The secret to asking the right questions: Follow the story

The secret to asking the right questions: Follow the story

Do you remember a TV character called Columbo? He was a detective with one squinty eye who was a master of questioning his suspects. He was pretty awkward himself. He had a limping gait and kept his head cocked on one side. He wore a crumpled overcoat. His targets often underestimated him. And that is the way he liked it. He’d ask them questions that seemed stupid. Then, just as they were leaving the interview, he’d say, ‘Just one more thing.” And he’d fix them with his squinty gaze and ask a killer question that showed up everything they were saying as a lie. I loved Columbo.

The path to business success: Write a book

The path to business success: Write a book

Publishing a book has cache. The author is instantly differentiated and established as an expert, says Pretty. Clients immediately understand why they should work with you and pay a higher rate.

Becoming differentiated leads to speaking engagements and media opportunities and to relationships with strategic partners. Now the entrepreneur is no longer building their own list, they are getting in front of other people’s audiences.

Structure your book without sacrificing creativity

Structure your book without sacrificing creativity

Writing is like running. Authors need to warm up their creative muscles every time they sit down to express themselves. The structure that you apply to your writing process and to communicating your thoughts is the equivalent of the runner’s warm up.

In fact, as I sat down to write this blog, I started in about six different ways – and deleted each one (I can’t believe I still do that after 20 years!). Then I finally asked myself: what am I actually trying to say? I wrote down four key points. Then I looked at the order of them, rearranged them, and here we go.

How to judge if your book topic has been ‘done to death’?

How to judge if your book topic has been ‘done to death’?

Could there ever be a productivity book to top Steven Covey’s international bestseller – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People? It seemed impossible until Timothy Ferriss published The Four-Hour Work Week. Done. Until Dermot Crowley published Smart Work. Productivity might have been done to death, but the global appetite for productivity books never dies. We all want help to squeeze more out of our day, to achieve balance, to work smarter. It’s called an ‘evergreen’ topic.