What is it about fables?

July 17, 2007

What is it about fables?

Filed under: Big Ideas,General Management,Publishing Industry — Todd Sattersten @ 4:18 pm

The New York Times interviewed John Kotter yesterday and reported on his business fable Our Iceberg Is Melting. These numbers set the stage:

Since its release last September, “Iceberg” has sold some 224,000 copies in hardcover (Leading Change [his prior book] has sold more than a million copies in 10 years), and been translated into 10 languages, with 10 more foreign editions in the works.

When I reported on the Publisher Weekly best-seller numbers, Our Iceberg Is Melting was the surprise on the list. I had no idea the book was doing so well.

The idea for the fable version came from reader Holger Rathgeber. In preparing for a presentation, Rathgeber became inspired by the drawing on the cover of Leading Change. The picture shows penguins jumping from one iceberg to another, so Rathgeber had everyone create penguin masks from construction paper during the workshop. Rathgeber sent Kotter a sample of the materials and Kotter was immediately taken.

So, Kotter rewrote Leading Change as a fable with the penguins and sent a draft out to friends in 2004. Requests started to roll in for copies of the book. Kotter decided to self-publish and went on to sell 15,000 copies. Publisher St. Martin bought the rights and published it in 2006.

I have to tell you I don’t understand the popularity of fables like this. They are meant to appeal to a large audience, and that is the trouble for me. The messages these book convey are too simplistic. I guess this leaves me in the minority given the success that many of these books have.

My only solace lies in the fact that since the mainstream release of “Iceberg”, we have sold twice as many copies of Leading Change as we have the fable. I guess our customers want the full version as well.

Comments (6)

http://www.brandstory.typepad.com Rob

Todd-
I couldn’t agree more. Too often these books lay out a vague problem in a way that is broad enough to appeal to a general audience, but they don’t get specific on how to solve the problem.
For example, after reading Who Moved My Cheese? (another fable), we can all agree that we need to look for new opportunities before the old opportunities dry up–but how to do it? Are there behaviors I can learn or teach my people to help them do this? Are there specific indicators that signal the old opportunity is coming to an end? What exactly should I do differently? The books seldom provide anything like an answer. But then, the authors generally sell expensive consulting packages to teach these things, right?
One reason for their appeal: they are short and easy to read. So instead of really diving into the issues and exploring different ideas, the reader walks away with a nice summary of a problem and a few platitudes they can throw out in the next strategy meeting.
Business fables are a lot like twinkies. They taste good. They go down easy. A lot of people consume them. But they don’t do a lot to nourish the mind.
http://www.bizbigpic.com/picture001/ Cristian Mitreanu

Hi Todd,
Here are a few “pro-penguins” thoughts/facts that you and your readers might find interesting:
“We are an increasingly busy global society, and finding time to read a book can be difficult. Book reviews and executive summaries have become the norm. However, the lack of time is not the only culprit. This trend is also encouraged by a few negative developments in the business book space. FIRST, the most obvious problem is that many business books simply repackage old ideas without bringing anything new. SECOND, not only can many books be distilled to a few pages, but they are built upon an initial article or paper without providing significant improvements. THIRD, many books use cherry-picked business cases or examples in order to hide flaws or limitations in the presented concepts. FINALLY, the most important problem is the generalized neglect of what I call ‘executive serendipity,’ which refers to seemingly-ingenious business decisions that actually occurred accidentally. Although this phenomenon plays a major role in business, many books tend to ignore it because most theories are rational, which means that they are based on the assumption that every result has intent behind it.”
That is an excerpt from the press release announcing my unconventionally formatted book “Spointra and the Secret of Business Success,” which identifies the major problems plaguing the business book realm. (The book is also available here at 800-CEO-READ.) And from the same press release, here’s a thought on what the business book should be/do:
“[...] books as the sole vehicles for disseminating ideas are increasingly irrelevant in our highly networked world. A successful business book must do more than just deliver an idea… which, if valuable, will spread over the Internet anyway. ‘Spointra and the Secret of Business Success’ is a high-quality hardcover that can also serve as a coffee table book, allowing for easy access and brief, thought-stimulating immersions in its storyline.”
http://gistout.com gistout

Business fables…… to nourish the mind.
Notification of being cited in “Archive of Metaphor and Analogy”.
Thank you.
http://gistout.com
http://www.navtejkohli.biz Navtej Kohli

Todd, Business fables have long been a very successful tool to teach business lessons to even top level management people. The first book in the form of business fable that I read was “who moved my cheese”. I feel its a very good style. Congrats on the success of your book.
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Jumper2

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