Book Coach for leadership and business books

The starting idea

I want to write about what leaders actually do in the first seventy-two hours of a crisis.

What the coach asked next

That 72-hour timeframe gives the subject brilliant focus and real urgency. To help get a feel for the right rhythm, what is a book, podcast, or show you really enjoy, and what do you love about how it is told?

Directions it offered after 6 answers

• The 72-Hour Operational Manual

  Promising: Structuring by hour blocks gives immediate urgency and translates hard-won experience directly into practical tools for leaders under pressure.

  Still open: Finding the right balance between strict timebound advice and the unpredictable nature of different operational crises.

  Try this first: Write a quick draft of the first 3 hours: list the exact three questions a leader should ask about incoming information before making any decisions.

• The Information Bottleneck Blueprint

  Promising: Focuses squarely on your core insight—that information flow, not decision-making, causes crisis plans to fail—giving you a unique market angle.

  Still open: Deciding how many real-world case studies to include versus step-by-step diagnostic frameworks.

  Try this first: Write a single page contrasting a team relying on a rigid printed manual with a team using a simple information-triage rule.

The starting idea

I want to write a leadership book about handing over a business you founded without wrecking it.

What the coach asked next

That is a massive crossroads for any founder, packed with real emotional and practical stakes. To help us get a feel for the style you might like, is there a particular book, podcast, or business story about an exit—disastrous or smooth—that really stayed with you?

Directions it offered after 6 answers

• The Five-Stage Framework Guide

  Promising: Directly leverages your tested 5-stage advisory process, giving busy founders a clear, structural roadmap to design their departure without inspirational drift.

  Still open: How much personal narrative to weave in without distracting from the practical, step-by-step mechanics.

  Try this first: Draft a one-page overview listing your five stages and the single biggest design mistake founders make in each one.

• The Two-Exit Tale & Playbook

  Promising: Uses the raw contrast between your first messy exit and your second successful one to show why succession is structural, making the advice feel earned and deeply relatable.

  Still open: Whether you feel comfortable sharing enough specific details from your first exit to highlight the crucial turning points.

  Try this first: Write 300 words comparing the moment you decided to leave in your first business versus your second.

• The Founder's Transition Diagnostic

  Promising: Focuses sharply on the immediate business pain points founders aged 40 to 60 face right now, offering concrete tools to fix the machine before stepping away.

  Still open: Balancing the practical business design steps with the necessary mindset shift required to let go.

  Try this first: Write down three diagnostic questions a founder should answer in their first hour with the book to see if their business is ready.

The starting idea

I want to write about merging two organisations without destroying what made either work.

What the coach asked next

That is a huge challenge, and so often the human side gets completely lost in the spreadsheets. It sounds like you have real front-line experience with how messy it can get. Are there any non-fiction books, podcasts, or shows you really love, and what is it about the way they share ideas or stories that clicks for you?

Directions it offered after 6 answers

• The Practical Diagnostic Playbook

  Promising: Focuses on giving directors actionable self-assessments and frameworks to cut through corporate jargon right away.

  Still open: Finding the right balance between diagnostic tools and narrative real-world examples.

  Try this first: Draft 5 quick diagnostic questions a director can ask themselves to reveal who really holds decision rights in their team.

• The Acquired Insider Guide

  Promising: Leans heavily into your frontline experience across four mergers to offer an empathetic, perspective-rich guide that spreadsheet playbooks miss.

  Still open: Deciding how much specific company detail to mask while keeping the case studies vivid.

  Try this first: Write one short scene capturing the exact moment you realized decision rights were being shifted or lost during an acquisition.

The starting idea

I want to write about leading well when you are not the loudest person in the room.

What the coach asked next

That is such a strong and needed perspective—quiet authority is something so many people are looking for right now. Are there any books, podcasts, or talks you've enjoyed recently where the tone or atmosphere really clicked for you?

Directions it offered after 6 answers

• The Low-Friction Playbook

  Promising: Direct, highly actionable tactics for day-to-day work (meetings, 1-on-1s, decision-making) grounded in your experience running three organisations.

  Still open: Whether the tone feels strictly instructional or more like a calm, peer-to-peer mentoring guide.

  Try this first: Write out 3 concrete rules for running a meeting where you listen more than you speak, but still hold the steering wheel.

• The Authority vs. Visibility Thesis

  Promising: Challenges popular noise-driven leadership advice with a sharp, memorable distinction between cheap attention and earned influence.

  Still open: How much personal experience to weave in alongside the core argument.

  Try this first: Draft a single page explaining why standard 'visibility' advice fails introverted leaders and what real authority relies on instead.

• Leading from Behind the Scenes

  Promising: Speaks directly to competent introverts navigating executive pressure without losing their authentic style.

  Still open: Choosing whether to organise chapters by career milestones or by daily leadership challenges.

  Try this first: List five common moments where quiet leaders get pushed to be 'louder,' and what a calm, effective response looks like.

The starting idea

I want to write about leading volunteers, where nobody has to do what you ask.

What the coach asked next

That is such a compelling challenge—when authority isn't on the table, leadership becomes all about real connection. When you read books or listen to podcasts yourself, what kind of style usually keeps you hooked? Are you drawn more to vivid real-life stories, or to quick, practical steps you can use right away?

Directions it offered after 6 answers

• The Consent-First Field Manual

  Promising: Focuses directly on community and charity leaders, offering concrete strategies for leading when authority isn't an option.

  Still open: Finding the exact balance between real-life stories and quick, practical tools.

  Try this first: Draft a single page listing three ways you kept volunteer energy high during tough projects.

• The Purest Test: Bridging Volunteer and Paid Leadership

  Promising: Uses voluntary management as the ultimate proving ground, showing paid managers how to earn true buy-in rather than relying on authority.

  Still open: Making sure paid managers see how to adapt these ideas without ignoring contractual realities.

  Try this first: Write a short scene comparing how a traditional corporate boss and a volunteer coordinator handle a missed commitment.