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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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The Extraordinary Business Book Club
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Now displaying: 2024
Sep 30, 2024

'Nice is about telling people what they want to hear. Kind is about telling people what they need to hear.'

Graham Allcott's back on the podcast and all is well with the world once again. This time he's talking about the transformative power of kindness in the workplace. Many assume that leaders need to belong to Team Screw-Them-All-And-Be-Evil to come out on top, but Graham demonstrates that being kind (which is NOT the same as being 'nice') is is a smart move if you want to be successful too.

There's a deeply personal story behind this which particularly resonated with me: Graham's own experience of the way his son's additional needs create a 'vessel for kindness' all around him. We talk about salted caramel, 'badass' kindness, how leading a course leads to writing a book, why two authors means twice the work, and how this is definitely the last book he'll write.*

We also talk about what writing does for us - we write what we need to read - and why delegating it to AI is a poor strategy. Writers write.

This is a conversation that will make you think, and which I hope will inspire you to be a little kinder, in life and work.

*I for one do not believe this.

Sep 23, 2024

'The majority of people think their life would be better if they were more creative, but they don't know how.'

There are lots of books on creativity out there, but surprisingly few at its intersection with everyday business, what Sue Unerman and Kathryn Jacob call 'pragmatic creativity'. So they developed a series of practical techniques and structured approaches for fostering creativity in every business situation, organized metaphorically by the seasons of the year.

This is the third book they've written together, so I ask them about the secret of a happy, productive 'writing marriage', and also the role of their agent, Clare, as encourager, giver of advice and accountabliity partner. It's a fascinating insight into the role of collaboration in creativity, and the interplay between structure and adaptability. 

If you're committed to fostering innovation and inclusivity in your own professional and creative life, this one's for you.

Sep 16, 2024

'We're on the edge of really very exciting things, but also tremendous risks at the same time.'

Whether you're an AI enthusiast or it fills you with existential terror, this conversation will challenge your perspectives and elevate your understanding of our increasingly super-smart world.

Futurist Patrick Dixon has been predicting AI for 25 years, and now he works with the world's largest corporations and governments, helping them explore the profound implications of artificial intelligence across all sectors from medicine to marketing to global security.

This is not comfortable listening. We peer into the chasm (did you know that in a recent study, half of AI researchers perceive a 5% risk of AI leading to human extinction?). But Patrick remains an optimist, albeit a worried one, and hopefully you'll feel the same way at the end. 

One great cause for hope is his insistence on the importance of authenticity in writing, the irreplaceable human connection that readers seek; AI-generated content cannot replicate human passion.

A thought-provoking conversation that merges foresight with practical wisdom.

Sep 9, 2024

'We have this image of a reader being someone who's giving time and attention to our words... but online that doesn't happen.'

Anna Faherty found out the hard way that there were no books to help her teach a course on 'digital storytelling' - so she had to write her own. And if you're trying to write a business book then much of what she tackles in it - writing for busy readers, structuring ideas, adding in details and taking out fluff - is relevant for you too. 

Even if you're not writing a book, you'll learn a huge amount from this conversation about capturing and keeping attention online, and why AI stories are not the way forward for anyone who cares about social justice. 

There's also a super-practical post-it tip and an extended discussion about Gregory Peck and leopards. You're welcome.

Sep 2, 2024

'I'm going to tell you how you should be doing it, but it's up to you to do it. But I'm going to dress it up in a way where the message might land 15 minutes later when you're on the bus going to town. And you're like, Oh, that's what he meant.'

It takes courage, tact and humour to point out to a leader not only that there might be an issue with their organization's culture, but that the issue might be them. And that's as true when you're writing a book as when you're in the room with the person. Luckily, Colin D. Ellis has all three, and in this frankly hilarious conversation he takes us under the hood to show us how he tells difficult truths in an easy-to-read way, 

We also talk about crediting the music you listen to as well as the books you read as you write, the joy of the Venn diagram, and why being Liverpudlian is a superpower. 

