Digital book club pioneer Fable, which recently raised over $20 million in funding from major backers including Tiger Global and Redpoint Ventures, announced it has launched a breakthrough program called Fable for Work, focused on keeping individuals and organizations ahead of the fast-changing world of work.
Founded by tech veteran Padmasree Warrior, Fable is a social reading app that allows users to read together interactively via virtual book clubs. Along with the Fable for Work launch, the company has also unveiled a robust white paper that details Future of Work trends and the continued need for innovative ways for people and teams to stay connected and authentically engaged, as well as develop new skills that will be required for their future careers.
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Fable for Career Development
The Fable for Career Development book clubs are premium, three-month paid courses designed to empower people to level-up their careers with the help of professional coaches. The first two Clubs, Leading with Empathy and Leading with Confidence, are premium, three-month offerings led by world-renowned professional coaches and leaders. Leading with Confidence specifically focuses on helping professional women develop their confidence and voice. Users can now sign up for the Career Development Clubs and explore the Folios in the Fable app.
“We’re thrilled to introduce our Fable for Work program, and particularly our Career Development book clubs. There’s no reason only C-suite executives should have access to leadership coaching opportunities,” said Fable founder and CEO Padmasree Warrior. “The benefits of social learning are well established, and our Clubs are designed to be an accessible, affordable way for everyone to upskill, reskill, and ultimately take charge of their careers.”
The Career Development Clubs focus on building critical leadership skills that are a must-have in today’s modern work environment. The World Economic Forum estimates that by this year, almost half of the skills required to perform jobs are expected to change, with an emphasis on specialized interpersonal skills. Recognizing this need, companies globally spent an estimated $357 billion on upskilling their workforces in 2020 alone. The clubs are designed at an affordable price point starting around $150 which includes the books, and enrollees can use a development stipend from their employer.
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Fable for Business
MasterCard is piloting the new Fable for Business offering, which creates a curated, premium book club experience created custom for organizations. In a remote and hybrid future, companies, organizations, and even teams can benefit from the shared community of reading books together. Companies can focus their teams’ experiences towards reskilling, upskilling, professional development, and more.
“As marketers, we must lean into new technologies and innovations that not only address how we connect with consumers, but also how we connect with people within our organizations — creating opportunities that meet the ever-evolving needs of today’s workforce.” said Raja Rajamannar, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of Mastercard
“I look forward to continuing reading on Fable with my colleagues at Mastercard and discussing some of the books that have been instrumental in enabling my career and approach to marketing,” added Rajamannar.
Titans of Industry Folios
The Titans of Industry Folios boast a star-studded cast: Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google; Indra Nooyi, former CEO of Pepsi; Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft; Carmine di Sibio, CEO of EY; Revathi Advaithi, CEO of Flex; and Beth Ford, President and CEO of Land O’Lakes, to name a few.
The Folios are completely free and accessible to all Fable users, offering a level playing field where everyone has equal access to invaluable insights and resources from some of the most influential people of our time, regardless of their background, income, current job, etc.
One year after launching, Fable has seen huge success by providing a haven where people can socialize, relax and connect through good books. Reading has been shown to offer a multitude of benefits, from increased intelligence to better mood to lowered risk of depression. Fable brings these to the next level by offering a social platform where people can virtually read books together, discuss them, engage with the material, and ultimately get more out of it. In a world of heightened stress and anxiety, especially with regards to work, employees and everyday readers alike are flocking to Fable’s platform and discovering the benefits of social reading.
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