Articles

Rick Wolff… You Will Be Missed

What a terribly sad day.

Back in 2007, my literary agent (Jim Levine) mentioned Rick Wolff‘s name.
At the time, Rick was the Vice President and Editor In Chief at Grand Central Publishing (part of Hachette Book Group).

He was very interested in my first book, Six Pixels of Separation (long before a word of it was written).

After just one meeting, it became clear to me that he would not only be a great Publisher, but a great Editor, Coach and ally as I made my way through the publishing world.
Rick was always there.
Rick was humble.
Rick was critical… and helpful.
Rick was a really big deal in the publishing world, and he never acted like I was punching above my weight class in working with him… but I knew that I was.
Rick really wanted to work together (and this gave me confidence at a time when I wasn’t sure if I had a quality book in me).

He was always:

Happy to make an introduction.
Happy to edit/question my writing.
Happy to introduce me to his other writer’s for blurbs and advice.
Happy to push his PR and marketing team on my behalf.
Happy to take a look at friend’s manuscripts/book proposals.
Happy to just talk business, coaching, regular life and more.

In short: No Rick Wolff (along with Jim Levine), No Six Pixels of Separation and no CTRL ALT Delete books.

He pushed for my work to find an audience.
He pushed hard.
Always.
I just can’t believe he’s gone.
The publishing industry just lost a true (and kind) titan.
May you find a “Rick Wolff” in your life to champion your work.

May his memory be a blessing…

Here is the statement from his family: Remembering Rick Wolff.

Donations can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.