As I’ve done with my last three books, I’m offering bespoke editions of The Nine: The Tectonic Forces Reshaping the Workplace.

Process

Executives agree with the general message of the book, but they want to put their own spin on it. As such, they’ll want to give copies to their employees, prospects, and/or customers. (Stress balls and USB drives are so 2010.)

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 The Nine. What’s more, the exec’s name and title will adorn the cover of the bespoke version of the book. Finally, the organization’s logo can also go on the cover, probably in the upper or lower right-hand corner.

It would look something like this:

Target Audiences

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

• Consulting firms.
• Colleges and universities.
• Think tanks.
• Membership organizations, such as SHRM.
• Service providers.
• Software vendors.
• Conference organizers who want to provide attendees with a bespoke version of the book, especially if I’m speaking at the event.

Other Logistics

I’ll start with the paperback version.

At the risk of stating the obvious, these 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.

As for the hardcover, the price is more expensive, the order minimum is higher, and the time to produce them will be longer—about 90 days as of now.