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According to a recent article in The Economist, “Chief executives are not, it goes without saying, the world’s most natural writers.  They do not rise to the top without laser-like ambition, a trait that rarely leads to literary reflection. To achieve success, they have to murder their straight-talking selves and master corporate twaddle instead.”  When writing their memoirs, great business leaders are not noted for their literary Hemingways or Dostoevsky’s literary prowess.   When you think of great bosses and leaders, characteristics that come to mind are “influential,” “passionate,” “dedicated,” “disciplined,” and “great communication skills” as the most valued qualities a leader can demonstrate.  What is never mentioned  is that one of the most important qualities of a great leader is that of being a great writer. Leaders are influencers and good writing influences.   Even though successful bosses/leaders might be writing in their day to day operations with regards to a memo, email correspondence and/or letter, on the other hand, writing a book is a much more complex task.  Every word you write reveals something about your character and the type of legacy you are leaving behind.  If you want to captivate your audience and publish a mesmerizing page turner of a book, you will have to capture the four essential cs as well as artfully weave into your book’s narrative:  competitiveness, character, candor and context.  If you are one of those superstar bosses, leadership executives or successful entrepreneurs aspiring to write your business book, remember to keep these foundational elements in mind whether you write the book yourself or you hire a ghostwriter to do it for you.  I am guessing that if most of you fall into the successful leader category, then, time is a precious commodity and that is when a great ghostwriter comes in handy to take care of all the details, so you can focus on running your business.   The Rise In CEO Memoir Writing Nowadays, CEOs writing their memoirs is becoming a flourishing genre.  A majority of them are turning to some of the best ghostwriters out there to tell their story of how they founded their successful firms that depicts their failures as well as their victories.  Even though most entrepreneurs crave success, the truth is that businesses are built by people with flesh-and-blood strengths and weaknesses. That is why there is a growing need to show how these self-made superstar bosses rose to the top and paint an honest picture of how they did it in order to inspire the masses out there.   You have probably heard the proverbial saying, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Even though this was written in reference to a free press being more important than political violence, this holds true for other aspects of life as well. From small business owners all the way to high-level executives and thought leaders, now more than ever we are seeing a dramatic rise in the writing of business books.  Regardless of how effectively business leaders communicate their knowledge through online media channels such as blogs, podcasts and video, nothing demonstrates authority and spreads influence like a printed book.  Writing a business book becomes a central tool in promoting their company, attracting prospects, onboarding clients and team members, developing value-driven partnerships and raising profits. How To Write A Successful Business Book Leadership books can inspire and help more people to lead themselves and the people around them, creating great change in the world. So you could say that leadership books change the world.  If you are contemplating on writing one or you are planning to put one together and get it out into the world, keep a few of these fundamental tips in mind as they will help you plan, write and publish a better book: Understand exactly what you want to achieve with it (zero in on your “why”, what higher purpose it serves). Know what kind of book you want to end up with (e.g. A manual vs. an introduction to your ideas, your business.  Should it be serious or lighter?  Longer or shorter?) Get into your reader’s head. The market is saturated with numerous leadership books out there so yours really needs to hit the mark. Make sure you have complete clarity about the issues they are still dealing with.  If you don’t know your reader’s issues and needs well enough, then a suggestion would be to ask some of your clients or work with your book coach, ghostwriter to help you figure it out. Pick your title wisely.  This will all depend on the book, as well as your nature and style. Pour your heart and soul as well as everything you know into this book (without making it too long). Be unrestrained as the wind.  Impress the reader with your knowledge, as well as the amount and depth of your content. Be original when creating your content.  People want to see your ideas, your content and your models. Get personal.  Some of the most successful books which get the best reviews, share personal insights, unique strategies, stories and even feelings that reflect the soul of who you are as well as the company you have helped build. Invest in the best editing you can afford.  To truly stand out in a crowded market of competitors, you will really need an outstanding, polished book.  A poorly edited book will result in poor reviews which can only hurt your reputation. Publish your book in the most professional way you can afford.  Saving money is great, yet your book needs to be a shining example in that crowded market. Consider a full-service publishing partner or a cooperative publisher, who can do a lot of the leg work for you, such as manage the entire project and reach more outlets and readers than you could do on your own. The best cooperative publishers launch your book to the media, and list your book with hundreds and even thousands of sites, not just Amazon. They get your book into

