Designing First Impressions

Have you ever wondered about how authors design their books? I get lots of questions about how I wrote the book and made these decisions, so here you go…

I thought it would be fun to share my thinking. I worked with my amazing designer Diane Boskovich. That’s the first rule around here: hire an expert!

We wanted to express several things in the design, so that it would be consistent with the messages in the book. As you probably know, we need to build great foundation for your business; that’s the goal when we create your strategy in the Abiding Strategy® Workshop. So, for the book cover we wanted to express the timelessness of strategy work.

When a foundation is well built, a building can stand for centuries, as inferred with the ancient Roman building on the cover. When you have a that solid underpinning you can weather almost any storm.

Even in the most modern world, though, strategy is critical. We didn’t want to miss this! Some folks, over the last few years, have said that strategy work is old school, unneeded or passe’.  Obviously, I disagree.

The clients I work with are successful in executing all the steps of their strategy. Some have even done a three-year plan in just two years, because the program gives them the tools to fully execute.  The fact that we have modernized our businesses and are using technology doesn’t change the human nature of the people doing the work! We still need a roadmap or design, and our people need clear, consistent communication about what they’re supposed to be doing every day. Great communication is critical, and it’s well documented that it will help your crew succeed! With my vision of bringing joy to the workplace, communication is just step one.

So, we used the “digital info stream” graphic at the bottom of the book to reflect that fact that even in modern times, it’s all still relevant.

And it never hurts to have a little green to remind us of money! We are, after all, in it to make a living, right? The blue reminds us of the endlessness of the sky and the ocean, which is also part of the reason why blue is my branding color. The sky is the limit when you have the right foundation under you!

I’ve always believed first impressions matter. So, we were very careful about expressing these concepts with the design of the book cover.