My publisher wants How to Lead by THE BOOK: Proverbs, Parables & Principles to Tackle Your Toughest Business Challenges to have 50,000 words. That translates to around 220 pages. The book will be based on biblical strategies for tackling approximately 70 business problems. Here’s the challenge: what to include/not include/how deep to go on each topic, etc. The Bible will be the primary research tool for this book. It has 66 books, 2,118 chapters and 773,692 words! In other words, there’s a lot to sift through! I’ve got the potential topics narrowed down to 72. This may continue to fluctuate. I’d like to have an even 70. Plus, 70 is a meaningful biblical number. One of my goals is to weave in strategies and insights from all 66 of the Bible’s books.
I’m writing this book with the assumption that the reader believes in God, but knows little about the Bible. That format worked well with How to Run Your Business by THE BOOK. My task is to take something potentially complex and intimidating, the 773,692 words in the Bible, and bring them to life. I need to make the Bible’s strategies relevant and usable for the reader to apply in their organization. I can’t get preachy or academic. Keeping things simple is a key. Since I’m simple and non-academic, the task will be much easier.
One of the 70 challenges will be: “What is the best way to give feedback or advice to someone else?” While there are several points I’ll offer, there’s a great example in Exodus 18. Moses is spending all day solving disputes amongst the 2 million people he’s leading to the Promised Land. People are lined up for hours to see him. The problem is, he’s not getting anything else done! Sound familiar? His father-in-law, Jethro, sees what’s happening and is appalled. But here’s what Jethro didn’t do: He didn’t chastise, criticize, or offer alternatives until he first asked “Why are you doing it this way?” In other words, he diagnosed the situation before he prescribed an answer. Because he sought first to understand Moses, Moses was more open to Jethro’s advice and quickly applied it. There’s a lesson there! I’ll probably have a chance to use it today.
Today, I’ll spend time gathering potential stories, parables, principles and proverbs that will fit the 72 challenges I’ve outlined thus far. The research part is fun and easy. Tying it all together in words that make sense is where the work comes in.
Yesterday, I was reminded of the story of the Scottish Olympic runner Eric Liddell, whose story was the basis for the movie Chariots of Fire. I’ve got to find a way to incorporate his level of commitment to principles over popularity into one of the 72 strategies. Tomorrow, I’ll share what I come up with. For now, it’s time to get back to work.