Unignorable!
March 31, 2016 forever changed my life.
10 months of toil and tears became tangible. I released my book, People Before Things, and a lifetime goal was realized.
7 years later, and I’m ready to write again. But this time, I want to involve you in the process!
Don’t worry though. I won’t hijack future newsletters chronicling my literary escapades. My writing is focused on your journey, not mine.
And that’s my top goal with the new book. I want to keep the lens focused on you … your experiences, your struggles, and a hopeful path forward.
However, just for today, can I get your input on this project? I’d love to share the title and concept of my new book and tune into your feedback.
First, the title. Tentatively, the working title is Unignorable. I’ve always wanted a made-up word for a book title. Depending on what dictionary you use, it is or isn’t a word. I love that!
As always, my primary audience is IT leaders. After meeting 100,000+ IT professionals during speaking engagements and workshops, one theme stood out: they don’t feel like they’re making a difference.
IT leaders used different phrases to share these feelings:
The business doesn’t value my role or function
I don’t have the resources I need to succeed
I’m not involved early enough in key discussions
I don’t feel like I have a seat at the table
My boss refuses to grow and develop me
All of this speaks to a larger opportunity for our community. How can we become Unignorable and galvanize end-users, stakeholders, and customers with powerful ideas and leadership?
Here’s what I think is at stake when we aren’t Unignorable: Our ideas and voice get lost in a sea of noise. We find it impossible to get the investment our team needs to succeed. Talent is hard to attract and retain. Careers stall. People get stuck.
So, the book will help IT leaders do the following things:
Reset your compass on what’s possible by using a simple, yet tangible model for vision-casting
Learn how to objectively self-reflect on what will block/accelerate your goals
Adopt powerful tools that help you become an unignorable influencer
Understand the psychological and sociological factors that sabotage execution
Implement productivity hacks to overcome those sabotaging factors
Build confidence in your executive presence, communication, and change leadership
And all of this will be delivered by a CIO, who is providing practical tips that are relevant to IT leaders
I know this is very conceptual, but that’s how the creative process begins!
Would you hit reply to this message and answer two questions? First, what’s your initial reaction to this concept? Second, would you like to participate in the book-writing process with your own story or case study?
I’m not asking you to commit to buying this thing! Instead, I’m trial testing the idea but “MVP” style! I hope to hear from you soon.
P.S. If you follow my posts on LinkedIn, this is WHY you saw so much focus this week on becoming Unignorable!
