Lessons Learned

In just a few days, the latest book project I have been a part of, The CIO Edge, will be released worldwide. In the coming weeks I will write plenty about the content of the book, but before I do I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the process itself.

First off, I want to thank my co-authors, Graham and Karen, for their amazing contributions and for making the book writing process such a memorable experience. Part of what made it such a great experience is what I find myself reflecting on. Throughout the process we received several comments from our editors and others working with us on what a remarkable job we did of working together as a team; frankly, much better than they had typically seen when three or more authors get together to write a book.

What we did to make this happen and work so well wasn't anything that is terribly profound or mysterious, but I think it is worth sharing nonetheless. Beyond having respect for one another, listening and having an open mind to diverse ideas, the one thing that I feel really made a difference for us was our willingness to sacrifice our egos and truly put the book first. Simply said, if you let the book (or whatever it is you are tackling) be the focal point and the star of the show, it is much easier to look at matters objectively and push when you need to push and yield when you need to yield, etc. It's not about you and your thoughts, ideas and stake in the matter; it's about creating the best deliverable you can in conjunction with your partners.

So there you have it. Nothing out of this world, but I hope a solid and reliable piece of advice that can help you in similar situations where you have to collaborate with a diverse group of individuals to accomplish a complex and challenging task.