Guiding Others

Mary Parker Follet said it best “Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim. We attain unity only through variety. Differences must be integrated, not annihilated, not absorbed.”

Most people care to do a good at whatever it is they are doing. In almost all situations, I remember this fundamental rule. Everything else can be worked out. People progress differently and it is more difficult for some managers to be flexible rather than rigid. There are going to be tough situations that require leadership and unless there is someone remembering this rule, the situation will not be resolved in a constructive way.

There comes a point during the management progression where you realize that it is most effective to guide others rather than become controlling. I have learned that you cannot make anyone do anything, so what is most important is the approach to the situation to influence others to take the right course of action.

How to Go From Writing Articles to Books

Writing articles can take minutes or hours. Writing a book or guide can take several days, weeks or even months. There are plenty of great experiences out there that deserve to be shared with others, but how do you even start? Here are some tips for writing a book:

• Break it into pieces. Start with an outline of the major topic and break it into small sections. Keep breaking the smaller sections into writeable areas.
• Do not try and write the book in a day. Set realistic goals that align with your allowable time to focus.
• Find out what kind of writer you are. Some spend a little bit of time writing while others work better when they can dedicate several hours to allow the flow of thought.
• Focus on what type of book you want to write. Is it a self help guide? Is it a fiction novel? Is it an autobiography? Make sure that you understand what you want to write and stay focused on that theme.
• If it is nonfiction or self help, add personal experiences to your book or guide. It adds personality and others can relate better if it’s real rather than researched.
• Save the preface, introductory remarks and concluding paragraphs for last. It makes it easier to think of these areas once you have the content established.
• Do not stop. It’s easy to get caught up in other things, but learn to finish a project once you start it. If you feel burdened or frustrated take a break, but go back to it.

Happy Publishing.