AEP Hall of Fame
Frank &
William Sadlier Dinger
Martha Smith
Inductee
Interviews
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2008 Inductees Discuss Their Careers and Educational PublishingOn
December 4, 2008, AEP inducted Frank and William Sadlier Dinger of William H.
Sadlier Inc., and Martha Smith of Pearson into the Educational Publishing Hall
of Fame. AEP asked each of them to discuss their careers, challenges they have
faced, and advice they would give to those choosing education publishing as a
career. Below are their answers. For more information on the Hall of Fame contact
Laura Rotter at 856-241-7772. Who
has had the biggest influence on your career and why?Frank
Dinger
I was born with printer's ink in my fingers and from an early
age my father brought me to presses, binderies and composition houses and encouraged
me to explore all aspects of the business. I can remember, at the age of 12, being
peppered with hypothetical questions about managing a business and delighting
my father with a solution to an order fulfillment problem. As a teenager, he encouraged
me to work at Sadlier's warehouse, as well as at a bookbindery and a web offset
plant to learn the distribution and manufacturing sides of the business. During
my early career, Nevins McBride, a member of Sadlier's board of directors, became
a good friend and mentor. He was very instrumental in helping me to see that some
of the leadership and communication styles from my army training did not translate
well to the workplace. He insisted that I take a Dale Carnegie course to learn
how to communicate and lead in the business world. When facing conflict, I try
to take a deep breath, think of Nevins and reference the Golden Book.
William
Dinger
Tom McCann, known fondly as "the book man not the shoe
man," was the National Sales Manager at Sadlier. Tom and I worked very closely
together for approximately 25 years. He was always very enthusiastic and supportive
of my career at Sadlier, from the time I became a sales rep. As I moved up the
ladder in the company, he saw beyond the fact that I was one of the owner's sons
and his advice and example help to develop the potential in me. When the opportunity
presented itself to lead Sadlier as President, Tom encouraged me to accept the
position, firmly believing that I had the tools to be successful. Martha
Smith
As far as a career influence, it would be a real toss-up between
my first boss in this business, Landon Risteen, Editorial VP at Scott Foresman
when I started there, and my last, Peter Jovanovich, CEO of Pearson Education.
I probably would give the edge to Landon because if he hadn't given me the experiences
he did early in my career, I wouldn't have been in a position to report to Peter
Jovanovich. Landon had a great deal of experience in the field, in sales before
he assumed an in-house role in Editorial. I remember him saying to me after I
worked on my first project: "Now that you've edited this program, you're
going to find out what it's like to sell it." Those experiences in the field
with customers and Scott Foresman's sales and consulting staff proved invaluable
to me in my career. What was the greatest challenge
you faced in your career, and how did you handle it?Frank
Dinger
When Bill and I took over Sadlier, we needed to move the
company from a small, inward-looking publisher to a forward-thinking enterprise
with a broader base. (This is an issue that many family-owned companies face when
control passes from one generation to the next.) While we were confident that
change was needed, we were measured and careful as we implemented the changes.
It was a slow and cautious process to ensure that we were headed in the right
direction. William Dinger
Being a
family run business, one of the great benefits is legacy - the passing down of
knowledge and experience from generation to generation. On the flip side, one
of the great challenges a family business can face is the transfer of control
from one generation to the next. For my brother and I, this process involved struggle,
negotiations, persuasion, trial and error, patience and perseverance. We were
able to achieve our goals because we had faith in our abilities to continue the
important mission of the Company, to support our customers and employees and build
on the Company's proud reputation in the fields of religious education, mathematics,
reading and language arts. Martha Smith
I
recently came across a folder of ten years of speeches I gave at annual National
Sales Meetings, and I noticed that each and every one includes a list of "challenges"
we faced as a business and a industry, so it's really hard to narrow the field
to one. However if I had to pick one "do or die" moment in my career
it would have to be when I was named President of Prentice Hall in October 1996.
The company had missed its sales and profit targets for three consecutive years,
and by the end of the year, the rumors that the Simon and Schuster Education Division
was up for sale had become a reality. Despite this difficult environment, we were
able to keep staff motivated to achieve Prentice Hall's sales, profit, development,
and operational goals. ("We" being the dedicated and talented senior
management team that faced this challenge along with me.) We had to make difficult
decisions, but we made them quickly and communicated the rationale for them via
Town Hall Meetings and broadcast voice mails. In the same way, we constantly updated
staff on our progress on our financial goals and on the Simon and Schuster sale
process. So open, honest, frequent communication was key to our success. Another
key factor was the great pride Prentice Hall employees took in the company and
their commitment to achieving the goals we set. What
accomplishment, related to either your career or other work in the educational
arena are you most proud of and why?Frank
Dinger
I am most proud of steps we have taken to improve planning
and communication.
