Today we launch the updated version of a book that has changed lives around the world for 6 years. The Long-Distance Leader, Revised Rules for Remarkable Remote and Hybrid Leadership is now out in the world.
In this new edition we have updated the technology (Zoom exists! Skype for Business doesn’t!) and paid way more attention to hybrid work since the Return to Office (kind of.)
Of course, when you write in multiple genres, they say you confuse your audience. People read business books don’t necessarily read fiction, and vice versal. Then people who read fiction, don’t always read historical fiction like Count of the Sahara or the Lucca Le Pou Stories. And people who read histfic don’t always read stuff like The Werewolf PI series.
I present the Venn Diagram of my audience. Thank you all.
Because the rights have been sold to the book in Italian and Polish. Take a look:
It’s in Polish! Djakuje
In Italian.Molto grazie
Not for nothing, but we’re waiting for the cover of the book in Mandarin, which would be amazing.
We are currently hard at work on the sequel, The Long-Distance Teammate- Stay Engaged and Productive Working From Anywhere. Cover reveal is coming soon!
Last month, it was a Hudson News best-seller (so if you see it in an airport bookstore, snap a pic and send it to me on Twitter @Wturmel or @LeadingRemotely. So far 5 airports heard from…
By the way, if you’re traveling through an airport, it’s now a Hudson Booksellers Best Seller!
I’ve also had a couple of chances to talk about my fiction work. Most enjoyably, an old colleague from my stand-up days, Keith Tomasek, has a terrific podcast about the arts and the creative process, The Inadequate Life.Recently, we talked for an hour about my stand-up days and the transition to being a grownup, as well as the ins and outs of publishing. It was a blast. If you’d like to hear it, it’s here. I think it’s the most wide-ranging and probably most honest interview I’ve ever done. And for a media ho like me, that’s saying something.
I got into corporate training because when I left stand-up, I had a 15-year hole in my resume and only one marketable skill; I could stand there and talk.
To Keith Tomasek, The Inadequate Life podcast
I was honored to be on The Inadequate Life podcast
“I like to tell people I’m the love child of Alexandre Dumas and Hunter S Thompson and let them figure it out.”
When asked by James Quinland Mervey what my influences are….
Take a look at this picture. None of it is doctored:
Me speaking at the Remote Work Summit at the Eagles Nest Retreat in San Marcos la Laguna, Guatemala
All my life I’ve dreamed of traveling to exotic places, seeing the world, and speaking about my passion; helping people communicate more effectively and making work suck less. This is a moment few people will ever experience (or even believe me when I tell them about it.)
I was miles from home and civilization, speaking at the Remote Work Summit, overlooking the jungle and talking about The Long-Distance Leader. Yes, the attendance was less than expected and disappointing, and yes, I was staying in a place with no air conditioning, a bathroom down the trail that I shared with 5 other cabins (and a passive-aggressive scorpion,) it was the rainy season, and when I wasn’t walking through the rain to the banos, my roof leaked. Travel logistics were a nightmare, but I got to see sights like this:
Lake Atitlan from San Marcos la Laguna
Because of my schedule, I couldn’t stay for the whole conference so I was up at 4:30 Saturday morning for a sometimes-terrifying 6-hour journey to the airport. Passing back through Antigua, I saw Monte Fuego at the end of an alley and took this picture:
Monte Fuego the day before the eruption
Sunday afternoon, my phone blew up with messages, asking if I was safe. Turns out that lovely mountain now looked like this:
The volcano erupted on Sunday, June 3
Basically the paradoxes of life were encapsulated in this trip:
I got to travel to an exotic place to speak about my work and met some amazing people, but it wasn’t the financial success I had hoped for. The story of my life.
It was a frustrating, crazy trip with a lot to whine about, but I saw and experienced things I would never have seen otherwise, and despite the mental and physical exhaustion, I’m grateful to have gone. Also a recurring theme.
I was bitching about some of the logistics and accommodations, and having to be up at 430 in the morning, and leaving the conference early. Yet I got out before a horrible disaster that has left dozens dead and many people unable to get home. I am one lucky sonofabitch.
Readers of this blog usually don’t care much about my day job, but I do. My latest book is “The Long-Distance Leader-Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership.” It is the culmination of years of work and research that I, and my co-author Kevin Eikenberry, are very proud of.
Then you can order the darned thing. Publication date is officially June 5. If you like it, please leave a review and tell all your coworkers and peers. It’s available worldwide in paperback, Kindle and Audio book.
Anyone who knows me, knows I hate New Years Eve. Always have. The week between Christmas and New Years is traditionally a time of self-flagellating reflection, semi-soul-numbing-regrets and non-clinical depression. That generally comes complete with a lot of whining and binge-eating the remaining butter tarts. With the Duchess working retail, and my customers inconsiderately on vacation, I have too much time to think about stuff. Nothing good happens when Wayne starts a sentence with, “I’ve been thinking.”
This year is (slightly, ever-so-slightly) different though.
For example, this year my resolution is to save more money. One way I am going to do this is by using more coupons and promo codes when shopping online. You see, one of my friends has been encouraging me to get into couponing for some time now and I have decided that I need to make some major changes to my spending habits, especially as we have a big move planned very soon.
We do most of our online shopping on the Target website so my friend has sent me a target coupon to get me started. To be honest, I was surprised by how much money you can save by using promo codes. I had never even thought about using coupons when shopping online, but this year is going to be different. Are you a fan of couponing? Or, do you have any other money-saving tips? Let me know your thoughts if so.
