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The Extraordinary Business Book Club

Alison Jones, publisher and book coach, explores business books from both a writer's and a reader's perspective. Interviews with authors, publishers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, tech wizards, social media strategists, PR and marketing experts and others involved in helping businesses tell their story effectively.
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Now displaying: December, 2017
Dec 25, 2017

Happy ChristmasPour a glass of sherry, munch on a mince pie, and put your feet up with a few of my absolute favourite moments EVER from the Extraordinary Business Book Club. 

  • On happiness - Andy Cope's epiphany in the queue in Tesco's on Christmas Eve.
  • On messiness - Tim Harford explains why we're at our most creative, potentially at least, when things go wrong.
  • On deadlines and procrastination - when you hear what Natalie Reynolds did three weeks before her deadline, I guarantee you'll feel better wherever you are with your manuscript.
  • On metaphors and why it's ok that we can never really nail it - listening to Michael Neill is like drinking melted chocolate. The fact that this is so useful and inspiring is almost incidental. 

I hope you enjoy this (not-very) seasonal selection box as much as I did. And whatever you're doing and whoever you're doing it with, have a very happy Christmas Day. 

Dec 18, 2017

The launch of Trusted was a very special occasion. When one of my authors has a book launch it's ALWAYS a special occasion, of course, but this one was exceptional for a number of reasons:

  1. It was two authors, not one, both of whom had written every word of the book over six months of online and offline collaboration without a single cross word.
  2. The launch was hosted and catered by University College, Birmingham, with the students taking responsibility for planning, setting up, welcoming, serving, and catering the evening as part of an assessed module. It was their way of repaying the authors for months of support with employability skills, and they produced the best spread of food I have ever seen at a book launch. And I've been to a lot of book launches.
  3. It's the only launch I've ever been to with its own cocktail, the T-spot. It tasted even better than it looks.
  4. It was the first live recording of The Extraordinary Business Book Club podcast interview.

Sadly, the thing that can happen with live things happened, and the audio file was lost. So today's episode is a rerun of that interview. In it Lyn and Donna talk about the inspiration for Trusted, how they wrote together so effectively, and how their book is working for their business.

And as promised, here are some pictures from the launch, beginning (and indeed ending) with that fabulous T-spot cocktail:

Trusted launch

 

Dec 11, 2017

Raj Nair hasn't written a business book (yet). As Executive Vice President and President, North America of the Ford Motor Company, leading one of the world's leading company's in one of the world's most disrupted, fast-moving and complex industries, it's hard to find the time. But he DOES make time to read them. 

Why? 

Because good business books make him think: 'There's another way to look at that.' No matter how senior or experienced an executive you may be, when a book brings a new perspective or insight it can transform the way you see your business. 

This is a report from within the arena on how business books are used by leaders, and what they're looking for when they make the decision to invest their most valuable resource - their attention - to read one.

Dec 4, 2017

Another satisfying helping of the choicest morsels of practical inspiration served up by recent guests. Listen to: 

  • Dr Lynda Shaw (business neuroscientist) on what stories do to our brains and why that's good for business
  • Matt Locke (Storythings and The Story conference) on the craft of storytelling
  • Nigel Wilcockson (Random House Business Books) on what makes a business book great
  • Donya Dickerson (McGraw Hill) on what publishers are looking for in business book proposals
  • David Newman (Do It! Marketing) with a Jedi mind trick for getting your own way with your publisher
  • Dorie Clark (Entrepreneurial You) on making money because of your book rather than from it 
  • Carole Wyer (blogger and author) on the importance of trying new stuff
  • Dan Underwood (Art of Enterprise) on taking risks
  • Rebecca Jones (Enterprise Within) on Just Getting On With It.

Warning: this show is unsuitable for anyone wishing to remain within their zone of comfort. 

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