What's Going on with Getting Results the Agile Way -- The Book?

Getting Results the Agile Way is my first non-technical book.  You can read Getting Results for free in HTML.  This book wraps up and shares my simple system for meaningful results.  It's the best of what I've learned in terms of focus, personal productivity, time management, energy management, and making things happen—in work and life.

The Plan for the Book
The plan for the book is pretty simple—finish the final edits and ship it.  It should be out later this month, pending any surprises. (Although I’ve authored books for Microsoft, it's my first time through the self-publishing process, so I've hit a few surprises.) 

The Ups ...
Here are the ups so far ...

  • 15,000+ visits to GettingResults.com
  • 4 Success Stories from Getting Results adopters
  • 4 language translations (four precious souls have volunteered to translate to Chinese, Swedish, Russian, and Spanish)
  • 134 Facebook Fans for Getting Results
  • Presented Getting Results to the Microsoft Services University
  • Presented Getting Results to the Microsoft Horizontal team
  • Success stories CXOs (CIOs, CEOs, etc.) to in-the-trenches, I'm getting thank you mails
  • One of my key mentors wrote a thoughtful foreword for the book
  • I have an experienced mentor showing me the ropes on effective marketing

Since announcing Getting Results last month, I've had more than 15,000 visits to the site.  That's not the interesting part though.  The interesting part for me is the success stories from people who adopted Getting Results the Agile Way. (Note that there are many more success stories behind the scenes, but I only share the ones that folks say is fine.)  I like hearing how people change their life and unleash their best.  It's still up to them, but Getting Results helps them stack the deck in their favor.

It's also very inspiring that people offer their time and talent to translate the book because they believe in it so much.  This is already on top of the amazing people in the community that have shared their stories, helped shape the book, and contributed in various ways.   You can view the growing list of acknowledgments.

The Downs ...
Here are the downs ...

  • Editing is taking longer than expected.
  • I've had some extra heavy lifting to do at work during my day job, so I haven't been able to focus on the book as much as I would like.
  • There's more preparation with self-publishing that I didn't know.
  • I ran into funny, silly little things each time I tried something new (such as trying to share slides on SlideShare ... there was an issue that blocked me from uploading.)

Even the downsides have an upside though.  While editing is taking longer than expected, it's a chance to incorporate more feedback.  While I've had other priorities, new opportunities have come along the way, where people are helping me with everything from marketing to getting the word out.  While I'm taking the hit on learning the self-publishing path this round, the beauty is I'll be more prepared for the next book.  I'm always learning and it’s definitely a growth path.

More on Getting Results the Agile Way ...
Here's a little more on Getting Results the Agile Way if you don’t already know what it's all about ...

Work AND Life ...
It's for work and life.  It's about getting more out of the time you already spend, and freeing you up to spend more time in doing what you want.  It's also about amplifying your impact.  Rather than compartmentalize your work from life, it's about living your values and playing to your strengths on the job.  This is where you connect your work to your values, find more energy, and get your best results.

Fire on All Cylinders ...
It's geared towards Softies, since that's mostly who I mentor, but it's perfectly applicable to anyone wants to get results in any situation.  Why?  It combines proven practices from project management, positive psychology, Agile, Scrum, ... etc. The bottom line is, it's a simple way to fire on all cylinders.

The bottom line is, this could very well be one of the most important books in your life.  It’s a system for personal results.  The goal of the book is to give you the skills to go the distance in an ever-changing world … while enjoying the process, and flowing value for yourself and others … the agile way :)