For an entrepreneur the rarest and most precious asset today is the attention of his/her public. Of course there are many ways to attract people’s attention, but not all of them are equally effective.  Nowadays people are constantly bombarded with commercial information, images, videos, sounds, smells and incentives of every kind.  Consequently, the general ability to pay attention has been drastically reduced. A book, however, is something else. A good book on a topic that is relevant to your business is a very sophisticated marketing tool.  It can give you credibility, establish your reputation as an expert in your field and make you stand out from your competitors.  It can also be the driving force behind the launch of a consulting company and help you build quality relationships. Who should you write for? Admittedly, aiming to write for a very wide audience can probably help you sell your book. Nevertheless, this is not what you should focus on. What matters is that a good book can offer you real earning opportunities, like the sales and the deals that you will close with the people who have read your book or heard of you thanks to your book.  This is why in order to turn your book into a real marketing tool, you need to target a niche that is as specific and well-defined as possible.  The kind of niche that, after listening to your talk at a conference in which you have been introduced as “the author of book x”, will then approach you and ask for your business card. So why isn’t this powerful tool more commonly used? Because while anybody can write a newsletter, only few people have the determination, method and ability to write a book. The first and most common problem is time. Usually the traditional process of writing a book works for people who can devote years of their lives to this project.  Let’s face it though – who has the time nowadays to plan the whole content of a book, to define its structure, to devote hours every day to writing without being disturbed, and maybe even to create a layout, publish it and promote it? Not an entrepreneur, for sure. But that’s not right! The ideas that are spread through books should come from the most brilliant, knowledgeable and inspired minds on the planet.  And not only from the minds of those who can write.  This is why I have devoted years of my life to a specific mission: turning the best ideas conceived by entrepreneurs into books. If you are thinking of writing a book, we can help you every step of the way, from selecting your target readers and writing a book outline to publishing and launching your book. Get Instant Access to my free webinar “10 reasons why you should write a book today” by submitting the form below

The soul of your company is the mental attitude that drives those who make decisions, the inspiration behind their most successful ideas. The reason for its existence. It is the spirit in which things are done, the spirit that has allowed entrepreneurs like Enzo Ferrari and Elon Musk to motivate their collaborators to achieve excellence. Every company is a living organism, with its own identity, its way of approaching work and relating to society. Nobody can see the soul of their company, but we all perceive its effects more or less distinctly, and this is what makes us unique. The soul of a company very often coincides with the soul of an entrepreneur or of its founders. Unfortunately this is why it risks getting lost after some generations, when the people who founded the company don’t work there anymore. How can you hand down the heart, the soul and the conscience of your company from one generation to the next, so it doesn’t get lost over time? How can you show your identity? How can you explain what makes you unique, better than you competitors? How can you let people perceive your knowledge of the market, your stories, your working method? Writing a book is still the best means of storytelling, the only way to hand down a mental attitude and a philosophy, in addition to a series of facts. It is easy to state that you are “a team driven by passion and love for its work” in a payoff line, on social media or in the short “Who we are” section of a website. Everybody can do that – and actually everybody does. But how much weight can a reader give to a sentence like that? How captivating, and especially how credible is it? Telling the reader what that “passion”, that love mentioned on the institutional pages really means is something else. Your book pages can reveal the most fascinating aspects of the history of your enterprise, such as why you made a certain decision, how you managed to keep going in spite of hardships, where you found the energy to get over crises, what the real engine of your company is. Your book has to be the outcome of a process that gives you, the entrepreneur, and your collaborators the opportunity to rediscover and reinterpret your story. It will be amazing for your future employees to be able to discover one day what outstanding qualities have allowed you to get where you are now, the hardships that made you grow, the winning strategies that have led you to success – in a nutshell, to discover the soul, the heart and the vision of the company they work for. A book about your company can contribute to creating an identity, around which you can build a pulsating community of passionate collaborators and customers that embody its pride, its strength and its motivation for growth and innovation.

“How can I write a successful book?” This is the question we’ve been asked by many entrepreneurs and professionals who want to write a book in order to boost their business and achieve credibility in their field. They understand that a book is the best marketing tool for their business, but they don’t know where to start. First of all, if you want a book to be successful you need to consider who you’re writing it for and how you can help them. So instead of asking “How can I write a successful book?”, your first question should be “How can I help my readers?”. How can you provide information that is really relevant for them? Once you’ve found the answer to this question, you can plan your book around it.https://youtu.be/R3waYbSwz3k The first step is choosing your readers. Among your many potential readers, focus on those who interest you as an entrepreneur or a professional – the readers who can become your clients, who can create a mutually beneficial relationship with you and your company. Try to understand what they need, what type of information and knowledge you can share with them in your book. What are the main problems they face? What are their doubts, their fears, their dreams? When you have your answers, look for ways in which you can support them, both in practice – by providing useful information and advice – and in spirit – by sharing your vision. Maybe you’re wondering if you have enough quality content to share with your reader – this is a question that many entrepreneurs and professionals ask themselves. But after helping hundreds of businesspeople turn their ideas into books, we can safely say that most of them have plenty of valuable content to share. Among your many potential readers, focus on those who interest you as an entrepreneur or a professional – the readers who can become your clients, who can create a mutually beneficial relationship with you and your company. https://youtu.be/ltCYVIkQfJ4 Just think of all the knowledge and experience you’ve accumulated over the years: The notions and strategies you’ve acquired through your education and training All the stories and anecdotes with which your reader can identify Your vision, your human touch, your unique point of view Your method, the way you approach your business Once you start putting all of this down on paper, you will realize that your initial self-doubt was just due to an excess of modesty. You have a lot to share and your readers will benefit from your knowledge and experience.