What’s Your Second Edition?

Over the past three weeks, I have spent countless hours finishing the manuscript for the second edition of Peernovation: Forged by CEO Forums. Perfected for Teams. Going into this project, I believed writing a second edition of an existing book would be easier than crafting a new one from scratch. I envisioned updating chapters and adding new ones to introduce principles and practices gleaned since the original. Not too difficult, right?

Much to my chagrin, I could not have been more wrong. Although it’s only been five years since Peernovation was first released, I didn’t feel that the content or the writing held up as I had hoped. I found myself harshly criticizing the original, which, while disconcerting, motivated me to write a better book faster. The process also reconfirmed my belief that writing a new edition was appropriate and necessary to meet the needs of leaders facing new challenges in today’s fast-paced world.

I also realized how much I had learned. The new version includes updates to the existing chapters, five new chapters, and an increased word count from 43,000 to 60,000. While I may have written the narrative for the Second Edition, the words are informed by the wisdom and experiences of Group Chairs, Forum Leaders, scholars, CEOs, business leaders, and Peernovation Certified Facilitators globally. I am grateful for everything they taught me.

What the Process Made Me Think About 

What if you challenged yourself to write a second edition of yourself as a person? To that end, pick a point in time that you self-identify as a first-edition version of you. After carefully perusing through every word, sentence, and paragraph (thought, idea, and action), you’ll likely reach some conclusions about who you were then and how well that first edition holds up today.

If it’s anything like pouring through the pages of a five-year-old book, it will challenge you to reflect more deeply than you can comprehend. Once you do that, it begs the question, “What would a second edition of you look like?” How could you write the next chapters of your life so they positively build on your first edition while introducing a future version of yourself that’s better and more relevant than ever?

Given the speed and depth of change today, there may be no better time to tackle this exercise. My suggestion is not to be too harsh on yourself about the past; focus on what it will take to be a better you going forward. Learn from your past. Don’t wallow in it. Once I made that shift while writing the second edition, it made a positive difference for me and will likely have the same effect on you as you write the next chapters of your life.

Epilogue 

Recently, Chris Komisarjevsky released the Third Edition of Reputation First. It’s hard to imagine someone with a greater command of leadership, public relations, and crisis communication than Chris K. He is an exemplar of a lifelong learner who ensures that today’s professionals have access to his experience and understand its relevance. For that, we should be eternally grateful.

Then there’s Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. They could have written one edition of The Leadership Challenge, but why do that when you can write seven editions? Their work is the multi-generational gift that keeps on giving, selling over 3 million copies and translating into more than 20 languages.

Life involves making mistakes. Making mistakes is understandable. Not learning from them is inexcusable. As former Vistage Chair Pay Hyndman once said, ‘You don’t grow old. You become old when you stop growing.”  Reflection, curiosity, humility, and generosity inspire us to learn and share what we learn with others. Whether you believe it’s time to write a new edition of a book or reimagine a new edition of yourself, the world will be better for you sharing it.

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