Three Winter Institute 11 Plenary Presentations Now Available on Video

Updated: February 24, 2016

For anyone who missed Winter Institute 11, as well as for those who want to revisit the plenary presentations by Martin Lindstrom, Kwame Alexander,  and Amy Cuddy, the American Booksellers Association has posted videos of their breakfast keynotes online. The presentations by Lindstrom and Alexander are available on YouTube to everyone; the presentation by Cuddy is available on BookWeb.org only to ABA member booksellers with a username and password.

Martin Lindstrom — Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends

On Saturday, January 24, author and brand-building expert Martin Lindstrom delivered the Winter Institute’s opening plenary address, which was based on his upcoming book, Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends (St. Martin’s Press, February 23, 2016).

Lindstrom’s presentation provides examples of how businesses, from big brands to small retailers, can be transformed by looking at small data with a critical eye to uncover seemingly unrelated clues that together provide insight into an unmet customer need.

Lindstrom urges booksellers to look at their own stores and customer behaviors with a critical eye to generate more sales and ensure they are perceived as a place of discovery as well as a “third place” for all members of the community.

Using video clips featuring booksellers from ABA member stores, he highlights various assets that booksellers can use to their advantage.

See Martin Lindstrom’s Wi11 plenary presentation here on YouTube.

Kwame Alexander — The Idea Business: A Life Spent Writing and Selling Books

Author and literacy advocate Kwame Alexander delivered the enthusiastic and inspiring breakfast keynote “The Idea Business: A Life Spent Writing and Selling Books,” on Tuesday, January 26, the final day of Winter Institute 2016.

Alexander is the author of the Newbery Award-winning middle-grade novel The Crossover and the founder of literacy programs Book-in-a-Day and LEAP for Ghana. His new picture book, Surf’s Up, illustrated by Daniel Miyares, was published this month by NorthSouth Books. A multimedia toolkit for teachers called Kwame Alexander’s Page-to-Stage Writing Workshop (Scholastic) and Booked, a middle-grade follow-up to The Crossover (HMH Books for Young Readers), will be forthcoming this spring.

In his stirring Winter Institute address, Alexander talks about how saying yes to every opportunity that came his way led him to become a successful author, poet, and publisher, as well as a champion for literacy and diversity in children’s books.

See Kwame Alexander’s Wi11 plenary presentation here on YouTube.

Amy Cuddy — Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges

Booksellers were brought to their feet on the second morning of the Winter Institute by Harvard Business School associate professor Amy Cuddy’s keynote speech, which focuses on the message that adopting confident body language can improve one’s ability to truly be present in life’s toughest situations.

Cuddy’s talk expands on ideas from her new book, Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges (Little, Brown). Using social psychology research, she shows booksellers how strong posture and “power” poses can positively affect one’s feelings and behavior.

See Amy Cuddy's Wi11 presentation on BookWeb.org (available only to ABA member booksellers with a BookWeb username and password).