booksI met Jane Horan at the WIN conference in Prague a couple of years ago when I ran a writing workshop, then, this year, in Rome, she handed me a copy of the book she had been inspired to write.
Called I Wish I’d Known That Earlier in My Career, the power of positive workplace politics, it was published by Wiley a couple of months ago.
Jane is an expat, currently based in Singapore, yet she found both an agent and a publisher for her book.
She is the Founder of The Horan Group, a Singapore based consultancy that shapes savvy cross-cultural work environments. She has lived in for over two decades in the Asia Pacific Region having worked with GE, The Walt Disney Company and Kraft in Organisational, Leadership and Talent Development.
Twitter: @janehoran
Web/blog: www.thehorangroup.com
LinkedIn: Jane Horan
JP
Tell me about your book. What is it about? Can you describe it in just a few sentences?
JH
My book focuses on Political Savvy, a critical yet undervalued leadership skill. The book re-frames thinking about office politics highlighting the power of positive politics examining power networks, perception management and visibility weaving gender and culture into the stories.
JP
Why did you write it?
JH
I wrote the book to help managers understand and embrace the political side of organizational life – with values and integrity intact. Being on the other side of the room during talent discussion, I would often see talented managers being overlooked for a promotion and believed this book and particular skill set would help both the individual and organizations retain talent.
JP
What qualifies you to write this book?
JH
While at Disney, I facilitated workshops in Organisational Savvy – which turned out to be one of the more popular courses. As an executive coach, I use the knowledge from this course to help emerging leaders achieve success. I have also recently submitted my doctoral dissertation using cross cultural narrative inquiry to examine leadership.
JP
Why do you think your book needed to be written? What will it do for other people? How will it help? Did you have any competition?
JH
It’s the elephant in the room that no one talks about – yet, it is a critical leadership skill part and parcel of many leadership competency frameworks. Rather than whisper the words – politics – in the hallways or worse, believe that “it” will go away – and “it” doesn’t – I firmly believe there is a critical need to be transparent and teach these skills.
By embracing politics, the individual learns how to navigate the subtle nuances of organizational life, to understand the real measurement for roles and to build visibility for themselves and their teams. The books helps with career management and particularly during a large scale change or a merger – the time when the not-so-positive side awakens.
There is always competition but the unique aspect of my workshops is the focus on diversity ranging from cross culture, gender, and multi-generational work environments.
JP
Who do you think will read your book? What made you think that there was a market for it? If your book has been out for a while, what proof do you have that you were right?
JH
The book sits across many levels but I believe is best suited for Managers with aspirations to move beyond management and into leadership. It is also applicable to MBA students. And, the technical expert – HR, IT, Legal and Finance.
J: Three events happened that made me think there was a market for this book, every time I delivered a workshop or gave a talk someone would say, “is there a book on this?” Attending your workshop on how to write I book, I answered – yes – to all the questions asked about writing a book.
JP
It does not matter how good a book is, or how good your writing is if no one knows about it. What steps have you taken or do you plan to take to promote your book?
JH
Twitter, blogging, and social media networks – particularly LinkedIn – 6 months before the book was on the market, I starting writing about office politics and providing savvy tips. Evaluating all three – Twitter stands out – 3 months before the book published a journalist found my name through twitter and interviewed me about the topic – Months later I found out the article on office politics and career management was syndicated across the United States.
JP
Are you a speaker or trainer? Blog?
JH
Both and yes, I write a blog – not as frequent as I should.
I am now exploring other areas – Facebook, Newsletters and videos.
JP
What about press releases and sending out review copies and free articles?
JP
I have done all three – and found the best avenue is writing articles or being interviewed – specifically on topical issues that relate to Savvy – career transitions, dealing with a difficult boss, the high cost of losing talent, and cross cultural savvy tips.
JP
Have you had any other ideas?
JP
Yes – Radio – Singapore has a vibrant radio community and the rise of blog radio shows keep this medium alive. I was interviewed for two Radio Shows in the US and had a month long – savvy, one minute business tips in Singapore.
JP
Which methods do you think work best and can you give me any examples?
JH
Testimonials for the book and of course, television interviews – these provide long standing endorsements for any book.
Besides these, it is extremely important to become the “marketing expert” for your book – you have to take the lead and build awareness for the book – in doing so, consider multiple touch points – from the sign off on an email, giving away copies at events, workshops and talks with professional communities.
JP
How did you publish your book? Did you find an agent, a publisher or did you publish it yourself?
JH
My story is somewhat unusual and serendipitous – when I decided to write this book, I approached, Marty Seldman, the co-author of Survival of the Savvy – he introduced me to his agent, John Wilig. I sent my proposal to John but didn’t hear anything for awhile – after a presentation to a professional community – one of the editors of Wiley was in the audience and approached me – a few months later, after many coffee chats, I received an email from Wiley and one from the Agent to represent my book.
JP
Please describe your process and tell us how you found the experience. Is there anything you would definitely do again or never do again?
JH
Not sure how to answer this one, I have heard self-publishing is easier or perhaps quicker.
JP
What was your biggest challenge regarding the writing of your book? How have you overcome that?
JH
As a new author, I certainly had my doubts – but I just kept writing as I felt the book needed to be written to help others.
JP
Now you have written this book, what has writing it done for you, your family, your self-esteem or your business?
JH
Think I have the writing bug – I have a slew of book ideas, a workbook, a second edition of this book, and a corporate murder mystery! I thoroughly enjoyed the writing process – the book helps my consulting business and is a very good marketing tool. My family has been extremely supportive of me with this project – without their support and understanding, this book might not have made it…
JP
If you were to give advice to someone else who is thinking about writing a book, what would be your number one tip?
JH
The first is – write. We have all heard the same from our English teachers to famous authors – write. A few years ago, I discovered – NaNoWriMo – the National Novel Writing Month – every November the group begins writing a novel – the requirements used to be 40,000 words in one month, but now they’ve raised the bar to 60,000 words – it is a race against yourself – tons of fun and definitely the fillip needed to start writing. School, families and communities all sign up to play a part. So, I’d say, start in November with http://www.nanowrimo.org/
JP
And finally, how can people buy your book, in what formats, and what does it cost? Please include any links if you have them.
JH
The book is available at bookstores everywhere under business self-help – and also found at airport books shops or on Amazon, Kindle, and through itunes – Amazon US 11.95 and other bookshops around US 17.95
