'...The very human tendency to focus on the thing that we think is the problem but isn’t actually the thing that needs our attention.'

In writing, as in life and work, we often focus on the question that looks obvious: How do I write this quickly? How do I find the time? How do I tell my story? How do I get feedback?

But very often, there’s a better question behind the one we’re asking.

In this Best Bits episode I look at some of the most common wrong-question traps that authors fall into, and explore the deeper, more useful questions behind them that can transform not just the book, but the author too.

Hear from:

• Kevin Anderson on why AI is a terrible answer to the 'how can I write my book quickly' question
• Chris Lovett on 'finding' [sic] time to write
• Amy Cantin on writing to make readers feel capable, not impressed
• Ian Pettigrew on telling your story without making it the point of your book
• Paolo Gaudiano on starting with what your reader cares about (rather than what you want to tell them)
• Helen Beedham on testing your argument rather than simply strengthening it
• Becky Westwood on what to do with feedback once you have it
• Alison Jones on why, for business book authors, it’s not just about the book.

Luckily, writing is itself a great way to find better questions... 

'Readers don't finish books that make them feel impressed by someone with a lot of experience or success. They finish books that make them feel capable.'

Does the book still have a place in next-generation corporate learning platforms? You bet.  

Amy Cantin of Skillsoft talks me through the evolution of organizational learning, and the ways in which business books underpin the various summaries, webinars, AI simulations and social learning opportunities they offer their corporate clients to ensure not only that every employee keeps learning, but that they are able to learn in the way that suits them best. 

There are great tips here on how to write a book that's truly transformational for professional development, and a reminder that while the learning landscape has evolved, books remain the fullest expression of the ideas that shape work-life, and authors are still central to the learner's experience.  

'If there's one thing that this podcast has reinforced for me over the last 10 years, it is that books and the people who write them matter.'

It’s almost a decade to the day since I first pressed ‘record’ and launched this podcast into the world (and you might be amused to find out the real reason behind it). In this 10th birthday episode I'm taking a moment to look back on the ambition and anxiety behind that moment, and reflect on how much has changed, and what hasn't, for writers and readers of business books.

I've also put together 10 super-practical lessons I've learned over that time, for anyone grappling with their own ambition and anxiety in the face of starting something new. I welcome back my very first guest and have a moment with 2016 Alison, as we look forward to whatever the next 10 years will bring. 

Whether you’ve been listening since that first episode or just discovered The Extraordinary Business Book Club, you're part of something really special, and a way of being and thinking that's taken on existential meaning for us over the last decade - as individuals and as a society.