Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book (with the turnaround expert Edward J. Borey) is “Strategy-In-Action: Marrying Planning, People and Performance.” The 2008 economic crises and the meltdown of some of the world’s major financial firms made it clear to Ed and me: Traditional strategic planning no longer guarantees success. Uncertainty and change, globalization, empowered consumers and flatter hierarchies call for a new approach. We wanted to show how companies ended the long-standing divorce between planners and implementers, between planning and people. The approach works: Our clients have produced over $9 billion in added revenues while unleashing their leadership. One company saved $200 million from people power and another made €74 million from innovation. So you can see, we are pretty passionate about this. We think CEOs and strategists will find a systematic roadmap for winning strategies: how to stand in the future, get intelligence from far-flung locations, give voice to dissenters, maximize ownership, screen out losers efficiently, and produce quick wins. In short, we want to bring the human element back into strategy.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My calendar is quite full. Nevertheless, I have a habit of writing every morning. If I leave writing for later in the day, I will never get to it. I love to write on planes, trains, park benches or in the first-class lounge of Zurich train station. But don’t tell anyone or they might come there and ruin it.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
William Manchester and his multi-volume biography of Churchill, “The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill.” His soaring prose makes you laugh and cry. Then of course Churchill himself, who after all got the Nobel for literature, not for peace. The book that possibly influenced me the most is “I and Thou” by Martin Buber. His language is so essential that you could literally take one sentence and contemplate it for an hour before moving to the next sentence. If you don’t get to read it, here one snippet: “Spirit is word… Spirit is not in the I but between I and You. It is not like the blood that circulates in you but like the air in which you breathe.” The Hebrew word for “life” is “chaim,” a plural term. There is no life in the singular, in the monologue; only in the plural, in the dialogue, in the encounter. To put it differently: None of “my” accomplishments is due to my individual brilliance; I am not that great. Individualism had its uses, it empowered people, but now it overshot its goal.
What are you working on now?
Currently I am working on two books (a bit crazy, I know). One on coaching as a manager’s indispensable toolkit, just like project management or finance. The other my first novel, which I might publish under a pseudonym (gotta talk to my agent about this).
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have a habit of doing one thing each day to market one of the books. Amazon is great. Facebook too.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Start each day with writing. And of course never edit while you write. Just write write write without censorship, then you can print it out and edit. And trust yourself, you DO have something to say.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
By Rabbi Zusya in the 18th century: “In the world to come, I shall not be asked, ‘Why were you not Moses?’ I shall be asked, ‘Why were you not Zusya?'” Don’t copy others. Your job is to find out who you are, what is your unique purpose in life, then fulfill that purpose.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading multiple books right now. I’m re-reading Thomas Kuhn, “The Nature of Scientific Revolutions.” I am slowly reading Maimonides’ “Guide for the Perplexed” written in the 12th century (I think). Then Jerome Feldman “From Molecule to Metaphor” (wow), Neal Stephenson “Seveneves.” Plus several books on cognitive bias, e.g. Phil Rosenzweig “The Halo Effect” or Eliezer Yudkovsky “Rationality” (wow again).
What’s next for you as a writer?
A breakthrough in book marketing. Not for the money, but for getting the word out. I’ve sold 42,000 books, which is pretty good for non-fiction, but so much more is possible, and needed. At the risk of sounding overly self-enamored: The more people read my books, the better for their lives, their companies, their world.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“I Ching.” The Talmud. Heck, I would just bring my Kindle so I could read all that are on there ;.)
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