Pin your ears back. 

 

 

 

Aug 26, 2024

'It's that little extra something that makes the ordinary into extraordinary and the impossible into the why not?'

When her son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 10, it was what former head of trading and executive coach Alina Addison calls her 'butterfly moment'. While she accepted the diagnosis, she says, she didn't accept the prognosis, which was bleak. Instead she dedicated herself to discovering how to harness these extraordinary aspects of neurodiversity into something powerfully positive.

The result was a deep understanding of the superpower that is audacity: caring plus courage plus non-conformity. And that's as relevant to leaders as it is to parents of neurodiverse children. 

In this deeply personal conversation Alina shares with me how she interwove her personal story with her professional expertise, and developed a style of writing based on talking. We also touch on how audacity plus wine can equal a hotel in Transylvania... 

Aug 19, 2024

In a world that celebrates speed and working smart, adopting AI solutions and smashing simple success metrics, it can feel not just challenging but unhelpful to diverge from received wisdom. 

But if we're going to create anything of real value - in business, in writing, even in sport - we need to be ready to take the less-traveled path. Because that makes all the difference. 

In this Best Bits episode, hear from: 

  • Henry Mintzberg on cherishing anomolies; 
  • Maureen Dunne on why neurodivergence is so essential for organizations; 
  • Sol Rashidi on resisting easy answers when it comes to implementing AI projects; 
  • Cath Bishop on thinking more thoughtfully about success, in sport and life; 
  • Rob  Hatch on find what works for YOU and doubling down on it;
  • Hasan Kubba on the lean approach to writing a business book; 
  • Dougal Shaw on responding to feedback and changing paths; 
  • David B. Horne on rising to the challenge to 'think bigger'; 
  • Michelle Glogovac on the imporatance of asking the questions noone else is asking. 

My hope is that when you spot a chance to take a more interesting path this week, you'll find the courage to see where it takes you... 

Aug 12, 2024

David B. Horne, creative accountant and author of the award-winning Add Then Multiply: How small businesses can think like big businesses and achieve exponential growth, has a multidimensional perspective on the Business Book Awards as entrant, finalist, winner and now judge. He also knows a thing or two about the power of books for business growth.

In this week’s episode, we discuss how books serve as a permanent record of knowledge, helping businesses learn, grow, and establish credibility. As well as attracting the right clients, they can also help you ‘consciously uncouple’ from clients that no longer align with your goals.
And did you realise that writing a book - a journey of personal and professional development - can also count towards your CPD hours?

A classic EBBC blend of practical tips and inspiration. Get the kettle on.

Aug 5, 2024

Our definition of success has led us to a place that's actually constrained us from exploring what we're capable of. We're not getting the innovation or the collaboration that we want. We need to think about things differently.'

If you're enthralled by the drama of the Paris Olympics, here's a thoughtful take on what you might be missing if you're focused primarily on the medals table. World Champion rower Cath Bishop has competed at three Olympic games. When she won silver in 2004, the pain of missing out on gold led to a decades-long reexamination of the idea of success, across sport, education, politics and business. 

As an international conflict negotiator and a leadership coach, as well as an advisor to several sporting bodies, she now makes the case for a richer, more human, more sustainable vision of what it means to win well - what she describes as the Long Win. 

This conversation will change how you watch the Olympics, how you think about your business, and perhaps even what you value in life. 

Jun 17, 2024

'It's an unfair advantage to have a platform, it massively helps, don't get me wrong. But it's totally possible to do it without one.'

When Hasan Kubba and Ash Ali got together to write 'The Unfair Advantage: How you already have what it takes to succeed', they assumed they'd self-publish. They even put up a 'lean' version of the book on KDP. But as it turned out they had publishers fighting over it (sensibly, as it went on to be named Business Book of the Year), and Hasan has gone on to help other authors achieve the same feat. 

