Corporate Cultures: New World Library
Today I had the opportunity to speak with Munro Magruder, Associate Publisher and Marketing Director at New World Library. New World Library is a publishing company started in 1977 by Shakti Gawain and Marc Allen, which publishes “books that change lives,” by bestselling authors such as Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra and Dan Millman.
I asked Munro several questions about the company and what it’s like to work there.
Munro described New World Library as “a company that people would want to work for.” They have about 17 employees, all of whom receive great health benefits, profit-sharing, salary increases and the ability to work flexible hours. There is even a yoga class offered at the office on Fridays during lunch.
Employees are given a lot of leeway and are encouraged to use their talents and creativity.
This flexibility along with the excellent benefits have led to a very low employee turnover. Munro said that what he likes most about working there is the flexibility of the job and the passionate co-workers around him.
“Marc [Allen]’s biggest strength,” he says, “is that he hires good people and he lets them do their jobs.”
Based on what Munro said, I gathered that New World Library is a company that cares deeply about their employees and their responsibility to the environment and the world around them. They are a 100% solar-powered company and most of their books are printed on 100% recycled paper.
This responsibility seems to have rubbed off on the employees. When asked what makes his company different from other companies, Munro said that not only are we “passionate about what we do,” but everyone takes responsibility for both the good and the bad.
When a project succeeds, they celebrate as a team. When a project doesn’t go as well as planned, each person takes responsibility and there is no blaming of other people.
It sounds to me that this atmosphere of teamwork and personal responsibility is what has allowed New World Library to thrive as a company. Even with the recent recession, the company has been able to maintain employee enthusiasm and they haven’t had to lay off a single worker.
Kudos to Munro, Marc and the rest of the staff at New World Library for leading by example and showing the rest of the world how to run a successful and responsible company.