It is Sadlier's mission to support our customers and our
employees and build on our reputation in the educational arena. It is critical
to this mission that we remain profitable. Through the establishment of a Publishing
Planning Group, made up of many department leaders who help to define our near
and mid-term objectives, we have made an effort to stretch our planning from an
18-month span towards 60-months. We have developed sophisticated tracking procedures
to ensure that our programs are delivered on time and on budget. We are
known as "The Family Company"; we try hard to create an atmosphere where
each person can contribute his or her skills, knowledge and experience to the
success of the whole. Our Publishing Planning Group meets frequently to modify
our plans in response to any changes impacting our industry. In addition, employees
representing all departments serve on committees to discuss ways we can modify
our business plans to better serve our customers, whether through technology or
other means. William Dinger
Of great
concern to me is the religious education of Catholic children, in addition I am
particularly passionate about reaching out to the US Latino community. I am very
proud to have been instrumental in the commitment of Sadlier to the needs of the
U.S. Latino Community. In the past, there were few, if any quality materials being
published for this community. In light of the fact that many Latino children receive
their religious education from their abuela (grandmother), the need was for a
bilingual solution. As a result, Sadlier has made a commitment to publish bilingual
catechetical programs with the same graphic and intellectual quality as those
that are available for the greater English speaking population. Martha
Smith
I've very proud of the fact that we fulfilled our commitment
to Pearson shareholders by achieving the financial targets Pearson set for us
and/or by outperforming the industry during my tenure first as head of the Pearson
Secondary Group and later as President of the Curriculum Group. I'm also
very proud of the innovative curriculum products we developed, especially the
ground we broke in the area of digital product, and of the professional development
experiences we've provided teachers and administrators around the country. Beyond
that, one of the things I'm proudest of is the staff recognition and development
programs I initiated. This industry has an incredibly talented and dedicated workforce.
With Pearson's support, I established the Crescent Club to recognize outstanding
achievement in sales, product development, process, and innovation and an Innovation
Initiative to foster innovation in product and operations.
What
do you think is the greatest challenge that educational publishing will face in
the next five years? Any thoughts on how to approach it? Frank
Dinger
Advances in technology are impacting the educational publishing
industry by introducing powerful new hardware and software into the classroom
and offering flexible new channels for distribution. This is impacting the industry
in many ways. Coinciding with advances in technology, customers are increasingly
requesting customized editions, which correlate to state standards and federal
requirements for funding. Much has changed in educational publishing since
my family started this company over 175 years ago, so I am not surprised when
we have to adjust to changing times. Today some old publishing rules of thumb,
such as "print in 16s", simply don't hold true when the product is a
video alternative teaching model delivered online for free. But certain fundamental
rules of thumb, such as "never lose sight of the bottom line", cannot
be ignored. To sustain our important role as an educational publisher, it is important
that we harness the potential of technology without losing sight of the fundamental
principles of publishing and our mission to help teachers and students. Learning
requires work and discipline. Often we are tempted to look for a quick fix, but
at Sadlier we are in this for the long term so we must look for long term solutions.
We want the teachers and students who use our products to succeed, so we ask ourselves,
"How can we best use technology to help teachers teach and students learn?"
William
Dinger
The greatest challenge facing educational publishing is the
integration of print and technology. As educators themselves become more familiar
with technology, they are demanding that publishers provide the needed technology.
Historically, the publishing industry has supplied many resources free of charge
to accompany and supplement textbook programs. Publishers have been willing to
make available for free on-line all sorts of innovative, and beneficial materials.
Now as educational technology takes the lead, the question is how can publishers
provide these necessary materials at a cost that is not prohibitive to schools
yet allows publishers to remain profitable. Martha
Smith
It doesn't take a genius to realize that the meltdown in the
economy is going to have a profound impact on our business. However, I think we
can use this crisis as an opportunity to rethink the way we approach our customers,
especially in terms of free-with-order (FWO) and the shear size of many of our
basal programs. I believe reducing FWO and the size of our programs would have
zero impact on our commitment to provide quality educational materials to students
and teachers. The success of students and teachers using programs like the Connected
Math program (CMP), for example, a National Science Foundation program Pearson
publishes, which has a very modest component array compared to basal programs,
taught me that. (I'm sure other publishers have had the same experience with similar
programs.) FWO and burgeoning component arrays are competitive issues, and I think
we need to decide as an industry if we can continue to compete in this way in
this economic environment.
What advice would
you give to someone starting out in educational publishing?Frank
Dinger
It helps to have a solid background in education so that
you can understand the needs in the classroom and school administrators. Be aware
of what is happening at the university-level in order to anticipate coming trends
in K-12 education. Keep an eye open for new resources that may be developed into
successful products for the classroom. Planning is essential. Once you have settled
on your plan, commit to it. Have the discipline to monitor your plan and the courage
to modify it if you are not hitting your benchmarks. William
Dinger
You must be prepared with a solid background in education
and research-marketing. Be prepared to listen to educators and do not allow your
ego to stand in the way of hearing what will make a program better than you may
have ever dreamed. Then test your hypothesis and be honest enough to accept feedback.
Martha Smith
First, I think classroom experience is essential. I'm a former teacher
myself, and I believe that was a key factor in my success. I am the customer. Second,
I would advise getting as many varied experiences in the business as possible.
This is much more difficult to do today than when I started in this business.
Now editors, designers, and marketing staff roll from one major revision or customized
edition of a program to another. Sales reps are gearing up for the next campaign
while the current one is still in progress. Years ago, there used to be some downtime
between projects and campaigns when you could get some of these experiences. However
it's still possible to get a varied background in this business if you're really
motivated. I'm thinking of one bright up-and-comer who started as a sales rep,
then took a in-house product manager job where he made key contributions to a
highly successful basal program, and who has since returned to the field in a
management position.
For more information on the AEP Hall
of Fame, contact Laura Rotter, 856-241-7772.
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