So we are finally coming to the end of an amazing journey of writing my new book “Do! The thinking behind exceptional execution.”

I guess the best analogy I can give of the journey is like the best interior designers in the world visit, and completely change what you thought was a lovely home! And more amazingly, even though they have changed a lot, and it was quiet painful; you still admire and like them for their fantastic work.

A quote by Kahlil Gibran also sums up the journey well “pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”

Well the shell has been broke and here’s what happened.

1. I have learned about the power of focus in the context of books. Don’t try to be all things to all men – it just won’t work. Do try to be a fantastic resource for a specific audience. I now realise that even though my last book “Basics before Buzz” was an excellent publication full of great ideas, it was ill focused. It neither totally catered for the startup/SME or the multinational – it got caught somewhere in the middle.

My new book focuses specifically on Startups/SME’s and though I have no doubt it will have a long tail in the context of it’s appeal, this is the number 1 target audience.

2. Having a brilliant team around you is so much better than going it alone. Under the Net Minds approach, I got the opportunity to speak to a selection of editors, project managers, designers and then chose who I wanted to work with. The information I gleaned from the interviews alone made the process worthwhile. You can’t but benefit from working with the best minds in the business.

3. I selected my Editor, Project manager and Designer for two reasons, well actually three.

a) They needed to be talented at what they did b) as this book project mirrors a company set up , they had to work with the culture of the new group and finally c) they had to have the confidence to argue their opinions, challenge me and not be a “yes” person!

Adam Wren, Gary Percy and Ute Christopher ticked all the boxes.

4. I have again seen first hand the power of believing everybody can be your teacher, in addition to my long held belief that the best people on the planet are the most accessible. The Xceptionalists ie those owners who live and breathe the exceptional execution vibe are some of the most talented people on the planet. It was a brilliant experience getting to understand their thinking.

5. Do things differently – very soon I will be rolling out our marketing strategy which will aim to get this book and the team that created it, the accolade it deserves – a spot on one of the best sellers list in the USA ie New York Times, Wall Street Journal or Inc. An ambitious but in my humble opinion doable goal.

Remember in 1996, I wrote into my first book that our aim was to create a best seller even though I had never written a book in my life and had only managed a poor D grade in all my English exams. The book was a mega best seller.

So begins the journey again. I would be thrilled to get your help along the way.