What is it Like to Have Your Book Reviewed by the New York Times?

It's an exciting day when your book is finally released, and you read about it in the New York Times.  Sure, the review could be bad, but if you are on a roll and things are really going your way, then it will be a good one!

I asked psychologist Joe Nowinski what it was like when his new book, Saying Goodbye: How Families Can Find Renewal Through Loss was featured in the New York Times.  Joe said, "Having our book review appear in both the online and print editions of the New York Times is a landmark experience for me."  He went on to say that becoming a blogger for the Huffington Post—a result of publishing Saying Goodbye—is also a "dream come true." 

Joe co-wrote Saying Goodbye with another psychologist (and colleague of mine at Harvard Medical School), Barbara Okun.  He says, "There is no doubt that Barbara Okun and I poured our hearts and soulds into Saying Goodbye, but this kind of response is incredibly rewarding for our efforts."

When I mentor physician-writers, I always encourage them to write about things that are really meaningful to them.  After all, hopefully you'll be interviewed extensively on the topic, and it's always best if you really are passionate about it.  Joe and Barbara wrote about what they coined "new grief."  The kind of grief that ensues when people with terminal diagnoses have months or even years to live, because medical science is getting better and better.

Joe told me, "The need to come up with a new paradigm for understanding how grief has changed has immense and direct application to my clinical work."  Interestingly, he has found that the principles in new grief are helpful in other situations such as divorce.

A book review in the New York Times is a wonderful announcement to the world about a subject that you feel passionately about.  A rare and wonderful accomplishment and a day to savor forever!

Physician: 11 Reasons to Write Your Book in 2011

If you're a physician considering writing your first book, here are 11 reasons to go for it.

As a physician, maybe you’ve already written a book for a technical/medical audience, but when you write for a lay audience at a national level, here are some ideas of what your book can do for you:

1. Increase Your Influence: after publishing The Favorite Child with Prometheus Books, Dr. Ellen Weber Libby appeared on the CBS Early Show and became a blogger for The Huffington Post and Psychology Today. Her first Huffington post article got 273 comments. If you want to reach a national audience with your message, a book is one of your most potent tools.

2. Add Fuel to Your Entrepreneurial Engine: Whatever your enterprise, your book can bring in your ideal clients or customers.

3. Double or Triple Your Speaking Income: No question that most speakers get paid more (and get higher profile speaking gigs) when they become published authors.

4. Retire from Your Day Job: If you’re still working your “day job” and looking for a way to move into your new career more quickly, consider this: Pat Hastings retired from her job as a substance abuse counselor nine months after publishing her first book, Simply a Woman of Faith, and launched her career as a speaker, retreat leader and life coach. What’s your dream?

5. Get that PR: I’ve had many an expert tell me they couldn’t get on TV until they became a published author. Your book makes it much easier to get coverage (especially at the national level).

6. A Boost for High End Sales: One of my clients, Evana Maggiore, says that a $25 book sale off the internet often results in someone devouring her book, Fashion Feng Shui: The Power of Dressing with Intention, in one sitting and then registering for a $3,000 seminar. What could your book do for you?

7. Meet Interesting People: When I became a published author, I met stimulating and inspiring authors, speakers, TV and radio hosts and others. Becoming an author will expand your circle and your world—leading to personal growth and the expansion of your own ideas and enterprises.

8. Be Known as the Expert You Are (and not just by your colleagues): If you want to be seen as a top expert in your field and reach beyond your colleagues, write a book! (Your competition probably is…).

9. New Experiences:  Exciting opportunities will show up in your life as people read your book and want to connect or partner with you—things you may not have even dreamed of.

10. Tax write-offs: Ask your accountant: You may be able to write off expenses that are related to your book (travel, research, classes that inform your book, etc.).

11. The Feel Good Factor: Writing a book provides a powerful sense of accomplishment. According to a New York Times article, it’s on 80% of people’s bucket lists. Most people never make it happen. Think of how you’ll feel when you hold your published book in your hands.

Physician Writing: Broken Justice

By Kenneth C. Edelin, MD

The Secret to writing: Remove your “stuff” from its boxes and lay it all out.

