Deepak Malhotra has written several books, including Negotiating the Impossible: How to Break Deadlocks and Resolve Ugly Conflicts (without Money or Muscle) which is one of the best books on negotiating that I’ve read. I went looking for some advice from Professor Malhotra for people like us who write business books. I found what I was looking for in the Preface to his book, I Moved Your Cheese.
“In the face of long-standing precedent, strong social norms, resource scarcity, and the powerful expectations of others, individuals may underestimate their ability to control their own destiny, to reshape their environment, and to overcome the constraints they face. Success in areas such as career development, innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity, problem solving, and business growth—and also personal growth—often depends on exactly that: the ability to challenge assumptions, reshape the environment, and play by a different set of rules . . . your own.”
Does your book do those things?
Want more? Check out the complete list of Advice from the Masters posts
If you want even more writing advice from writers, check out Jon Winokur’s blog, “AdvicetoWriters.”