At sometime in everyone's life, this question arises: who were your role models growing up? The luckiest people need to go no further than their parents, but from a literary standpoint I need a more interesting answer to command an audience. I am very proud to have my father, Robert Sr., who continues to stand tall in my life, if not in his office (most days) two doors to my left. There's nothing wrong with taking retirement seriously, especially after celebrating 50 remarkably productive years guiding the F. A. Davis Company.

The biggest flaw in telling my story is its lack of tabloid appeal. I've been advised by our web site gatekeepers that getting 700 hits a day means nothing. We need quality hits and with this catalog message on the web site, I should be on my best behavior. So I won't criticize the television and print media for proliferating unrealistic expectations for the Internet. Especially when we've got people on our own payroll doing a good job of that already. So what am I left with? If my story lacks the sensationalism necessary to bring "quality" to a gallivanting surfer, how about the F. A. Davis Company story? Over the course of 119 years there must have been an inspiration for its mission. Was there a company we once looked up to? A company that served as an icon of strength and vigor, of common sense in excess, of nurturing brilliance and efficiency. Didn't F. A. Davis Company have a role model, too?

Health science publishing used to have many role models. Oh, where have all the role models gone? We have no trouble finding publishing companies who are bigger than F. A. Davis Company, and perhaps more prolific. There are even a few left whose CEO still resides in the company's hometown. But they are not our role models anymore. In fact, we are trying to avoid what they have become since their ever-changing corporate masters have imposed their rule.

At the highest corporate level, esteem and reverence for books (in any form) have been replaced by a "what have you done for me lately?" ethic, usually in the form of an ultimatum. During times of prosperity, the corporate moguls usually keep their distance, but the moment the numbers go south, you can feel the Los Angeles smog in a St. Louis suburb. And lately, prosperity has been hard to come by. Falling enrollments in many nursing schools have taken their toll on nursing publishers. Sales of medical books have been flat at best. In addition, publishers had expected the return on their information-technology investment to be at least break-even by now. We. re still waiting and we. re still spending. This is not a climate for the patience-impaired.

Our corporate friends have induced a paraphrase for a popular adage: Tough times don't last, but tough people move on to pursue other interests anyway. At least that's what it usually says in the press release. This is hardly becoming of conduct by an industry role model. Another year has gone by and F. A. Davis Company continues to covet its independence. For the 120th straight year, F. A. Davis Company will be led from Philadelphia. Perhaps we've been independent long enough to fill the vacant position of industry role model. Which reminds me, if you've read this far you've officially become a "quality hit." Congratulations! And thank you! Cyberspace could use a few good role models, too.

	President's Letters 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2001-02 2000 1999 1997 1996
Robert H. Craven, Jr.