It took me 30 years to write my book; Broken Justice. A True Story of Race, Sex and Revenge in a Boston Courtroom recounts my criminal trial in Boston on a charge of manslaughter in the death of a fetus during a legal abortion.

I was the chief resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston City Hospital and in October 1973 I performed an abortion on a 17 year old high school senior, at the request of both the young girl and her mother. The abortion took place nearly 10 months after the Supreme Court, in its decision in Roe v. Wade, struck down all restrictive abortion laws. In spite of this I was indicted by a secret Grand Jury and went to trial for manslaughter. At the end of the six-week trial I was found guilty, but a year and a half later the verdict was overturned by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. They entered their own verdict of “not guilty”.

I knew that someday I would write a book about this experience so I collected and saved every document, note, memo, legal brief, letter, news clipping and the entire printed transcript of the six weeks of the trial. I packed all of this “stuff” in boxes and they moved with me every time I moved.

My first attempt to write my book was immediately after the trial with a professional writer – a “ghost” writer – but our styles and personalities didn’t mesh and that relationship ended after several months.
Ten years passed during which time I was appointed Chairman of the Department of Ob/Gyn at BU School of Medicine. I was due a sabbatical and decided I would use it to write my book. At the end of the six month sabbatical I had an outline for my book and a few chapters. With the help of Gloria Steinem I got my proposal in front of an editor at Little Brown. She liked it, but the editorial board turned it down. I was crushed, so I packed-up my “stuff”, and put it back on a shelf in the basement. 

In the years that followed I would occasionally write a paragraph, page or chapter. More often than not I would get “stuck”, close the box of “stuff” I had opened, and stopped writing.

Six years ago, I decided I was going to try writing one more time. I was nearing retirement and didn’t want this unfinished project hanging over my head during my retirement years. I was either going to complete my book now or give up the dream forever.

I started out by trying to understand how other writers started and finished their books. I read every book I could find about writing. I subscribed to writers’ magazines. I explored writing web sites. I even attended a writers’ conference for physicians. I learned, not only about the craft of writing, but also about the business of writing and publishing.  (I’ll describe this in a later blog).

In a spare bedroom I setup my workspace, opened up my boxes of “stuff”, and laid it all out chronologically on a large table. As I read through it all memories were jogged, details were remembered, emotions were dredged-up and gaps were filled-in. This 30 year old story came alive. I began to write. I wrote about my residency and about the patients I had taken care of – especially that 17 year old girl. I re-read and re-wrote the transcript of the trail and tried to transform it from a dull, bland collection of questions, answers and rulings by the judge, to a living, exciting, dramatic document while being faithful to the meanings of the words.

Simultaneously, I had to explore how I was going to get my book published. I learned that, first, I needed an agent and she or he would find a publisher for my book. I sent more than 50 Query Letters to agents describing my book. I received a rash of rejection letters and a few that wanted more information. In the end I couldn’t find an agent to represent me. I then investigated how to self-publish my book and chose a company to help me do that. (I’ll write about self-publishing in an upcoming post.)

In the summer of 2007 I self-published my book Broken Justice. A True Story of Race, Sex and Revenge in a Boston Courtroom. It was an amazing and satisfying accomplishment. My book received very positive reviews in several major publications and I was invited to speak in bookstores and other venues around the country. The experience has been everything I wanted it to be and more. You can read more about my book and its reviews by going to www.brokenjustice.com

About: Kenneth C. Edelin, M.D. is Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston University where he was Chairman of the Department for eleven years.

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Physician Networking

By Michelle Mudge-Riley DO

NetWORK?

Do you avoid networking because it seems like work?  In a negative way? 

You know you should be networking to find a job or create a job – no matter what you are looking to do but especially if you are an entrepreneur.

Here’s the first question you should ask yourself  - when networking, do you enjoy yourself? 

If not, you should.  That is one of the “secrets” of networking – it should be fun.  If you are having a good time with it, chances are, you are making a good impression on the person you are talking with and showing him/her your best self.

