Scott Lubeck, newly installed Book Industry Study Group executive director, sees his primary mission as helping the publishing industry move from a print-centric operating model to a customer-centric model. In a brief interview with PW as he began visiting different BISG members, Lubeck said he believes BISG is uniquely positioned to help develop systems and standards that will allow publishers of all types to deliver information to customers in the format they want. To do that will mean breaking away from established business cultures and reimagining a publisher's workflow. “If you treat print as the center of the universe, all other formats become sideshows,” Lubeck said, an approach that will not be successful in a market where consumers want more products “that are more than text.”
To make the transition to a more product- and customer-focused business, Lubeck said publishers need more and better data. To that end, he sees BISG becoming “more analytical driven” by, among other things, sponsoring reports on what consumers want (like the just released Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading), as well as doing more analysis of what is working and not working in the supply chain. “The key to the future will be managing data,” Lubeck said. He also sees BISG maintaining its leadership position in developing standards that can be adopted by all players in the supply chain as new business models are created. Lubeck said he will do what he can to support publisher innovation, something he believes is key if the industry is to successfully navigate these uncertain times. Embracing innovation, Lubeck noted, “means you can't be afraid to fail.”
While BISG is on sound financial footing despite the recession, one of Lubeck's priorities is to “find more resources to support the organization and the research we need to do.” Lubeck said he was attracted to the BISG post because of its position within the industry, and he is committed to keeping the organization “the industry's must trusted intermediary.”
