Welcome to the premiere issue of Smart Business San Francisco, a monthly management journal for C-level executives of middle-market and large companies. Before you say it, let me do it for you: “The last thing I need is something else to read.”
I know how you feel. Running a growing organization is enough to keep anyone busy. The demands on our time from employees, suppliers and clients increase every day. That’s why we designed a unique publication.
After 18 years in the publishing business, we know to listen to our readers. The publication you hold in your hands — the 19th in our growing chain and the fourth in California — is the result of all our listening. Here is what readers like you told us they want in a local management journal.
1. Big minds, big ideas. Smart Business San Francisco taps into the top Bay Area business minds. In this issue, our cover story tells how CEO John Chen saved a dying Sybase and turned it into one the largest mobile technology companies in the world. In Smart Leaders, Business Wire CEO Cathy Baron Tamraz explains how understanding psychology can help grow a business. Our Fast Lane interview with CEO Mike Faith delves into how customer service became his No. 1 priority at high-growth Headsets.com. In the coming months, you’ll hear from the best business minds in the Bay Area on issues ranging from leadership to motivation to growth.
2. Go to the source. To get the latest thoughts on best practices in business, we partner with key local service providers in areas including accounting, banking, benefits and management. They have front-line experience with the issues facing middle-market companies in the Bay Area.
3. Keep it short. Most articles fill just a page. Only our cover stories are longer because they delve into the management styles and strategies of top executives. And we plan to keep our page count low, so you don’t have to fight to find articles.
You will find these three principles carried throughout Smart Business San Francisco, just as our readers have come to expect from our other award-winning publications for the last 18 years.
So why are you getting our management journal? Because of your success in building a business to middle-market status or your senior management role at a larger company that values the middle market. I hope you enjoy our premiere issue. And I invite you to share your feedback with me.
FRED KOURY is president and CEO of Smart Business Network Inc. Reach him with your comments at [email protected] or (800) 988-4726.