Three New Things

I got my start in publishing as a nonfiction book editor, so when I visit a bookstore, I can explore the racks for hours - especially the business books section, which seems to swell with new titles almost overnight. j Unfortunately, if you're like me, reading a book has become something of a luxury, reserved for making those interminable waits at airports and long flights bearable.

That's why I subscribed a few years ago to Soundview Executive Book Summaries, which offers business book reviews on CD and in hard copy. Its tagline sold me: "Problem: So many great books … so little time. Solution: Read less, learn more." If I couldn't find time to read the bestselling business books cover to cover, I figured I could benefit by learning the top-line insights they offered. So I'm delighted Soundview is partnering with Convene, starting in this issue (p. 84), to offer our readers a current "speed review" of a business book each month.

You'll notice a few other firsts in this issue. Doing what we can to reduce our industry's impact on the environment should be an ongoing concern, so we are making sure we do the same by featuring green initiatives in every issue (see Convene's Green Pages on p. 86). We start this series off by talking to the director of conferences for an association that has no choice but to walk the talk (the National Recycling Coalition).

In our Leading by Example series, we usually go outside our own industry to learn from leaders from other walks of life. But there is no shortage of remarkable leaders on our own turf, and we'll be interviewing one each month in our "One on One" series, to get their perspectives. As chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels, chairman of the Travel Business Roundtable, and chairman of NYC and Co., Jonathan Tisch has his feet firmly planted in our industry and he kicks off this series on p. 81.

We made an exception to our rule above (to profile non-industry leaders) for this month's Leading by Example. As this issue's cover story is on CVBs, it seemed only fitting that we find out how one bureau CEO exemplifies a different style of leadership. Read about Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau President & CEO Phillip Jones on p. 62 and you'll see why he approaches the "running" of his CVB from a unique perspective.

Michelle Russell
Editor
mrussell@pcma.org