By the way, this is not a request for “attaboy” Facebook messages or offers of assistance or your therapists’ contact information. I go through this every year and come out the other side. It’s just a way of setting up what I have to say next.
As I look forward to 2018, there are three things to look forward to.
In May, the release of “The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership.” Co-written with my boss and friend, Kevin Eikenberry, this is a very real book from a real publisher and the hope is that it will kick-start the whole “paying the rent” thing. It’s available for Pre-Order now. Just saying.
This summer will see the release of “Acre’s Orphans”, the second story in the Lucca series. I’m guessing August? I had hoped to have it out by now, but hubris is a terrible thing. “How hard could it be to do a world-class business book AND the next novel in the same year?” I can now answer that: way more than I thought. For those of you awaiting the next adventure. It’s coming. By the way, I killed off someone major in Chapter 15. Can’t wait to hear the complaining…..
After 17 years in Chicago, the Duchess and I are planning to leave Chicago for Las Vegas. Now, I’m well aware that if you want to hear God laugh, tell Her your plans, and nothing is set in stone. Still, that’s the plan. No more frigid winters. And it’s time to start the next chapter of our lives. I love Vegas but that’s not to say I won’t miss living in Chicago. I’ve been playing on some of the best online slots UK websites to try and improve my gambling skills and I’m slowly getting better. I can already tell I’ll be spending a lot of time in the casinos haha. The casinos are a huge perk of living in Vegas, but I’m fine with playing online for now. I feel like many people come to Vegas for the culture and not the gambling. In fact, now luxury casinos can be found in Japan, it’s no longer the sole selling point of Vegas. That being said, I’m still going to try my luck. Hopefully, I’ll be able to win some money to fund the move. It will be interesting to see how the introduction of modern developments in the casino industry will affect the standing of Las Vegas in the gambling landscape. For instance, Bitcoin casinos are increasingly becoming the hottest trend. Those interested should check out this article to learn more about them – https://savedelete.com/gaming/the-difference-between-a-bitcoin-casino-and-a-regular-one/203935/. It might be a good way for me to make a bit of money so could be worth looking into! Of course, if anyone wants to buy a few copies of my books to help fund the move, we’d appreciate it. While I love Chicago, and Her Serene Highness will be staying behind, it’s either move or be murdered in my sleep by a woman raised in Miami and still pining for Los Angeles after all these years. I’m already packing boxes.
You never really know what a year holds, but I am excited for the challenges I know I (and we as a family) will face.
My own self-absorbed whinging aside, I wish for you an exciting 2018 of chasing your dreams and fighting the weasels to at least a draw.
Readers of this blog probably don’t think about my non-fiction work very much, but let’s face it–Lucca, Byron and their colleagues don’t pay the bills. My newest book, co-written with my boss, friend and colleague Kevin Eikenberry is now available for pre-orders.
Looks good, doesn’t it? It is. If you lead remote project teams, or have people working from home and you’re struggling to be the leader you want to be, this book is for you. This book will show you how to engage and communicate with your employees, regardless of where they are. As technology continues to advance, more and more businesses are allowing their employees to work from their homes, as long as they have a good internet connection. If they don’t, businesses are recommending that they look into metronet internet services instead. That should help them to experience a strong internet connection, allowing them to complete their work and stay connected with the rest of the employees.
It highlights things like the importance of being there for your staff, supporting them, understanding their needs and most importantly, motivating them to do their best. But it doesn’t only cover things like work, but also mental health and how to stay active when working remotely, which is just as important to consider when leading a remote team. Remote working is often seen as a tough thing, but with the right guidance and knowledge, it can make your life a lot easier.
A lot of businesses are now starting to work remotely, as they understand that there are so many good benefits to it. Of course, you’ll need some of the products from Agora (https://www.agora.io/en/voicecall/) so that you can regularly check in on them and ensure that communication levels don’t drop. And that also means making sure that you can provide your staff with the relevant equipment. You can check out this link here for more ideas about what you should provide your staff with https://www.officemonster.co.uk/filing-cabinets–1.
Don’t forget that this might differ depending on what your business is, and if you aren’t too sure then double-check with your employees and see if there is anything that you can do to make their job easier. They’ll appreciate that you are in communication with them, and will also appreciate that you want to help them.
If you’re unfamiliar with my non-fiction work, check out my Amazon Author Page for more details.
Much as I’m trying to carve a niche for myself as a novelist, my first books–and the business that pays the bills–are non-fiction and center on business communication. That’s why I’m really proud to announce that (co-written with Kevin Eikenberry, peace be upon him) the new book is at the pubishers.
If you manage a remote team, or work in a place where your co-workers are at home or spread around the globe, I invite you to check out the book. It offers advice such as how to set up a remote document upload flow using software from sites like FilecenterDMS.com, and how to coordinate a team on a remote basis. Since publication date isn’t until the end of April, you’ll be hearing more as the date gets nearer. In the meantime, I blog and write regularly at The Remote Leadership Institute site. Check it out or follow us on Twitter @LeadingRemotely
Check out the book, or my Amazon author page. If you know my work because of my fiction, you’ll find lots of information to help your business life. If you only know me through my day job, I invite you to check out my novels, The Count of the Sahara and Acre’s Bastard. Heck, if you’re bored, check the Stories section on this page for some of my short fiction work.
More to come, I look forward to continuing to share with you. Have a great week.
“paying the rent” thing. It’s available for Pre-Order now. Just saying.
available for pre-order. It’s from Berrett-Koehler publishers, and we couldn’t be happier, both with the book and our partnership with B-K.