Unf*ckingbelievable

Borders Corporate Office (Ann Arbor, MI)

I had to think long and hard about the title of this post. I think I nailed it.

Borders executives are in court once more seeking management "bonuses."  Apparently, while the vast majority of Borders team members will close the doors to their stores for the last time in the next two weeks and then go home empty-handed, the remaining company leaders are hoping for one last $2 million suckle at the bankruptcy teat.

I have nothing against any of these folks, but this really is American business at its worst. The well-to-do, who have always had the benefit of making up the rules to the game, are able to make one final attempt at strengthening their (arguably undeserved) parachutes, while the thousands of tenured regular guys and gals, who worked just as hard and cared just as much, get nothing more than a final paycheck and an empty expression of gratitude from the company they built.

Read it in this PW article and weep, or shake your fists in fury (or just enjoy a lemon drop martini and let it go).

Obnoxious Authors and Bookstore Shennanigans

Most authors understand that bookstores are businesses and that they, the authors, are simply one important component of the total bookselling machine. Authors are typically gracious and pleasant people who show respect and appreciation in their interactions with booksellers.Occasionally though, an author comes along who exhibits a surprising lack of perspective and awareness about how the industry really works (or that bookselling is an industry at all). 

As you would expect, these uninformed folks are often the authors, celebrity or otherwise, who have just been published for the first time. Jane Lynch, who plays Glee's Sue Sylvester, demonstrates just how challenging these authors can be in this humorous video short promoting her new book. Viewing Tip: Click on the title bar at the top of the clip to open the video in a larger YouTube window.

Borders Bookstores and the Deathly Hallows

Over the next few days, all Borders bookstores around the country will begin a multi-week Going-Out-of-Business sale.  The liquidation of the company means the closing of the remaining 400 stores, and it leaves 11,000 booksellers jobless. It also means that booklovers will have one less place in their communities to discover great new writers, and one less place close to home where they can spend a comfortable, enlightening, and cheap Saturday afternoon with their kids.

It was purely coincidental that the final Harry Potter film, “Deathly Hallows Part 2,” was released last weekend, the same weekend that Borders came to the undeniable conclusion that their jig was finally up, but the parallels don’t stop there. Just like Harry…

• Borders was on a collision course with its own destiny. While things could certainly have turned out differently for both Harry and for Borders, neither could deny that for the last several years a war has loomed on the horizon that eventually had to be waged.

• Borders faced a seemingly insurmountable army of destroyers. For Borders, just like for Harry, many enemies were clear and present external forces (e-commerce, e-books, and of course the e-conomy), but some of the damage came from within as well. Harry carried a little Voldemort within himself, and Borders, likewise, was sometimes its own worst enemy.

• Borders could not succeed without the help of unparalleled acts of magic. Alas, Harry found a wand; Borders did not.

I worked for Borders for a little over 16 years, and in that time, the company evolved dramatically. Company vision and strategies were altered radically to reflect new competition and new technology (though clearly not always as quickly or effectively as needed), and as new CEOs and executives came and went, the company’s leadership philosophy also changed (sometimes for better, and sometimes not). As you can imagine, all this change is difficult to manage, and occasionally difficult to swallow. Throughout the transformation though, two critical constants remained that kept folks like me working at Borders for years – the books and the people.