If you had the chance to share with your peers a great way to handle a particular business problem, would you do it? Most of us would say yes, because most people like to help others and share their successes.
For instance, Michael Feuer, the founder of OfficeMax and our longtime columnist, has a book available this month that shares more than 40 business lessons he has learned while taking his company from a startup to more than $5 billion in sales. He covers everything from getting through the startup phase to selling a business. No matter what phase of business you are in, there are best practices that you can learn from someone who has already been there.
I’m proud to say that this book is from our book division, where we help top leaders translate their ideas into print.
These books aren’t about bragging about successes — they are about helping others learn lessons that can be slow and difficult to learn without guidance. Think of them more like business textbooks where you are the professor, helping people eager to learn or grasp complex issues.
Even longtime CEOs of highly successful companies are always on the lookout for new ways to handle old situations. Maybe you could be the one that teaches Jack Welch something new about how to handle employees, but that can only happen if you attempt to share your ideas with others.
Books can also be a great way to share your broader leadership concepts with your employees. When you have hundreds or thousands of employees, getting all of them to understand your strategy can be difficult when it’s in the form of short e-mails, videos or town-hall discussions. A book is a great way to explain the intricacies of your strategies and share lessons learned with your junior executives so they don’t repeat the same mistakes you did when you were coming up through the ranks. You can teach them firsthand how to navigate negotiations, difficult employees or tough customers, all without ever leaving your office. What better way to educate employees about your company than to explain in detail your rationale for how you go about making decisions and how you develop strategy? If getting employee and customer feedback is important to you, you can illustrate the book with examples of how to effectively do it so your managers can carry the message throughout the company.
Employees aren’t the only ones who can benefit. Longtime customers might be interested to know how you think so they can better craft solutions and products that fit your vision. When they better understand where you are going, new partnerships might open up opportunities for both of you.
A lot of CEOs think about writing a book, but few ever get around to it. The No. 1 reason is a lack of time. But when you have someone else helping you shape your general ideas and guiding you through the process, it doesn’t take as much time as you might think. It’s like any other transaction — when you have someone helping you through the process, it moves much faster than trying to figure it all out on your own.
Michael Feuer took the time to pen the secrets to his success, and the result is an outstanding collection of tips that even the most experienced CEO can learn from. It’s not only an entertaining read, but it will also help you run your business better. I highly recommend it.
If you’ve ever dreamed of putting your ideas to paper to help others find the same road to success you’ve found, why not make a commitment to doing it now? We’ve been helping CEOs convey their best ideas to the business world for more than 20 years now in various media. Shouldn’t you be next?
For more information about how the Smart Business Book Division can help you, please call (440) 250-7026.
For more information on Michael Feuer’s book, “The Benevolent Dictator,” go to www.thebenevolentdictator.biz.
FRED KOURY is president and CEO of Smart Business Network Inc. Reach him with your comments at (800) 988-4726 or [email protected].
