Some people like to build things with their hands. As Heather can certainly attest to, I didn’t get the handyman gene. My farmer father and my cabinetmaker brother got those. I’ve come to love the creative act of writing. My grandmother was a poet, so that set of genes made me much handier with a keyboard than a hammer. Although there are those times I’d like to use a hammer on the keyboard!

I’ve wanted to evolve, update, and expand upon the Navigating Change model (Navigator/Survivor/Victim) for some time. This simple approach continues to get the strongest and most positive responses in my keynotes, workshops, and retreats. It’s easy to understand but much tougher to apply. After a fall of contemplating what my next writing project might be, I have decided to write a new book around this approach. I am using the working title of “Thriving in Turbulent Times.” This book does address dealing with our turbulent economic times. However, this book will more broadly address our choices in dealing with personal and professional change and turmoil.

I am going back to the magazine style format that proved so popular with Growing the Distance and The Leader’s Digest. This combination of personal narrative, sidebars with stories, how-to points, research, examples, and pithy quotations allows readers to browse their favorite or most relevant sections or read each chapter in sequence. (It’s also more fun to research and write).

As I was pulling together my notes and finalizing the book’s outline, I got a couple of comments on an Improvement Point that was sent out from my article, “With All My Heart and Soul.” The comments align with my thoughts that setbacks in life – such as this economic period the whole world is going through right now – can be just what we need to re-evaluate what’s really important in our lives. To read the article, click here.