While having a big following certainly helps in the battle for publishers' attention, Hasan argues that it's possible to get a book deal with a major traditional publisher without it. It's not unlike securing funding for a start-up, which is the other area in which he is an expert. 

Discover the vital elements you need in place and the process to follow to get yourself and your book concept in front of agents and publishers with the best chance of success, with lessons for ALL kinds of content creation. 

Jun 10, 2024

'Embrace AI, but also make sure that you evolve as an individual and you understand the art of the possible while still staying grounded in the art of the practical.'

Implementing AI in your business isn't easy, but NOT implementing it could be disastrous. Sol Rashidi is a former C-suite executive turned AI consultant who knows more than most about the real-world challenges and opportunities in AI deployment. She's been in the field since 2011, developing enterprise-grade applications that integrate AI into business processes effectively, and now she's written a book to help leaders avoid the pitfalls and reap the benefits.

But how do you write a book on such a fast-moving technology? You write it FAST, and you keep it focused on principles, not specific tech tools. Sol reveals how she managed to write her book in two and a half months (or 26 years, depending on which way you look at it...), and how she learned to love the challenge of marketing. 

AI can be an augmenter and accelerator in your business, and this episode can do the same for your writing. 

Jun 3, 2024

Henry Mintzberg is quite simply a legend, and my personal business thinking hero. When I was studying his writings for my MBA I could only have dreamed that one day I'd be chatting about writing to him on my podcast - and sometimes when dreams come true, the reality is even better than you dared imagine.

Along with the nuances of management theory and social change, he revealed insights into his own remarkable writing process. And these elements aren't as different as you might think: his insistence on the non-linear nature of writing and the importance of 'cherishing anomalies' reflects his disciplined yet emergent and above all human approach to strategy. 

Despite the fact that he has so many successful books to his name, Henry Mintzberg is suprisingly wide and creative in his use of other forms of content, such as video, in his mission to make complex ideas accessible. I particularly love the 'Irene question': what can YOU do to drive social change - within your personal life, community, business, government, even on a global scale? It’s a profound inquiry that challenges us to consider our own role in shaping a better world.

This conversation felt like an uplifting, enlightening, mind-expanding gift: I hope you feel that way too. 

May 27, 2024

Journalism is changing, which means journalists have to change too. And a great example of this is the way that BBC reporter Dougal Shaw has reinvented his own role from pure video journalism, transforming what started as corridor conversations with business leaders who happened to be visiting the BBC into a high-profile series that runs on rolling news channels, on social media, in radio and podcast formats, and now as a book.

It's a story of intrapreneurship, which is fitting for a series that draws out lessons in both entrepreneurship and corporate leadership from visionary leaders who are often willing to be more vulnerable away from the finance and figures that are the focus of their more traditional BBC interviews. From the power of storytelling to the psychology of interviewing, there's lots of great stuff here for business book writers, and there's pure gold from Dougal's own experience of breaking down the book into writable parts and discovering the interconnections and patterns in the material. 

Not only CEO secrets, but journalistic and writing secrets too. You're welcome. 

May 20, 2024

'This is the moment to embrace authentic neurodiversity inclusion as a core organizational value. It isn't the whole solution to anything, but it is part of the solution to nearly everything.'

As we hurtle towards the workplace of the future, where human and machine intelligence will interplay in ways we can't yet fully imagine, one thing is clear: standard modes of thinking are becoming less valuable to organizations as algorithms become ever more efficient at replicating them. Nonlinear thinking, hyper focus, intuitive leaps and the ability to tolerate social discomfort and resist groupthink - attributes that have until now been under-valued and under-employed - will become more valuable as complements to AI. And that means that neurodivergent people will become ever more valuable within organizations.

That's the argument of Dr Maureen Dunne, cognitive scientist, neurodiversity expert and member of the neurodiversity community herself, and it's also the topic of her new book. As well as making this case, she also shares her own neurodivergent approach to writing: an interdisciplinary, visuospatial 'conceptual synaethesia'.

