Eye-opening business books
Founded in 2014, we are devoted to contemporary organizational theory & practice.
A book publisher with a knack for consistency, flair and style. A Red42 brand
Our business books are unlike most others. They are incredibly to the point. Visualized. Colorful. Practically theoretic. Inspiring. Featuring cutting-edge insight and practical theory. We also aspire to make our business books enormously entertaining and affordable. Seems impossible?
BetaCodex Press: Our story
Silke Hermann and Niels Pflaeging began publishing business books under their own brand while living in in New York City, in 2014. Several factors led to the creation of their publishing brand: Niels found it hard to find a book publisher in the English-speaking world, even though he was already a recognized author in the German-speaking world, with several best-selling books in the market. Other authors from North America confided with him, consistently, that the Anglo-American business book market was in shambles, anyways. So, after a few years, Niels turned to self-publishing his work in English, instead.
A commitment to consistency. To Silke and Niels, being independent from commercial business book publishers offers an additional advantage, though: It has given them full "artistic control". Which may seem an odd claim to make, in the context of business books. But consider this: Book publishers usually decide about a book's trim size and the books' title. They dictate pretty much everything: from cover design, to paper quality and pricing. Little wonder that many experienced authors get frustrated working with publishers: They feel disempowered and disenfranchised. Take the example of Tom Peters, arguably the world's most successful business book author of the last 40 years: Even Tom ended up ditching conventional publishers some years ago.
Why this press? There are a bunch of good reasons for business book authors to take the book publishing into their own hands. Silke and Niels believe that business books should be inviting, practical and beautiful. That full-color print should not be an exception, but the rule. They believe that moderately priced paperbacks are usually more appealing to readers than weighty hardcovers filled with a few lofty messages and plenty of storytelling. To name just a few reasons.
Publications. In 2014, Organize for Complexity was released in English. The book (now in its 6th edition) was greeted with phenomenal response. With its 2nd edition, the book earned a bonus chapter. The 4th was completely redesigned and published in a new, squared format. 2018 saw the publication of OpenSpace Beta now in a 3rd, much improved edition. 2020 was the year of Essays on Beta, Vol. 1 - a collection of 20 crisp articles by Niels, presented in a delightful design. 2023 saw the publication of What would Deming do? and What would Drucker do? – two compact collections of quotes, carefully curated and beautifully designed by Niels. In 2023 and 2024, editions in English and German of the Laws of the BetaCodex booklet were published. In mid-2024, Organize for Complexity in Spanish is becoming available from BetaCodex Press, and booklets in German are arriving. A new book by Silke and Niels is just around the corner: Cell Structure Design – the book on their powerful approach to org design, already a classic in the German business book market.
Languages. For a few years, we have been publishing books in other languages than English, with BetaCodex Press: Titles in Portuguese and French came first. German and Spanish followed in 2024. Now, we are looking forward to broaden our catalog in those five languages, while being open to publish works in further languages.
Authors. In 2024, we want to start publishing works of other authors - not just publications by Silke and Niels. We intend to release a solid program of books in English every year. You are invited to join the BetaCodex Press movement!
The publisher as
"authors collective"
BetaCodex Press is a peer publishing group. Our aim is to first build a pack, and eventually a movement of authors committed to bringing about consistently self-organized, decentralized and democratic organizations! We want to build a community of authors and "book creators" that support each other with conceiving, designing, editing and promoting their books, mutually. "A bit like what Apple Records aspired to be for the Beatles and their peers, in the 1970s." says Niels Pflaeging. He adds: "A common factor among all the content we publish as BetaCodex Press is the 12 principles of the BetaCodex."
This is an invitation: Join us! Publish your books and learning resources with BetaCodex Press. Do you have cool content? Do you want to write, develop and/or design learning materials that want to make the world of work more self-organized, decentralized and democratic? Then let's reinvent the business book and organizational learning. Let's help make the Necessary Organizational Renaissance happen.
Join the movement. Get in touch.
Our Books since 2014
Check out BetaCodex Press books, booklets, posters and learning bundles: Visit the Red42 web shop!
At BetaCodex Press, design matters
The swift success of Organize for Complexity, in 2015, led Silke and Niels to re-think their joint publication strategy. They decided to produce compact, highly visual, illustrated and graphically enhanced books. Not just as authors, but as producers and publishers.
Silke and Niels are aesthetics aficionados. The range of BetaCodex Press is not limited to books, however. In 2019, Silke and Niels started with publish booklets, posters, card sets, learning boxes, learning bundles and merchandise, too. Check out the full range of BetaCodex products in the Red42 web shop.
BetaCodex Press
for authors
If you are an author yourself, you will have experienced how frustrating the business book market and working with publishers can be. The market is full of self-defying beliefs that cripple innovative content, and create barriers to great book design and gripping marketing approaches. Deep-rooted myths and dogmas inhibit fresh book formats, and make conceiving cool book projects hard, or even impossible.
With BetaCodex Press, we want to overcome those barriers. Get in touch with us about your book project!
What others say
about our books
“Organize for Complexity is one of the very best books I’ve read about change and how to successfully thrive within organizational life. Niels has thought deeply about organizational development.”
Michael Bungay Stanier
"At a very reasonable price, every company should just buy several copies, read them, and see how they can implement these ideas." Harold Jarche
"In Pflaegings book, the network organization gains contour. All that is beautifully visualized." changeX
“This is a high-potential approach and OpenSpace Beta is a book suggestion for anyone who wants to change their organizations.” getAbstract
