The Conversation for Wednesday, February 22

Happy book birthday to Satisfaction Guaranteed

Publishing a book can be a time consuming process. The writing and research are just the first steps. Then come editing, copy editing, proof reading and figuring out a marketing strategy.

Convincing people to pre-order a book has become all important; that is how books generate buzz before they go on sale, and boost their chances of becoming best sellers, Once the book goes on sale, there are interviews and events that go on for months.

That all seems to take forever, but time passes quickly once the book is out in the world. Today is the one-year anniversary of Satisfaction Guaranteed, and to my delight, its journey is still underway.

I’ve got several appearances coming up for the book. I’m excited to be taking part in the upcoming Writers Festival at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans on Sunday, March 26. It sounds like an exciting afternoon, with cooking demonstrations and of course, book sales.

I recently told you that Satisfaction Guaranteed was named a Michigan Notable Book for 2023. Along with the event honoring the authors on April 22, I will be taking part in a book tour of libraries in northern Michigan, most likely in June.

I’ll be visiting Gaylord, Bellaire and Empire. I especially wanted to go up north because not many authors do, and I love that part of Michigan. Stay tuned for those dates.

In talking to readers about the book, I’m struck by how Zingerman’s management philosophy resonated with many of them. They are inspired to implement ideas like visioning, bottom line change and servant leadership.

Of course, others enjoyed hearing about the food, the mail order business and the personal stories of managing partners and staff. So many people would like to become entrepreneurs, and Zingerman’s has helped them do just that.

If you have read Satisfaction Guaranteed, I’d love to hear your takeaways from the book. What lessons did you learn? Which stories did you enjoy?

Please join The Conversation, and thank you for making the book a success.