But some people have a lot of fun talking nonstop about themselves.  And if you talk only about yourself, you’ll soon find that isn’t the best way to network and definitely does not give off a good impression. 

So the next question is, have you ever thought about networking as just helping someone?

Many of the doctors I work with tell me they are intimidated by networking.  They see profiles of people on Linked In or see individual’s title on a website and assume these people would have no interest in talking with them.  I’ve approached many doctors, chief medical officers, CEO’s, Vice Presidents, etc. and have had about an 80%-90% return rate via an e-mail or call.   I encourage other doctors  to approach anyone they want to talk with and suggest they will experience the same return rate of response.

Why do I have this confidence?  I’m not any different than anyone else – I don’t have a fancy title or sales pitch to get people to call me back.   Most of the doctors I work with have done many more impressive things than I have. I’m not any better or more fun to be around than anyone else (though I often wish I was that quick-witted person everyone always wants to talk to but I can’t tell a good joke to save my life).   What I try to do is have fun and find a way to help someone when I approach him/her.  I’ve found most successful people are willing to consider help from someone else and would also like the opportunity to help someone else.

A few years ago I read a book about this.  At first I felt silly doing it and didn’t really know how I would be able to help someone who I wanted to help me.  But it’s amazing how just by uttering that sentence (“what can I do to help you”), the other person sees you differently than someone who just wants something. 

And the really important thing is, you also begin to see things differently.  No longer are you in it for yourself.  You really want to help this other person and in the process, you learn something about yourself and you build a relationship.

And that is the key with networking, in my mind.   It isn’t just work to be done and then forgotten about. It’s about building relationships. 

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi is that fantastic book I just referred to.   The book is all about networking through building relationships.  There are a couple reasons why you should read this book.  First of all, it’s a very easy read.  Second of all, it makes sense.  For example, being authentic and genuine when talking to people will help you feel like networking is fun, not work.   The book also gives a ton of examples of how helping someone can help you build a relationship with that person.

It worked for me.  I help physicians find ways to diversify their careers – be it in non-clinical careers or simply through enhancing their own revenue in some shape or form.   I do this because I wasn’t happy in my clinical career and eventually I found my way – but not without a lot of missteps and confusion and need for sense of direction.   Every doctor I help teaches me something I can use to help another doctor who works with me.  I also work as a consultant to large employers in health promotion and wellness.  About 18 months ago I met an actuary and offered to help him with some medical claims analysis.  That lead to a $49,000 project with some neat outcomes for the employer – a 2:1 return on their investment and a significant decrease in the medical risks (specifically hypertension) for their employee population. 

In my next blog, I’ll talk a little more about tips for approaching people and helping them and about building a relationship so you can find/get work and have fun– not just work – when you network.

About: Michelle Mudge-Riley DO successfully made the transition from clinical practice to non-direct clinical work and now works for a brokerage firm in Richmond, Virginia as Director of Wellness and Health Promotion. She has worked with over 50 doctors located in various locations throughout the United States.

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Leadership Attributes In Industry

Physicians in industry must be leaders—not just experts in their field.

What does it mean for a physician to be a leader in industry?  What attributes are companies looking for in physicians who are seeking careers in industry?

Physicians looking for non-clinical careers may find a good fit in the medical device or pharmaceutical industries.  Some will have no difficulty in demonstrating technical mastery of the job.  After all, they are domain experts.  Unfortunately, physicians in industry are expected to be strong leaders—not just experts in their field of medicine.

The good news is that the attributes of a good leader can be learned.  Contrary to what some believe, these qualities are not passed down through the DNA of well-known business leaders.  Physicians can develop or strengthen their leadership skills—and apply these skills in new career opportunities.  But they will need to be deliberate and intentional about this—and go into industry with their eyes open.  Top companies will have high expectations for leadership—perhaps more so than for the technical aspects of a job.     

Some companies simply display their mission and vision statements—and almost never refer to them.  For others, theses statements are very much a part of their culture or “social architecture.”  They constantly talk about why they exist, what they want to achieve in the future, what they value most—and what they consider to be the key attributes of leaders in their organization.  In these companies, management and staff continuously evaluate themselves and each other against these standards.  Technical know-how is necessary—but not sufficient.  Physicians will need to be proficient in medicine—but also true leaders in a dynamic business setting.   

