One of the most agonizing parts of writing a new book is choosing a title. In some ways it’s like choosing a name for your new baby; he or she will carry all the associations with his or her name for a lifetime.

I wrote the manuscript of this book with the working title of Thriving in Turbulent Times. But I became convinced that using that title is too current and narrowly focused on dealing with the financial turbulence of our global recession. This book is about dealing with adversity. But it’s also about personal leadership and achieving enduring success. So the turbulent times title was in danger of not giving the book longer staying power when we’re back in growth times.

So I have spent many, many waking – and some bedtime – hours over the past few weeks thinking, brainstorming, and researching titles. I have also been discussing and seeking input on titles from a small group of publishing, consulting, and speaking associates. Last week our marketing director, Aidan Crawford, the book’s editor, Susan Chilton, and our marketing assistant, Cara Tavares, and I spent hours debating the hundreds of title suggestions.

Since this new book is for the same readers as Growing the Distance: Timeless Principles for Personal, Career, and Family Success, and since it continues and extends many of that book’s personal themes, it became very clear to us that we should continue to grow the “grow” brand. So we decided on ….. drum roll please…. Growing @ the Speed of Change. This title reflects both the grow brand and the help I am continuously asked to provide by many readers and speaking/workshop/retreat organizers on dealing with change at all levels of their organizations. My upcoming public Leading @ the Speed of Change: Navigating Turbulent Times workshop (the only public/open workshop I have scheduled this year) will feature the new material from this new book.

We also chose a sub-title; Your Inspir-actional Guide to Personal Leadership, Conquering Adversity, and Achieving Enduring Success. This is a working sub-title and may be adjusted or changed.

Heather and I are cruising in the Caribbean this week after four months of intense work on this book. Over the next few months I’ll bring you insights, excerpts, research, and progress reports – and an introductory offer – from the latest addition to our growing book family. I’d love to get your thoughts and suggestions on the book and our roll-out plans.