Of all the things that 4 Times Square is known for, being a warm and welcoming environment is not one of them. That’s not to say it’s a horrible place by any means, it’s just a tad frosty.
Apparently, they’re trying to change that–at least internally–in 2010. The Observer‘s John Koblin (who’s become the go-to guy on all things Condé over the past year) reports that CEO Chuck Townsend is meeting with each and every magazine in the company for a little chit-chat.
Sounds standard, right? Actually, not so much at the publishing house where corporate camaraderie has never been the standard. This has become especially in January when big boss, Uncle Si, has been known to return to work from vacation with the “Si Surprise”, read: the folding of a popular magazine like Domino.

But this year, it’s all about pep talks. “It’s a rah-rah speech,” a source told the Observer. And apparently one that has lots of business jargon, charts, and graphs. We mentionedearlier this week that ad numbers were looking up and we’re guessing that’s a major rallying point of the talks.
From the article, it sounds like Mr. Townsend might need to work on his delivery to really start putting staffs at ease. But, hey, it’s a start, right?
New Year, New You, Condé Nast.