John A. Byrne - Chairman, CEO & Editor-in-Chief - C-Change Media Inc. | LinkedIn (original) (raw)

Fast Company & BusinessWeek Former Editor

About

My professional goal has been to cover the great drama of business, to write in compelling fashion about the blood, sweat and tears of corporate and entrepreneurial life. I've always believed that business is hardly dull, but rather filled with great emotion, intellect, ego, and ambition. My goal has always been to capture both the glory and the folly of it. My ultimate aim as a journalist has been to report and write memorable stories with impact, not merely pieces to fit between the ads in a magazine or newspaper. After a reporting and writing career of nearly 30 years--a span in which I wrote 58 cover stories for Business Week and authored or co-authored more than 10 business books--I became an editor-in-chief, first at Fast Company magazine and then at Business Week.com while also serving as executive editor of Business Week magazine. My goal had been to lead and motivate highly talented writers and designers, to shape an editorial product so that it is of the highest quality and integrity and differentiated in a very competitive marketplace.

I've been utterly transformed as a result of moving into the digital space. I don't consider it merely another medium. I think of the web as a utility, like electricity, powering new ways of communication and interaction. It's print, radio, and TV and better than all those other mediums, and it's so much more.

What a thrilling and incredible time to have the chance to play in this arena now as founder and chief executive of C-Change Media, a digital media company creating niche business websites that combine original, high-quality content, with curation and community to gain distinction and competitive advantage of the Internet. We currently own and operate three websites: PoetsandQuants.com, PoetsandQuantsforExecs.com, and TippingTheScales.com.

Specialties: Management, leadership, entrepreneurship, strategy, executive compensation, corporate governance, management education, technology, social media

Articles by John A.

How Successful MBA Applicants Write Their Way Into Harvard & Stanford

By John A. Byrne

Apr 22, 2021

Scenes From A Lockdown: A New Netflix Series Or An Online MBA?

By John A. Byrne

Nov 21, 2020

Inside The Hardest Business School Program In The World To Get Into

By John A. Byrne

Oct 9, 2020

See all articles

Activity

Experience

C-Change Media Inc.

Dec 2009 - Present15 years 2 months
Petaluma, CA

Fast Company

Education

University of Missouri-Columbia

MA Journalism

1974 - 1975
Activities and Societies: As a grad student, I was assistant city editor of the Columbia Missourian, one of my all-time favorite jobs

William Paterson University of New Jersey

BA English, Political Science

1971 - 1974
Activities and Societies: Editor-in-Chief of weekly student newspaper, The Beacon; Music Director of campus radio station; student government representative

Skills

Publications

Jossey-Bass: A Warren Bennis Book 2013

Great leadership ultimately comes down to who you hire and how they lead. This collaboration, with long-time CEO and philanthropist Mort Mandel, explores the values, principles and ideas of a man who is the epitome of the American Dream.
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Portfolio Dec 2011

What if you could sit down with some of the world's most influential entrepreneurs and gain their knowledge and insights on how to create a game changing business?
Imagine having the chance to listen to a John Mackey (Whole Foods) or a Fred Smith (FedEx) on the most important things they've learned from their experiences. Or having the benefit of the self-reflection of Howard Schultz of Starbucks, who had to come back to the company he originally built to reinvent it and…
What if you could sit down with some of the world's most influential entrepreneurs and gain their knowledge and insights on how to create a game changing business?
Imagine having the chance to listen to a John Mackey (Whole Foods) or a Fred Smith (FedEx) on the most important things they've learned from their experiences. Or having the benefit of the self-reflection of Howard Schultz of Starbucks, who had to come back to the company he originally built to reinvent it and himself?
Of course it's not possible to deliver these rock star entrepreneurs to your dinner table. But John A. Byrne offers the next best thing: he spoke with many who have changed the face of business. In World Changers he captures the most important lessons they've learned, the biggest challenges they've tackled, and the most valuable advice they can offer others who have an entrepreneurial dream.
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Warner Books September 11, 2001

A New York Times bestseller for 26 consecutive weeks, Jack: Straight from the Gut is the story of one of the most famous business personalities in history. As CEO of General Electric for 20 years, Jack Welch built the company's market cap by more than $450 billion and established himself as the most admired business leader in the world.
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Harper Business 1999

At once praised as the darling of Wall Street and condemned as the foe of the working people, business executive Al Dunlap--famously known as "Chainsaw Al"--is clearly one of the most controversial figures in American business. This is the story of Dunlap's rise and fall.
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McGraw-Hill 1996

Back in 1974, Colleen and Jack Swanson couldn't have been happier. Middle-aged and newly married, they enjoyed the good life in Midland, MI. John was the consummate 'company man' at Dow Corning, where he oversaw a world-renown program of corporate ethics. Colleen devoted herself to their blends family and lovely home. But soon a stain would spread across this idyllic picture and besmirch it beyond imagination--a stain of physical suffering, corporate greed, and professional anguish.
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McGraw-Hill 1993

A one-of-a-kind roadmap that leads you straight to the best offerings by the best business schools. The product of exhaustive research and hundreds of in-depth interviews, the guide ranks each school according to the feedback from its two key markets: the student executives themselves and the companies that are often footing the bill.
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Doubleday Currency 1993

The Whiz Kids were the brash Army Air Force officers who sold themselves in a package deal to Henry Ford II at the end of World War II. They had no business experience, but so what? They arrogantly believed that they could rescue the ailing company, then hemorrhaging millions of dollars a month. Rescue it they did, and more. In a coup worthy of a conquering Caesar, they reshaped American business and its approach to power.
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Harper & Row 1987

At the age of 38, John Sculley had been Pepsi-Cola's youngest president when he rewrote the rules of marketing, masterminding the 'Pepsi Generation' campaign that toppled Coke from its position as the number-one brand for the first time in history. Compelled by Apple's fabulous success and co-founder Steve Jobs' promise of "a chance to change the world." Sculley turned his back on East Coast corporate orthodoxy and joined the high-risk, gold-rush atmosphere of Silicon Valley. Odyssey re-creates…
At the age of 38, John Sculley had been Pepsi-Cola's youngest president when he rewrote the rules of marketing, masterminding the 'Pepsi Generation' campaign that toppled Coke from its position as the number-one brand for the first time in history. Compelled by Apple's fabulous success and co-founder Steve Jobs' promise of "a chance to change the world." Sculley turned his back on East Coast corporate orthodoxy and joined the high-risk, gold-rush atmosphere of Silicon Valley. Odyssey re-creates the painful struggles between Sculley and Jobs that ultimately leads to the ouster of the brilliant entrepreneur. It reveals the story behind this dramatic event in the history of one of America's most storied companies and provides a blueprint of business strategy, with tutorials on managing creativity, the new loyalty, and spin-out management techniques.
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MacMillan 1986

This provocative look at the executive search business became a cult classic in an industry known for its secrecy and behind-the-scenes influence. Executive search firms, less respectfully known as headhunters, had become a significant factor in the hiring and mobility of executive talent in the past 20 years. Through profiles of top personalities and firms and stories of top level searches, Byrne illustrates who executive searchers are and how they operate.
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Recommendations received

“John has been (and continues to be) one of my most formidable mentors. We had the good fortune to connect during his days as Editor of Fast Company. He encouraged me to write, eventually inspiring me to land a monthly gig writing for Entrepreneur Magazine. He has an uncanny ability to identify and explain innovative business ideas, fosters a sense of community and sets writers and business leaders up for success.”

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