Company history
worth reading.
For businesses, trusts and organisations with a story to tell.
Board minutes and annual reports show what was decided and how the business grew. The reasons behind those decisions, the near misses and the arguments over the kitchen table, are known only to the people who were there. I write company histories from their accounts, checked against the records, so the book is accurate and still reads like a story.
The Branches, a history of a high-country station on the upper Shotover River, was written this way, from interviews with the families and workers who lived there and from records held at the Hocken Library and Archives New Zealand. I’m now writing NBR’s history for its 60th anniversary.
Why companies commission one.
Most of my clients start for one of four reasons: a milestone anniversary, a founder stepping back, a merger or sale, or wanting to thank the staff and customers who got them there. Whatever the reason, the best time to start is before you need the book, because people retire and records get thrown out, and once they’re gone I can’t get them back.
Now writing: Sixty Years of Business.
Sixty Years of Business is the story of the National Business Review, written by Dr Poppie Johnson for NBR’s 60th anniversary.
It will be published on 26 August 2030 in a limited edition of 1,500 numbered copies, and reservations are open on NBR’s site.
How I work.
Phase one: discovery.
I start with the people running the organisation now, to agree what the book needs to cover, who I should talk to, and what records exist, from minutes and annual reports to photographs and old newspaper coverage.
Phase two: interviews.
I interview 15 to 25 people for two to three hours each: founders and their families, long-serving staff, customers, suppliers and board members from different eras. Where accounts don’t match, I go back to the people involved and to the archive, and if they still differ, the book says so.
Phase three: writing.
Every interview is transcribed and we agree the structure before I start writing. You’ll see chapters every month, so there are no surprises at the end.
Phase four: review and production.
The people in the book read the draft and check how they’re portrayed, a professional editor works through the manuscript, and it goes to design and print, which I can manage for you or hand over to your team.
Investment and timeline.
Allow 12 to 24 months from the first meeting to the finished book. The longer timeframes include design and print management.
Fees range from $90,000 to $190,000 + GST, depending on the number of interviews, how much archival research is needed and the length of the book. That covers the interviews and their transcription, research and fact-checking, a manuscript of 55,000 to 70,000 words, professional editing and basic design recommendations. Design, printing and distribution are quoted separately.