Different companies may use different terms to describe leadership—but the key attributes are essentially the same.  These core qualities are vital to most businesses and certainly apply to companies in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.   

Charts the Course (sets the direction and plan)

• Translates the business strategy into challenging, actionable objectives and plans
• Conveys a sense of purpose and mission that motivates others
• Maintains direction, balancing big-picture concepts with day-to-day issues

Delivers Results

• Consistently achieves results in line with company values
• Establishes high performance standards, uses measurable goals to track progress, and   continually raises the bar on performance and expectations
• Focuses their organization on high-impact activities by clearly communicating expectations, accountabilities, and responsibilities
• Conducts periodic reality-based, results-focused operating reviews and drives quick corrective actions

 Develops Best Team

• Recruits and retains high-performing individuals and develops successors for key positions
• Builds diverse and empowered teams
• Provides honest and constructive feedback on an ongoing basis.

 Role Model

• Lives the company values and sets expectations for others to do so
• Displays self-awareness and seeks self-improvement
• Demonstrates technical mastery of the job
• Develops insightful strategies based on deep knowledge of external and internal operating environments
• Champions opportunities for change and innovation
• Has the courage and judgment to take appropriate risks

For further reading on this topic, check out the following resources: The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner, Leading Change by John Kotter, Execution: The discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, and High Flyers: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders by Morgan McCall.

The Entrepreneur's Pentathalon

Entrepreneurs use 5 skills

A new book, The Innovator's DNA, describes the 5 skills of successful entrepreneurs

http://www.fastcompany.com/1711531/five-innovative-new-year-s-resolutions

They are associating, observing, experimenting,questioning and networking.

However, entrepreneurship educators debate whether these skills can be taught and learned. I think developing and perfecting entrepreneurial skills and attitudes in a combination of nature and nurture, and I've dedicated a lot of time testing the hypothesis. Like I've mentioned before, I can't teach someone to be a surgeon but I can teach them how to do surgery.

If you think you've got the right stuff, here are some things you can do to compete in the pentathalon

1. Associating
2. Observing
3. Experimenting
4. Questioning
5. Networking

Physician Excuses For Not Making Your Ideas Happen

If you're a physician that wants the freedom to control your career and lifestyle, you're going to have to act.

Here are the most common excuses that physicians give for why they can't actually take control of their career and lifestyle and actually do what they want. (You'll also notice that it's the same list that everyone else has.)

It's quite a list and there are plenty of pegs for most physicians to hang their hats on and, indeed, most docs will never have real control or freedom. But, as the wise man once said, the world needs ditch-diggers too.

If you're risk-adverse and choose security over opportunity every time, here's your list courtesy of 99%:

1. I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME.
Extra time, like money, rarely just materializes out of thin air. We have to work for it. If “finding creative time” is a struggle for you, consider getting proactive about carving it out, and doing the most important work first.

2. I’M AFRAID OF FAILURE.
If we really push ourselves, we will fail more than we’ll succeed. But that’s how we gain experience, how we learn, how we grow. The greater failure is to never risk failure at all. Choreographer Twyla Tharp: “If you do only what you know and do it very, very well, chances are that you won’t fail. You’ll just stagnate, and your work will get less and less interesting, and that’s failure by erosion.” 

3. I’M NOT INSPIRED.
Inspiration comes from action, not the other way around. Our friends at Red Lemon Club shared this insightful tidbit from leadership guru John C. Maxwell: “"The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation. And then, guess what? After you start doing the thing, that’s when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it."

4. I NEED TO FIND BALANCE IN MY WORK AND HOME LIFE. 
Living a full, balanced life is a wonderful goal. But does that mean doing less work and having more leisure time at home, or doing better work and feeling more fulfilled? Seasoned non-conformist and entrepreneur Chris Guillebeau makes the case for better work and bigger dreams, arguing that balanced people don’t change the world.

