ZingLife

The Power of Pamphlets

Small Booklets; Big Ideas

We all have a special place or two. You know, those semi-secret spots that we return to now and again to reconnect with meaningful experiences in our past. For me, the Labadie Collection, up on the 7th floor of the University of Michigan’s Graduate Library, is one of those spots—my secret garden of anarchist intellectual activity. Back in my student days, I used to spend a fair bit of time sitting quietly at the long wooden tables there, pencil in hand (no pens are allowed), looking lovingly through the country’s leading collection of anarchist and other radical writings.

I was particularly drawn to the old pamphlets: small booklets put out a century or so ago to convey the views of anarchist writers like Emma Goldman, Peter Kropotkin, and Jo Labadie, the man who donated the original contents of this special collection. There are over 30,000 pamphlets in the archive (along with many thousands of books, posters, and other printed materials). Back at the turn of the 20th century, pamphlets served much the same role in society that the Internet does today. They gave writers a way to share strongly held views, quickly and at low cost, with a large number of people, many of whom had neither the time nor the means to buy an entire book.

In the spirit of those anarchist publications that I love so much, we’ve decided to print the individual “Secrets” from the Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading series as pamphlet-sized publications. While of course I love it when you buy a whole book, I’m honored to make the essays available in this form. Though these booklets are small, I hope the ideas inside provoke big thoughts for you as you read in the same way that Emma Goldman and her compatriots did a century or so ago.

– Ari

Here are the first pamphlets coming out from Zingerman’s Press:

Secret #1

The Twelve Natural Laws of Business
The keys to running your organization in harmony with human nature.

Secret #6

Revisiting the Power of Visioning
An in-depth look at just how amazingly powerful the Zingerman’s visioning process can be.

Secret #7

Writing a Vision of Greatness
The basics of our approach to vision writing, including the four elements of an effective vision at Zingerman’s.

Secret #9

An 8-Step Recipe for Writing a Vision of Greatness
The recipe that we’ve used here at Zingerman’s for over twenty years and taught to thousands around the country and the world.

Secret #19

Fixing the Energy Crisis in the American Workplace
How working in violation of the Natural Laws of Business has created an energy crisis in the workplace and what we can do to help restore the natural human energy, creativity and intelligence of everyone in our organizations.

Secret #29

Twelve Tenets of Anarcho-Capitalism
A look at my views on how the tenets of anarchist thought can be put to work in the world of progressive business.

Secret #35

The Power of Personal Visioning
An in-depth essay on how to take Zingerman’s approach to visioning and put it to work to help you create the life you want to lead.

You can find the full Secret Pamphlet series at Zingerman’s Coffee Company, Zingerman’s Roadhouse, ZingTrain, or online at the Zingerman’s Press website, or at the ZingTrain site.

See you soon!

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