A rich and extraordinary conversation, at every level.

May 13, 2024

'We can't really understand what failure teaches us until we achieve success after failure. So it's the success actually, that is more instructive.'

If you're navigating business or personal growth challenges, this episode could be a game-changer.

Rob Hatch challenges the widely accepted narrative that failure is our greatest teacher. Instead, he argues, the most useful lessons come from our successes. Instead of studying what to avoid, let's try to better understand what to repeat.

If you're curious about the underlying forces that drive success, or if repeated advice about learning from failures doesn't resonate with you, this fresh perspectives on 'learning from success', together with his simple, practical ideas for how to start, might be just what you need.

May 6, 2024

At this risk of going a bit meta, this is a brilliant conversation podcast about how brilliant podcast conversations are…

Michelle Glogovac is an author and host of the My Simplified Life podcast, and a frequent guest on other podcasts. She’s passionate about the special, intimate connection that podcasts create between authors and their readers, and the triple win of a good conversation: great content for the host, great marketing for the guest, great insights for the listener.

If you’re sitting there waiting to be asked to be a guest on a podcast, then that stops today: discover exactly how to pitch yourself effectively to your perfect podcast host. And if you’re thinking about hosting a podcast of your own, then this is just pure gold.

Apr 29, 2024

‘That last pillar before you go make your decision: is it ethical? What's the effect it's going to have? The feedback I've got from a lot of people was, oh, I never really thought about that.’

While ethics has become more talked-about in business, it might not be something you’ve considered as a factor in your business writing. But you should.

In this Best Bits episode, I draw together insights from a wide range of recent guests that show how the moral position you take – in work and life – informs your writing, and the impact that has on both your reader and yourself.

Nothing heavy and duty-bound here, just a joyful, thoughtful exploration of how we can write and work in a way that benefits the world, those around us, and ourselves.

Hear from:

  • Corey Keyes on the opposite of languishing;
  • Alison Taylor on why business ethics matter to all of us;
  • David McQueen on being braver about decision-making;
  • Lucy Adams on why HR is about allowing people to flourish rather than being responsible for them doing so;
  • David Roche on the obligations we have to our leaders;
  • Louise Brogan on taking an ethical, human approach to social media;
  • Meredith Norwich on why publishing is an industry full of principled people.
Apr 22, 2024

‘So they go, “Hang on, I've got to look confident… I have to have all the answers,” which is the worst place to come from.’

Becoming a first-time CEO is a lonely experience, and David Roche (who’s got that particular t-shirt himself) believes every new CEO should be assigned a coach and mentor, because if we expect our leaders to have all the answers, we’re setting them - and ourselves - up for failure in a complex, fast-moving, uncertain world. 

David has been involved in the book trade for many years, but that didn’t insulate him from the hard work of authorship, including the paranoia of wondering if his draft was ‘good enough’… 

Merging the personal with the professional, and storytelling with business strategy, this is an episode that offers coaching insights and writing wisdom – and which will be particularly interesting if you’re aiming for or already seated in the CEO's chair, or writing for those sitting in it. 

Apr 15, 2024

'We basically treated legal compliance as a proxy for ethics, which has never really been a particularly good fit.'

I think we can all agree the world is ready for some fresh perspectives on the ethical obligations of the business world: Alison Taylor is here to provide them. 

All too often there are stark differences between company statements and their day-to-day actions, as they perform the delicate dance between ethical decisions and turning a profit. Alison questions long-standing business beliefs, including the assumption that compliance is a proxy for ethical behaviour, proposing a new approach that accounts for companies' internal systems and also their role within broader society. 

She also reveals how she went about writing her book 'Higher Ground', including how she workshopped her thoughts in the classroom and sparked dialogues online as a sounding board.

Insightful, challenging, practical and energising - classic Extraordinary Business Book Club stuff.

