• It does your reputation no good to spout off publicly on subjects you know nothing about.
• Before you beta test a new business, be sure you've figured in all expenses, right down to the cost of postage for your billing series.
• When an industry-changing business model such as Kindle arrives on the scene (soon to be joined by a legion of competitors), you better start brainstorming survival tactics. Otherwise, prepare to be toast.
• Does some way exist to deliver your product or service to end users in a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly format?
• For example, traditional book publishing (1) must change the consignment system so retailers own outright the books they buy; (2) move to print-on-demand book manufacturing, so that inventory is maintained electronically in a computer rather than stacked on pallets in warehouses; (3) enable bookstores to receive commissions on electronic book sales that they generate. If they don't, Jeff Bezos of Amazon will be the last man standing.

Tina Brown Bashes $9.99 Digital Books
Daily Beast founder Tina Brown and her husband Sir Harold Evans held a stuffy, packed BEA amphitheater in rapt attention yesterday—quizzing four CEOs about these difficult days for publishing. When Brown lost her voice halfway through the presentation, her husband stepped up to finish the panel. Before leaving, Brown railed against Amazon.com, Inc.'s pricing for the average Kindle book: "$9.99 is a paltry pitiful sum," she said.

—MediaBistro.com Galley Cat, May 29, 2009