Why Every Business Leader Should Write a Book

You are a senior business leader. After a long career, you have steered organizations, built teams and made critical decisions that may well have shaped your organization or even your industry. The experience you gained on this journey is uniquely yours, and could be of incalculable use to those who follow in your footsteps, either in your organization or outside.

This is why I believe every business leader should write a book. It’s the best way to offer your experience as an example that could influence the careers of countless future leaders.

But what’s in it for you? What will you gain from writing your book? Let’s explore that question.

Protect Your Legacy

At your retirement party, someone will make a speech that talks about your profound effect on the organization. That’s all very well in the moment, but memories fade, new people replace others who move on, and over time your contributions may be forgotten. Even worse, they might be attributed to someone else!

Writing your own book is a way to tell your story from your own point of view, capturing the highlights of your achievements, as well as your leadership style. In other words, a book can safeguard your legacy. (I wrote a business fable on this subject called “The Book that Saved a Legacy”. You can find it on amazon.com and other Amazon platforms.)

Share Your Wisdom

I once worked with a wise woman called Isobel. She served as personal assistant to a number of successive presidents of her organization. She was privy to more information than many of the executives, simply because of her position. Being highly intelligent, she also made contributions through discussion with her various presidents.

But as she wasn’t an executive, her wisdom wasn’t acknowledged or recorded. I can only imagine how useful it would have been if someone had written a book based on Isobel’s career. Not only would her knowledge been of use to others, but her own legacy would have been vastly different in other people’s eyes.

Your case is different, of course. People already look up to you and value your experience and knowledge. Writing your book will give you an opportunity to open up even wider knowledge by sharing your philosophies, recounting pivotal moments in the organization’s history and distilling your insights into practical lessons.

Inspire and Influence

Your book is an excellent opportunity to tell your story! It’s generally acknowledged that we human beings love stories, and not just for enjoyment but also for learning and connecting. Your book can inspire others to aim higher in pursuit of their own success.

Your book can motivate aspiring leaders, guide peers and even be a resource for those shaping the future of your organization or industry. Never underestimate the power a book has to spread your story and extend your influence.

Discover Personal Fulfillment

The process of writing your book can be deeply fulfilling, and this applies even if you collaborate with a ghostwriter. The process gives you an opportunity to look more deeply into your journey than every before. I have had more than one client tell me they didn’t realize their stories were so interesting until they heard me tell them!

Writing your book as you reach retirement can give a sense of closure to your business career, and open up the door to new adventures!

Support a New Career as a Speaker

Publishing a book positions you as an authority more than any other route. It can open doors to speaking opportunities, and that might introduce you to a new career in which you can share your journey and experience in a whole new way.

And I can tell you from personal experience as a keynote speaker that having people line up to have you sign their copies of your book at the end of your speech will give you an adrenaline rush that’s hard to beat!

Don’t Wait—Take the First Step Now

I hope I’ve convinced you that writing a book is not only hugely rewarding as a leader, but an opportunity to protect your legacy for generations to come.

And remember, you don’t have to do this alone. If you feel overwhelmed by the idea of writing your book, remember there are professionals available to help. I help my clients as a book coach if they want to do the writing themselves, or as a ghostwriter if they want to tell me their story and have me take over the heavy lifting of writing it. Either way, many books have been written with my help that may otherwise never found their way out of the author’s head! Will yours be one of them?

If you’d like to explore using me as your book coach to help you get beyond that messy first draft, or as your ghostwriter to take the whole thing off your hands, drop me a line at [email protected] and let’s have a no-obligation chat about how I might help. You CAN write your book in 2025—let me help you do it!