Bookstores, Big Box Retail, and Customer Buy-in

What can nonprofit and business leaders learn from bookstores in the dot-com boom, publishers, and the world of nonprofit leadership?

Tami Heim serves as the president and CEO of the Christian Leadership Alliance. She’s been on both the cause and brand side of the fence, spending the bulk of her career in retail and publishing - as president of Borders bookstores, EVP and chief publishing officer for Thomas Nelson Publishers, and in the world of marketing and branding at an agency. For the past decade, she has led the Christian Leadership Alliance, which is dedicated to helping train, equip, and connect leaders.

In the episode, we discuss:

• Three things that customers want

• Helping your people understand their purpose

• How Borders responded to the Amazon threat

She then served as EVP and chief publishing officer for Thomas Nelson Publishers, before diving into the world of marketing and branding at an agency. She’s spent the last nearly decade as president and CEO of the Christian Leadership Alliance, so she really has had a front-row seat to leadership from both the commercial retail and publishing world, and now in nonprofit leadership. 

I first heard about Tami when she joined the Christian Leadership Alliance, and a number of years later I was asked to join the board, so I’ve gotten to know Tami much more over the past few years. She’s a passionate, dynamic leader, and it’s been a huge blessing to see her leadership and the lessons she’s learned put into practice.

The question for today is, what can we learn from the worlds of retail, publishing, and nonprofit leadership? Listen in to find out.

Christian Leadership Alliance – https://christianleadershipalliance.org/ 

Outcomes Conference – https://outcomesconference.org/ 

Tami Heim – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamiheim/