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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: March, 2020
Mar 30, 2020

'It was actually like falling in love, if I'm honest.'

If you've fallen out of love with writing your book and even with your own ideas, this is just the tonic you need. Julia Hobsbawm lucidly talks through the evolution of The Simplicity Principle, with a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of the thinking that underpins its six-part structure, and her passion for her topic will reignite your own.  

Published in a pandemic that was unimaginable when it was written, this book passes the ultimate test: its principles retain their power and relevance despite the seismic shift that's taken place in the world. 

Essential listening. 

Mar 23, 2020

A slightly unusual Best Bits episode, which is fitting for these unusual times. In the face of uncertainty and anxiety, we're talking about resilience: what it is, what it looks like in our day-to-day life, and how to build it. 

Very grateful to my guests for their courage, honesty and insights: 

  • Jenny Campbell on the dynamic nature of resilience
  • Celia Gaze on bringing herself back from the brink of bankruptcy by sheer creativity 
  • Ash Ali on finding 'unfair advantages' in the most unpromising situations
  • Lucy Werner on finding focus and purpose in the most difficult circumstances
  • Rob Baker on what resilience looks like day to day
  • Hassan Osman on overcoming excuses
  • Safi Bahcall on the best way to deal with failure and frustration
  • Alison Jones (yes, me) on harnessing fear and making it work for you
Mar 16, 2020

What does it mean to be resilient, and how can we become more resilient more often? That is Jenny Campbell's life work, and her findings at The Research Engine are revelatory. For one thing, your level of resilience isn't a fixed personality trait - it's contextual and dynamic.

And in the process of writing her book The Resilience Dynamic, Jenny had to draw on everything she'd learned about resilience and apply it to her own journey, overcoming rejection, discouragement and complexity along the way.

She shares her lessons here, in an inspiring and honest assessment of what it takes to write a book, together with the tools she developed to help.

Mar 9, 2020

'I'd love to write a book, but I have a full-time job and a family, I just don't have time.' 

If that sounds like you, you need to hear this. Hassan Osman has a demanding full-time job at Cisco and a young family, but he's written eight (EIGHT!!) books so far, including four 'short books for busy managers' and, of course, one called Write Your Book on the Side. He also hosts the Writer on the Side podcast, helping others to do the same. 

If you have excuses, be prepared to shed them now. And pick up some super-practical tips and hacks from this master of productivity. 

Mar 2, 2020

The dictionary defines ‘business’ as ‘work relating to the production, buying, and selling of goods or services.’ So if you’re writing a book that you’re planning to make available for sale, rather than simply writing a manuscript that’s going to stay in your bottom drawer, you’re in business. And thinking of your writing as a business is a really helpful way of thinking about what you’re doing and how you're doing it, and taking yourself and what you’re doing seriously. Because honestly - if you don’t take yourself seriously, who will?

In this week's podcast I share a sneak preview of my upcoming talk at the London Book Fair's Writers' Summit, and I'd welcome your thoughts and ideas on how to develop it! 

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