Introduction

It’s finally happening: Employees are returning to the office. Workers are looking for clarity, flexibility, and, in many instances, a reason to leave their homes.

Brass tacks: It’s no understatement to say that these are unprecedented and disruptive times. Foolish is the soul who thinks that everyone will permanently return to pre-pandemic work schedules and mores.

Against this backdrop, I’m making custom editions of my award-winning book Reimagining Collaboration available. Here’s how it would work.

Executives agree with the general message of the book. (#VirtueSignaling) Still, they want to put their own spin on it and give to their employees and/or customers. They’ll do this by writing four- to five-page forewords with their individual takes on the fascinating future of work and what their organization is doing to prepare. Ideally, their takes align nicely with the core themes of Reimagining Collaboration. What’s more, the execs’ names and titles would adorn the cover of this version of the book. Finally, we could put the organization’s logo on the cover, probably in the upper right-hand corner.

Here’s a laughably crude mock-up. Final versions will look much better.

Click to embiggen.

Target Audiences

I can envision a number of different homes for bespoke versions of my book. In no particular order:

• Upscale furniture outlets such as Steelcase, Haworth, ELEMENTS, HNI Corporation, Inscape, Officescapes, and Herman Miller. For the most part, these companies are smartly leaning in to the WFH phenomenon. With respect to my book, the opportunity here is two-fold. Employees could receive books as gifts.¹ As for consumers, I could also see them as throw-ins with qualified purchases or salable products with SKUs.
• FedexKinko’s, UPS Stores, Staples, OfficeDepot, and their ilk.
• Co-working spaces.
• Book-subscription services, particularly those aimed at business audiences.
• Business book clubs.
• Business groups, such as the Chamber of Commerce.
• Hotels.
• Companies that specialize in corporate gifts and swag.
• Conferences, even if I’m not speaking at them.
• HR think tanks such as SHRM. Members could receive as physical copies as part of their annual dues.
• Universities, especially for exec-education programs.
• HR consulting outfits such as Mercer and Deloitte.
• Prefab office manufacturers.

Other Logistics

At the risk of stating the obvious, paperback versions will cost far less than their hardcover counterparts—although both are on the table. To make the per-unit price cost-effective, an organization will need to purchase no fewer than 200 copies. Larger orders will drop the per-unit price considerably. If we hit 1,000, then the number really plummets. Oh, and copies—no matter how many—do not include rights to the book’s intellectual property. That stays with me.