My book is now available!

My new book, Everything I Learned About Leadership I Learned From Filmmaking is an exploration of the similarities, overlaps and parallels between the art and craft of making films and the practice of leading people, teams and organizations. At heart, it’s about inspiring creativity at work and in life by harnessing passion and curiosity as a creative approach to leadership and management.

You can buy the book now at the following places:

Buy on amazon.ca Buy now on Paperback or eBook at Amazon Canada



Buy on amazon.com Buy now on Paperback or eBook at Amazon US



Buy on Apple Books Buy eBook now on Apple Books



Buy on Kobo Buy eBook on Kobo



Buy on Google Play Buy eBook on Google Play


I have been working on this book on and off since I gave a talk at a conference in Nashville almost a decade ago about the lessons I learned from my dozen years as an independent filmmaker and draw on everyday as a people leader.

I’m so pleased with how it turned out and think it will be useful to several kinds of people:

  • Leaders who want to bring a more creative approach to their leadership.
  • People who want to move into leadership positions, or have greater influence in their workplace and want a different perspective than they might find in many business and leadership books.
  • Those in the film and creative industries who want to approach their leadership differently, whether they formally lead people, or want to take on a leadership role amongst those they work with.

If you use a different eBook platform than I’ve got it on and want me to upload it there, please let me know in a comment below.

Holding a copy of my new book.

I hope you get the same joy from reading it as I did from writing it. And if you liked the book, please leave a review where you bought it, post it on social media and tell a friend.

Enjoy!

One step closer to publishing.

As I am readying the final draft of my book Everything I Learned About Leadership I Learned From Filmmaking for publishing, my feeling of excitement over the release is building fast.

One thing that makes the imminent launch feel super-palpable is having the cover done. My good friend Andrew Hess designed it, and I’m excited to show off the design—bold lettering and cool film elements that give the cover texture.

Book cover of Everything I Learned About Leadership I Learned From Filmmaking

Once I have the final proofed version done, I’ll be uploading it to ebook providers. I’m planning on getting it onto Kindle and Apple Books for sure (that’s 90% of ebook purchases), but if there are other digital platforms where you buy ebooks (Kobo, Google Play Books, Barnes & Noble?) that I should get it onto, please leave a comment below and let me know.

Okay, I think my next post may be when it’s out there…

Another update on my book.

Hoo boy, it’s been a while since I’ve given an update on my book, Everything I Learned About Leadership I Learned From Filmmaking. My last update was in February of 2019. At that time, I was zeroing in on a pretty good draft. And then shortly after that I landed my current job as CEO at Brightside Community Homes Foundation. It seemed pretty silly to publish a book on leadership when I was just about to embark on a brand new adventure in a new leadership position. So I put the book away and focused on my new role and organization.

Over the Xmas holidays at the beginning of this year, I pulled the book out again. Enough time had gone by and I felt settled into my new role to the point that it felt right to work on the book again.

It was a worthwhile break, because I could look at the writing from a fresher perspective and wrote several drafts, incorporating lessons I have learned since early 2019 when I put the book aside and started my journey as a CEO. I showed drafts to a few people for feedback and think I have now narrowed in on a final draft (fingers crossed).

I’m looking into self-publishing options to get it into digital bookstores like Apple Books and Kindle. When I was at Vancity, I felt an internalized pressure to get the book out there and get some sales. I think I saw the book connected to my next career phase. Now, it feels a lot more like I used to feel when I made films. I worked on a film because I fell in love with a concept so much I couldn’t not make it. And then I put it out there to do whatever it was going to do. I tried to remove a lot of the pressure of the marketplace and just focus on putting out work that I liked and was proud of.

Similarly, I wrote this book because it felt really good to write it. I truly enjoyed the process of thinking through the similarities, overlaps and parallels between making films and leading people. Soon I’ll put it out there, not because I hope it’ll see like crazy (it won’t), but because I’m proud of it and want people to be able to read it. I feel fortunate that I love what I do enough that I don’t feel a lot of pressure to push it and get sales going. For me, this isn’t a commercial activity.

I’m happy to get an update out there, and hopefully soon I can put out a concrete plan for releasing my book so those of you who want to get it can read it.

Stay tuned…