The History of Executive Book Review

By Peter Braeuler

Executive Book Review (EBR) began in a similar fashion to other GREAT organizations – by 2 individuals working out of a garage or kitchen…well not exactly.

The genesis of EBR was around coaching and relationships.

In 2009 I was coaching CEOs and Business Owners using Peer Groups.  8 to 12 business leaders would gather monthly to work ON their business, sharing experiences, learning new ideas and sharing/resolving issues as a group.

Mark Wittig was in one of these groups.  As we progressed, I added a new learning module at the end of our meetings – a 15-minute book review (thanks to the generosity of Randy Mayeux of 15-minute Business Books).

Over the next few years Mark would often note that while the reviews were very interesting, 15 minutes was way too short a time to include discussion and interaction on the book.  “Wouldn’t it be great if we could have 90 minutes to review and share thoughts and ideas and even more important, find a way to actualize the learnings?”

Finally, in November 2013 we decided to do just that – invite some business associates to a breakfast meeting to review a business book, discuss it and identify some action items we could use when back at the office.  We scheduled our first review for January 24, 2014, and we had close to 20 people indicating they would attend.  And then…an ice storm arrived on the 23rd, major highways were closed, and travel was difficult.  But side roads were passible, and we moved forward, and five brave souls joined us for the beginning of the Friday Book Club.

A few name changes from Book in a Bite, to San Antonio Book Reviews, and finally in June of 2017 we became Executive Book Review.com home of Lifelong Learners.

Our mission has not changed dramatically over the years.

• Executive Book Review connects lifelong learners working from the belief that knowledge is to be shared and enhanced by rich dialogue with the goal to arrive at applied knowledge.  (2018)
• To enrich lives and communities by sharing knowledge, wisdom, and experience in a community of lifelong learners.  (2020)

Through it all we have always had our Brand Promise – our three-legged stool:

You will LEARN from the presenter, LEARN from one another, and meet other lifelong learners.

We grew over the years from one faculty member and one meeting a month to 3 cities, 15 faculty members, and 6 meetings per month.  2020 impacted us, as it did everyone – no more in person meetings!  Yet we pivoted immediately to Zoom without missing a beat.  It took some creative thinking and some experimentation, yet we are better for the experience having learned some new skills and now able to share our service with people throughout the world.

Our meetings have always been free from the start – a small yet consistent voice in the wilderness to foster literacy, critical thinking, and face-to-face relationships in a technology driven world.

We tossed the idea of becoming a formal nonprofit organization for several years and starting in 2019 had embraced Robyn’s N.E.S.T. as our “cause.”  That year we held our first Author’s Night to celebrate local authors and to raise funds to donate to children’s literacy.  We presented them with over $2,600.  In 2020 thanks to the generosity of our patrons we gave Robyn’s N.E.S.T. $10,000.

Now, as an official 501C3, we created a formal membership site and offer our members the opportunity to join for free or to donate at various membership levels.  This allows us the funding to expand our services and to continue to focus and expand on our mission and improve literacy in our community.

All this happens because of the dedication of our great faculty, hard work from our board, and the support of our incredible membership.

“Without service, we would not have a strong quality of life.  It’s important to the person who serves as well as the recipient.  It’s the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.” — Dr. Dorothy Height