Companies Of A Century: How W. W. Norton Became A Knowledge Keeper
Editor’s Note: Chief Executive is kicking off a new annual tradition this year by celebrating every sizable (over $100 million in annual revenues) standalone company turning 100 in 2023. Check out the rest of this year’s class for tips, insights and, above all else, the inspiration you need to keep going….and going.
HQ: New York, New York
Revenues: $113 million
Employees: 575+
When William Warder Norton launched the firm that bears his name, his goal had more to do with disseminating knowledge than making a profit. Fans of the lectures held by the People’s Institute, he and his wife, Mary D. (“Polly”) Herter Norton, decided to hire a stenographer and assemble the talks into pamphlets, which they would sell in sets of 20. Their guiding mission was to “bring to the public the knowledge of our time.”
Over time, a project that started in the Norton’s living room expanded into a true publishing house, as the Nortons began acquiring and publishing manuscripts from celebrated academics, including Bertrand Russell, Paul Henry Lang and Sigmund Freud.
After Norton died, his wife organized a joint stockholders agreement to sell the company to its top editors and managers, setting the stage for a company culture that would perpetuate the core values of the company’s husband-and-wife founders. The employee ownership plan remains in force today, ensuring that the company is guided by like-minded professionals who share a passion for producing notable literature.
Books like The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, Thirteen Days by Robert F. Kennedy and Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis are among the multitudes of era-defining works W.W. Norton has brought to the reading public. W.W. Norton has also expanded and adapted over the decades, introducing poetry, academic textbooks, professional books and vocational and trade publications. More recent initiatives aimed at embracing new technologies and digital platforms also broadened its reach.
Even as it evolves with the times, the company remains committed to its founders’ mission of making books that foster critical thinking and intellectual growth accessible to a wide range of readers: “I feel I stand on the shoulders of giants,” CEO Julia Reidhead recently told publishing website Shelf Awareness, adding that the company will continue to publish books that engage, enlighten and inspire, ensuring that the legacy of William Warder Norton and his vision endures for generations to come.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