Apr 8, 2024

"Do what you can in the circumstances you are given right now. And don't wait for the systems in the world around you to change in order to get some life into your life."

Most of us are only too familiar with 'languishing' - the opposite of flourishing. It was when Adam Grant wrote his famous 2021 New York Times article that we all recognised it as the defining post-pandemic emotion, and it continues to dominate discussions of wellbeing.

Grant's article credited research by Dr. Corey Keyes, a distinguished professor emeritus and a leading voice in the study of mental health and human flourishing. In this week's conversation, Corey explains the personal and professional reasons why he's spent his career advocating for a more proactive approach to fostering mental health — and the profound implications of translating a lifetime of research into a book that can change lives.

This extraordinary conversation will reshape how you think about mental health, not just in business, but in every facet of life.

Mar 25, 2024

'For an academic book, you are looking to demonstrate that you stand on the shoulders of giants. For a practitioner book, you ARE the giant... But you're not the first giant.'

Meredith Norwich is a senior acquisitions editor at Routledge, part of Taylor and Francis Publishing, and she has seen a LOT of business book proposals. What makes a proposal stand out for her? You might be surprised...

Packed with valuable insights for first-time authors and behind-the-scenes glimpses into the publishing industry, this is essential listening for anyone contemplating writing a business book. 

Mar 18, 2024

I’m just back from an exhausting, exhilarating few days at London Book Fair. My ears are still ringing slightly, my feet hurt, I need to spend a few days on my own in a darkened room and I can’t even tell you how many follow-up actions are on my to-do list – in other words, it was a great Fair.

But what does that mean? As publishers, we at Practical Inspiration Publishing are all about selling books, but we don't actually sell our books at book fairs: so what DO we do? Here's an insider's guide to what actually goes on at London Book Fair for book trade professionals and for authors and illustrators, and what you can expect (and what you can't) if you decide to rock up to Olympia next year.

Mar 11, 2024

Louise Brogan helps entrepreneurs and professionals elevate their LinkedIn game. In this week's conversation she explains why LinkedIn is so important for businesses and why most people are so dreadful at it. From fundamental mindset to the most effective tactics right now, it's a masterclass in maximising your profile on LinkedIn without losing your soul.  

She's also in the throes of writing her first business book, so this is a great report from the frontline if you're in that place and want some comradely advice and support. 

And finally, Louise's no-nonsense, super-helpful LinkedIn how-to videos have also made her something of a YouTube star, so I made sure to ask her all about that too... 

Mar 4, 2024

"It was fantastic, just as a sheer exercise in putting something out there and being brave and saying, these are my thoughts, what does everyone else think?"

Lucy Adams spends her days helping HR leaders reimagine their profession, and her classic work HR Disrupted and its sequel, The HR Change Toolkit, are critical to this mission.

Her message is simple: treat employees as adults. But the implications are profound.

In this conversation, we talk about how HR is changing (or not), the impact of COVID on the profession and on Lucy's decision to write a new edition, the delight of writing and the grind of editing, and the exhilaration and terror involved in opening your freshly minted book for the first time...

Feb 26, 2024

'The beautiful part of it, which is also the hardest and the most painful part, is the editing... [if] you put a book out into the world which will be around longer than you, you might as well put in the effort to get it right.'

David McQueen has never been one to shy away from tough conversations. In his book, The BRAVE Leader, he challenges all leaders to lean into the difficulty, to be more courageous and ambitious in their decision-making for inclusivity. 

And it turns out that willingness to engage and that refusal to settle served him well when it came to writing his first book. More at home on the stage than the page, David found this a steep learning curve, and he's open and honest about what he discovered along the way. 

But just like those tough conversations, the hard work of writing and editing paid for itself in spades, and the book is now the 'centre of gravity' for his talks and other activities.  

If you need to be braver with your book and/or your leadership, this week's episode is for you... 

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