Advice from the Masters: Jim Kouzes

Oct 31, 2012 | Better Writing

Writing Advice from the Masters: Jim Kouzes

Jim Kouzes is co-author, with Barry Posner of one of the most practical and helpful books on leadership. The book is The Leadership Challenge. That link is to the most current, fifth, edition, but the book on my shelf is from the first edition in 1987. I’m not giving mine up because there are sticky notes all over it and underlining and notes and the majority of pages.

The book has sold almost two million copies in various editions. It’s the basis for an array of products and services that would make most information entrepreneurs drool. Recently, the Washington Post interviewed Kouzes and shared the interview in an article titled, “Getting to guru: A conversation with leadership expert Jim Kouzes.”

One of his answers in that interview contains some of the best advice any aspiring author can get. Here it is.

“The easy work is coming up with the idea. The hard work is sitting down at the keyboard and waiting until, as they say, blood appears on your forehead. It requires extraordinary amounts of time and effort that I think many authors don’t appreciate about the process.”

Want more? Check out the complete list of Advice from the Masters posts.