From Crisis to Clarity: Adam Witty’s Page Turning Pivot

Buddy Teaster sits down with Adam Witty, founder and CEO of Forbes Books, to explore his remarkable 20-year journey from fledgling entrepreneur to publishing industry leader. 

Adam shares his journey of overcoming early missteps, embracing vulnerability in leadership, and creating a company culture rooted in transparency and purpose. What emerges is a candid portrait of a leader who transformed early stumbles into hard-won wisdom, building a company that helps others share their stories while staying true to his own purpose.

You can listen to the audio of this interview here.

The Tailspin:

Adam's entrepreneurial story began in 2005 with a deceptively simple vision. “The vision was helping entrepreneurs, CEOs, and leaders tell their story, amplify their message, and use that to make a bigger impact in the world.”

Operating from his spare bedroom, the young entrepreneur quickly learned that good intentions weren't enough to guarantee success. His first major crisis came when he ignored his team's warnings about a questionable hire.

“There was something about this person that just didn't feel right, and I love their resume and I love their background, and I threw caution to the wind and made the decision,” Adam recalls. The decision nearly proved catastrophic when the employee embezzled funds, bringing the company to the brink of collapse. “If I didn't have somebody come in and bail us out, the company would not be in existence today.”

This painful experience forced Adam to confront the darker side of leadership confidence. “Being a CEO or being a leader, being an entrepreneur, we typically associate strength and conviction and vision with those words. And unfortunately, all of those words which have positive attributes also have a negative side, which is, we think we should have all the answers.” 

The near-failure became a turning point that would reshape his leadership philosophy.

The Work:

Rebuilding from this crisis, Adam committed to a new way of operating. He embraced radical transparency, making the unconventional decision to share company financials with all employees.

“The more they know, the more bought in, the more empowered, the more valued they feel. And that's how you get the best out of people.” This approach helped transform company culture, replacing speculation with shared purpose.

At the heart of Adam's professional reinvention was a focus on “clarity and alignment…making sure that where we are going as an organization, what our priorities are as an organization are abundantly clear to everybody in the company.” 

He implemented systems like Scaling Up to create organizational transparency, ensuring every team member understood how their work contributed to the larger mission.

Adam also refined his approach to the publishing business itself. While technology may have revolutionized the industry, from print-on-demand to digital distribution, he remained steadfast in his belief in books' enduring power. 

“Books hold such a special place in our world, in our lives and are really the primary vehicle in which knowledge has been transferred from generation to generation.” 

He championed authenticity in authorship, observing that the “best authors are those that are willing to be vulnerable in print because when you have all the answers and think you have all the answers and take that tone in your writing,” he says. “I think most readers see through it and it doesn't seem authentic.”

The Tailwind:

Today, Adam leads a thriving company that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs share their knowledge while staying true to his original vision. The painful lessons of his early years have blossomed into wisdom he now shares freely. 

One particularly powerful insight came from a conversation with an author who said, “My goal is to die empty,” he recalls, “I want my experiences to help others so they don't have to make the same mistakes that I did.” This philosophy resonates deeply with Adam's own approach to leadership and legacy.

Beyond business success, Adam has found profound fulfillment in aligning his work with his life's purpose. “If what I do professionally is aligned with my life purpose, then I'm never going to work another day in my life.” 

His personal mission — “I am dedicated to helping people discover and realize the joy of entrepreneurship” — is infused into everything from company decisions to daily interactions.

Perhaps most importantly, Adam has learned to appreciate the journey itself. 

“The true joy of life is the journey, not the destination. And I think it's really easy to get fixated on the outcome.” This hard-won perspective informs both his leadership style and his advice to other entrepreneurs navigating their own challenges.

Adam Witty’s journey from tailspin to tailwind is a masterclass in turning pages—both literally and metaphorically. By transforming early stumbles into hardcover wisdom and championing radical transparency, he’s redefined what it means to lead with purpose in the publishing world. His story proves that even the messiest drafts can become bestsellers when written with humility, vision, and an unwavering commitment to helping others tell their stories.

To hear more about Adam’s inspiring journey, his unique insights on entrepreneurial vulnerability, and how he balances profit with purpose, tune in to the full episode of re:Purpose with Buddy Teaster.