The Folio Society’s CEO: Consider the power of lateral thinking

Joanna Reynolds is the CEO of the London-based publisher The Folio Society. She has completely changed the way the business operates since becoming CEO in 2016, returning it to profit with global revenues of more than £13m.

She credits a diagnosis of dyslexia in her early 20s with helping her develop a leadership style that runs contrary to the “vertical thinking” she has seen in many other organisations, allowing her to challenge conventional ways of doing things.

The Folio Society was founded in 1947 and for many decades was a membership club that specialised in producing beautifully crafted hardback books – usually classics that were out-of-copyright. The membership demographics skewed to older men.

The original business model struggled to work in the 21st century. But under Reynolds’s tenure, the business has completely changed. It dropped the membership model to sell online and direct-to-consumers both in the UK and abroad. It’s also become an employee-owned business.

It still produces limited editions of hardback books with high production values, especially in illustration, but it has vastly broadened its range. It now publishes books in genres like fantasy, children’s and science fiction with titles that are in-copyright. It pays close attention to digital data revealed on blogs or places like BookTok on TikTok to see what customers want.

Recent hits include Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman and the Dune series by Frank Herbert. Game of Thrones was also a big seller.

A bit like the resurgence of vinyl records in music, there is still a market for well-made books, The Folio Society has found, even with a high price point.

“I only found out in my early 20s that I was dyslexic,” says Reynolds, “but I think it brings something different to the way I lead businesses.”

After starting her career in publishing, working for Which? and Reader’s Digest, she then ran her own business consultancy for several years. This gave her an insight into the kinds of problems all businesses face.

“Most businesses have vertical thinkers who come at a problem in a very systematic, linear way and go step-by-step to come to their solution and once they’ve got to the solution, they believe that’s the right solution. But the question that they rarely
ask is why did I start at that point?”

Reynolds believes that her dyslexia makes her more of a “lateral thinker”, a trait identified by author and psychologist Edward de Bono, who wrote about it in his 1967 book The Use of Lateral Thinking.

“Lateral thinkers are very creative,” says Reynolds, “they go wide and they think broadly.” They can think creatively beyond the confines of the problem narrowly defined. It’s a way of thinking that also tolerates making mistakes, as part of the journey to the final destination.

“It’s different to vertical thinking because it doesn’t have to go in those very sort of straight blocks to get to where you need to get to,” says Reynolds.

Reynolds believes her lateral-thinking approach to business strategy and leadership has helped her champion new authors, examine sales and other data critically, and think of radical strategies for her business.

She believes this leadership trait, informed by her dyslexia, has helped her find success in the world of publishing.