Past Honorees
Comments made by Leanna Landsmann, President
of Time For Kids Media Group, at the induction of Mark Levine into
the Hall of Fame.
I’m Leanna Landsmann, President TFK with a few
thoughts on an old friend. In a couple of minutes, Cynthia Crain,
will paint a broader picture of Mark’s accomplishments and
his life.
I’m here to suggest that the many young people
in this audience who aspire to run their own businesses learn a
few of Mark’s secrets.
He’s a savvy “tribal elder” who has
a lot to teach.
As several of you know – because we talk about
it — I care deeply about the development of the next generation
of education publishers.
Mark you’re one of the leaders I hope this next
generation will draw on —– you’re a well respected
consumer magazine publisher who has become an active member of our
own educational publishing community – and having worked in
both communities, I know we’re fortunate for what you bring
to this one.
If you don’t know Mark, I’ll give you a
“TIME For Kids Top 5 Reasons” to make him a part of your
kitchen cabinet – or at least have an annual cup of coffee
with him which I have made a habit of doing for years.
1) He’s an empiricist. Early in his career
he was a magazine circulator – and good circulators are by
nature empiricists – they build their marketing case on facts
and data.
They can flirt with trends and impressions, but they
marry the facts and know how to use them to build business. If the
ugly yellow envelope outpulls the pretty blue one, no amount of
pleading by the art director will sway his decision to go with the
yellow.
2) He knows how to support the development of great
editorial product – or what we now like to call content
— he does not micromanage the creative process. He selects
people whose taste, market knowledge, and vision he trusts, and
let’s them do their thing.
3) He understands the meaning of “ponder”
as in “ponder a problem” — weigh mentally,
deliberately, think deeply about something. He is not afraid
to sit and puzzle over something; you can watch Mark turn over problems
in his mind — someone who once worked for him said Mark might
have been the model for Rodin’s sculpture, The Thinker, –
except that he’s fully clothed . . .
We all ruminate and worry and strategize and analyze,
but we don’t all ponder. . . In a business culture that sometimes
values how pretty your powerpoint is over the quality of the thinking
in the presentation, PONDERing is a lost art that Mark can teach
you.
4) He knows Bob Elder. (Who is not yet a “Tribal
Elder” – unlike Mark and me, Bob is still looking forward
to his 40th Birthday.) Bob Elder is Mark’s business partner.
What’s the lesson here? Every business needs a Bob Elder, but
few managers know how to build a dynamic and long-term relationship
with someone who can challenge your thinking, tell you the truth
and tell you the truth again, and take your ideas and make them
better.
5) Mark is above all an entrepreneur – he
understands what matters in building a valuable business. He
knows it is not the size of the HR department, and it’s not
about who sits in the corner office and how they decorate it. Starting
a company is hard enough. Bringing it to profitability is harder
yet. Mark has done it successfully twice by mixing drive with idealism
and good sense with good values.
If you’re building a business, or starting a
business, be inspired by Mark Levine.
I now give you Cynthia Crane, Vice President, Kids
Discover.
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