Zenobia: The Curious Book of Business (AGENCY/DISTRIBUTED) - Hardcover

Zenobia - a former industry giant that is bedeviled by paralyzing hierarchies, grossly inadequate communications, and distrust--is a broken place. Zenobia is a fortress doomed to collapse upon itself.

Into this context comes a young woman named Moira, who has responded to a help wanted ad and seeks to find a given office, Room 133A. As she moves through the Zenobian maze, Moira makes some surprising discoveries about the power of teamwork, the role of the imagination, and the qualities that define true leaders. Her story is complemented and deepened by the story of a long-time Zenobia employee named Gallagher, the man who issued the help wanted ad and who watches, and comments, as Moira makes her way to the ever-elusive Room 133A.

Zenobia is written for those who believe that there is more to business than a paycheck and systematic promotions ― for those who suspect that imagination and vision have an enormous role to play. It is for people who recognize that corporate life is very much an adventure ― a place where using the imagination can open the most extraordinary doors. It’s for people who dare to make a difference where they work, and who dare to let their business environment stir positive differences within them.

In crafting this classic business tale, Zenobia's co-author, Matthew Emmens, draws more than thirty years in business, having worked his own way through its various channels as a sales representative, a marketing manager, and a senior executive. Through decades spent at both established multinationals and brazen start-ups, Emmens learned that the people who are most successful at what they do are the ones who embrace the wild rise and fall of the adventure ― who find energy in risk, opportunity in the unknown, possibility in the people all around them. As Emmens and Kephart show through Moira’s story, those who succeed are not afraid to bring their true human selves to the job everyday ― their talents, their anxieties, their pride, their toil, their determination, their humility, their empathy for others, their willingness to take on challenges, assume risks, push beyond known boundaries, and, most importantly, believe in something that is not yet there. In Zenobia, as in life, those who succeed aren’t afraid to fail, for failure is only, in the end, a chance to grow and learn.

Matthew Emmens began his career in international pharmaceuticals with Merck & Co, Inc. in 1974. There he held a wide range of sales, marketing, and administrative positions before volunteering in 1992 to help establish Astra Merck, the joint venture between Merck and Astra AB of Sweden. Emmens is also a leader who is recognized for his ability to mentor younger workers, as is attested to by his being named, in 2006, the Honorable Mentor by the HBA. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Beth Kephart is the award-winning author of five books and a partner in Fusion Communications, a company that collaborates with leading U.S. companies on the creation of special publications. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal Europe, Salon.com, and elsewhere. Her essays are frequently anthologised; she has served as a juror on a number of national book prize committees; and she has conducted numerous writing workshops.