We live and work in a business environment that is intensely competitive. Top-tier business schools churn out thousands of new graduates every year, all looking to make their mark in the corporate world. New hires fight their way up the ladder to become managers. Managers compete for the few available roles as directors or vice presidents. As you near the pinnacle, the rivalries become more intense. And even if you snare the top prize as CEO or president, you know that the wolves are nipping at your heels, looking for a sign of weakness.
If you’re a consultant or solo entrepreneur, the pressure is just as intense, because your clients are fickle and ready to jump to a competitor offering a better deal or more prestige.
Did I say prestige?
Yes! These days, many hiring and contracting decisions are made on the basis of the perceived prestige of the potential partner. People want to be associated with a winner. They want to bask in the reflected glory of an industry leader. They want the very best—and are willing to pay the price.
Successful Authors Are Experts
It’s an axiom that publishing a successful book puts you on a level higher than people who have not written a book. By writing a book on your professional area of expertise, you establish yourself as the expert in your field. If you don’t believe me, think about the books that Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of GE, wrote. Published in 2001, his first one was called Jack: Straight from the Gut. It was followed by Winning, written with Suzy Welch, in 2005. It reached No. 1 on The Wall Street Journal bestseller list and appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list.
These books and others established Jack Welch as the preeminent expert on corporate leadership in the early 21st century. He had retired from GE in 2001, but you would never have known it by his soaring public profile. In 2009, Welch founded the Jack Welch Management Institute (JWMI), a program at Chancellor University that offered an online executive master of business administration. He taught at MIT Sloan School of Management and conducted seminars for CEOs all over the world. He had a reputation as a leader, and he made the most of it.
Take the Next Step in Your Career
If you’ve reached a plateau in your professional career and don’t see a way to get higher, becoming an author is how you can take that next step up the ladder. A book is the most powerful “door opener” there is. It elevates you in a way nothing else can.
But you need to be very careful, because you cannot just slap a cover on a collection of your blog posts or—even worse—fill the pages with AI-generated filler. If you do that, your plan will actually backfire. You’ll be perceived as a hack and an amateur. You don’t want that!
Your non-fiction self-help or business book must offer real value to your reader. You must deliver solid, actionable information. You must identify a specific problem faced by your reader, provide a solution, and back up your solution with proof, either from your own experience or from case studies. Stories are the most powerful teaching tools, and you need them in your book!
With a high-quality, professionally researched and written book, you’ll have access to media platforms such as television, radio, YouTube, Twitter (X). You’ll be invited to give lectures and TED talks. Influential people will regard you as their equal and come to you for advice. You could hold your own seminars. Your fees for your services will go up.
Writing a book can be one of the best investments you can make in your career and professional future. And with the right professional help from a qualified editor or ghostwriter, it can be an enjoyable experience as well!
