

2. The results of the Readers' Survey
  told us a lot about you (and your curiosity about each other).

3. Henry Mintzberg's controversial BK exclusive of The Five Wholly Unrealistic Things Management Books Tell Managers They Can Do  got people clicking!

4. Seth Godin's controversial video on new media
grabbed your attention.

5. For some reason, thousands of people wanted to see a monkey taking a bath.


Books We're Working On
Title: Infinite Possibility: Creating Customer Value on the Digital Frontier

Authors: B. Joseph Pine II (author of the bestselling book The Experience Economy, which has sold over 140,000 copies) and Kim C. Korn.

Release Date: Fall 2010

Synopsis: This work shows companies how to harness the power of digital technology to craft new offerings that create customer value. At its core, the book presents a three-dimensional framework that helps people make sense of what is going on during a time of rampant technological change -- and challenges them to think about how technology can create experiences that customers desire.

Tip of the Week
Nipun Mehta read President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech transcript and noted where Obama said that "A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies." Nipun wonders how many people don't realize that Gandhi wrote to Hitler in 1939. You can see that letter here.
We Recommend
Demos is a nonpartisan public policy research and advocacy organization founded in 2000. Headquartered in New York City, Demos works with advocates and policymakers around the country in pursuit of four overarching goals: a more equitable economy, a more inclusive democracy, an empowered public sector, and  responsible U.S. engagement in world affairs.

Among its many programs, the Demos Books Project includes several collaborations with BK such as Women Lead the Way, and Creative Community Organizing. Learn more about Demos and join the community -- find out how this establishment is creating the next generation of national leaders.

End Notes





Last week, I issued this challenge. Some people came close, but no one answered correctly.  The answer? You should definitely not take my bet -- here's why.

Kevin McCarthy submitted a response that was just so, um, creative that I had to give him a free book. (And he kindly sent me a copy of his book.) You can read Kevin's response to the challenge here.

Here's this issue's challenge.

Email me with any comments or rants or your thoughts about the fact that I want to be six again.

Oh, and now that you created your own Bubole, maybe you'll enjoy this puzzle.





P.S. -- This isn't real, is it?