5. I CAN’T OVERCOME MY INERTIA.
Getting started can be hard. Once you’re sitting still, once you’re in your comfort zone, the easiest thing to do is just stay there. As serial entrepreneur Andy Swan has written, one of the most common mistakes when we’re just beginning a project is to “set lofty goals from a resting start.” With images of fame and success dancing in our heads, we set the bar too high, fail to make the grade, and quit because we’re discouraged. Instead, build momentum by starting with small, achievable goals, and work from there.

6. IT’S NOT ORIGINAL ENOUGH.
Originality is immaterial. Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch puts it like this: “Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination… Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent… Remember what Jean-Luc Godard said, ‘It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.’” 

7. I’M AFRAID OF THE COMPETITION.
If someone else is doing something similar that needn’t be a reason to give up. In fact, it’s a great reason to get more excited. As Seth Godin has said, competition validates your idea by creating a category. It also lights a fire under your ass. 

8. I GOT MY EXPECTATIONS TOO HIGH JUST THINKING ABOUT IT…
It’s easy to get high on the idea of executing your idea. You daydream about how great it will be, the recognition and acclaim that will inevitably follow its launch. You build it up so much that the reality of actually executing the idea starts to seem unappealing. Ze Frank calls these un-executed ideas “brain crack” – it’s a dangerous addiction. 

9. IT’S NOT THE RIGHT MOMENT TO DO IT.
Occasionally, this excuse has the merit of actually being valid. Twitter creator Jack Dorsey had the idea for the service back in 2000. Unfortunately, the technology that would help Twitter thrive wasn’t in place yet. But how did he recognize this? Dorsey did a small-scale implementation of the idea that flopped. Even though it failed then, the exercise crystallized the idea in his mind, and Dorsey was able to revive it later when the timing was right. 

10. I HAVE TO PLAN EVERYTHING FIRST.
At this year’s 99% Conference, author and entrepreneur Frans Johansson argued that humans are very bad at predicting which ideas are going to be a success. Thus, nearly every major breakthrough innovation has been preceded by a string of failed or misguided executions. The moral of the story? Spend more time doing, and less time planning.

11. THE PRODUCTION IS TAKING TOO LONG.
Nobody ever said creative execution was sexy. In fact, it’s grueling. Author Junot Diaz battled writers block for 5 years before finishing his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Inventor James Dyson built over 5,000 prototypes before he found the right design for his vacuum. And the list goes on. We must find joy in the process of execution, not just the end product.

12. MY IDEA ISN’T POLISHED ENOUGH YET.
Charles Darwin spent 20 years developing his theory of natural selection, and planned to eventually publish his research in a multi-volume tome. But in 1858, he received a letter from the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace essentially summarizing the theory he’d been cultivating over decades. Darwin scrapped his plans for a tome and quickly published his now-famous abstract, On the Origin of Species. Without Wallace nipping at his heels, though, how long might Darwin have gone on perfecting his world-changing theory? Sometimes it’s best to launch a project before it’s “perfect.” 

13. I NEED TO DO MARKET RESEARCH.
If you think about real, game-changing inventions and discoveries – the electric lightbulb, the double helix of DNA, the airplane – almost none of them had the support of the masses in the early days. Being a visionary means being able to see what other people can’t even imagine. That’s why companies like Apple don’t do market research. 

14. I HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN.
This excuse reminded us of a great piece from writer Rebecca Cantrell, who struggled with the impact her newborn had on her writing. Though initially she lost her will to work as she focused on child-rearing, Cantrell found – in watching her son’s willingness to experiment and fail and never give up – that the experience actually inspired her and improved her writing practice. 

15. I’VE GOT TO PAY THE BILLS.
Here's the big one for most physicians. Going with the status quo, we tend to give high priority to things like wealth and stability. And once we have them, it’s extremely difficult to imagine life without them. (To wit: “The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.”) But should these things come at the expense of pursuing big, bold ideas? Paying the bills won’t necessarily earn you a legacy.

The enjoyment of control and freedom isn't something that's ever going to be handed to you. You'll have to earn it through action.