A Thought Leadership Lite book, also known as a “Big Business Card” book, builds credibility so you can

  • stand out from the crowd,
  • get new business, and
  • charge higher fees.

For executives, these books can open doors to more challenging and rewarding careers.

These books have about 20,000 words (about 150 pages).

While these books look thin, you can say a lot in 150 pages.

Readers love short books because they can read them on an airplane or in a few reading sessions.

Many professionals choose this type of book because they are easy to write and relatively short, yet they’re still long enough to be credible.

Depending on the material you have already created (or need to create), you could write this book in a few days or weeks.

These books will help you generate ideas:

Push: A Guide to Living an All Out Life: The Story of Orange Fitness, by Ellen Latham, founder of Orange Theory Fitness. The book told her story: how she got started in the fitness industry, how she decided to go out on her own, how she developed a unique concept, and more. The words “push” and “all out” are part of her specialized, branded vocabulary. This wordplay reinforces her brand.

Dean Minuto published part of his seminar in a book called The One-Page Sales Coach. The book contains his spoken content, visual elements, and assignments. Anyone who attended his seminar would consider it a good refresher. It serves as a big business card that shows prospects what he can deliver in a seminar.

I’ve seen a variety of big business card books; however, they can go in many different directions.

For example:

  • Ten business principles in ten chapters
  • A reworked transcript of a three-hour training seminar
  • A long sales letter that has good tips and facts
  • The company founder’s history and mission

Having a book coach or developmental editor involved can get this done for you very quickly.

In the next installment, we’ll look at the Level 5 Book: Thought Leadership.