This time last week I was maniacally packing my car to set-up for my book launch..er, book premiere.
How often do you achieve something you’ve been working towards for months, tick it off the list, and move straight on to the next thing?
Writing a book is a long run of milestones that mostly happen alone. Things like winning the pitch, signing the contract, finally nailing the framework, holding the first paperback sample, spotting it on a bookstore shelf.
When these things happen, it’s great of course!! However, it’s also like travelling solo - a fun adventure but WAY MORE AWESOME when you get to share the experience with others.
I realised I didn’t want to let this one pass without bringing people together.
But also - I didn’t want an ACTUAL book launch - you know the format, everyone sits politely while the author reads from their book. I’m not knocking the format at all but I’ve always believed that ‘how you do the thing is the thing’, so throwing a modest gathering for a book on fame, would’ve missed the mark.
Instead, I hosted a full red carpet feat. DJ Scotty Bacon spinning records, and a Lady Gaga impersonator. We even had a few special guests in the mix - Tom Cruise and Britney Spears (in cardboard cutout form), alongside real-life “work celebrities” - clients, colleagues, friends, family, and folks I’d previously only known from LinkedIn.
Amazing folks flew in from Christchurch (New Zealand), Melbourne, and Sydney, and drove in from the Sunshine and Gold Coasts. Seeing a cross-section of people from every chapter of my life in one room was completely surreal and awesome. In the week leading up, I honestly thought everyone would bail!!
Quick reflection: Who would be in the room if you gathered everyone who'd contributed to your career or business so far?
To give the night a proper premiere feel, Brisbane stylist Cate Massi MC’d and handed out awards:
Dopamine King/Queen Award: Sally Prosser
Thinking Outside the Square: Karen Cole
The “I Wish I Had Worn That” Award: Emma Boddington-Stubbs
Like the photos above? Watch the 60-sec highlights reel!
My former boss, Darrell Cox and Work Fame illustrator Jade Miller both said a few words on the night, as did my dad, Aneurin Hughes who helped during the early stages of the manuscript, sharing, “Leanne has always had a positive, creative and enthusiastic personality and she regularly comes up with new ideas. I reckon that she’s been a ‘thought breeder’ from the age of three.”
“I should also mention that not all of her ideas are feasible.”
(fair)
It was a fab night and also lots of effort - not only from me, but for guests who came out for support. I’m so grateful to everyone who generously shared their Friday night to celebrate.
Bringing people together is one way to be generous. But generosity gets more complicated when it comes to our time, expertise and business.
How much should you give away? When is saying yes actually doing someone a disservice? These were some of the questions I explored in yesterday’s Talk the Walk conversation with my long-time mentor, Alan Weiss.
Generosity: What’s in it for me?
Yup, our topic was a little tongue-in-cheek…
Here are my top three takeaways (hard to pick, there were many):
1. Don’t confuse generosity with self-sacrifice
If you burn yourself out helping everyone who knocks on your door, you won’t have the energy, perspective or discretionary time left to help anyone, including the clients who actually pay you.
As Alan shared: “You can’t help others until you help yourself. The wealth of discretionary time is what allows you to help other people.”
Saying no is a skill, and it takes self-esteem to use it.
“Self-esteem is about having the courage to turn things down, disappoint people. You can’t please everyone.”
He also offered a reframe that changed how I think about saying yes to the wrong things. When you make an exception for one person’s inappropriate request, you’re being unfair to everyone you’ve already said no to in the same situation.
2. Give away all the answers
Every consultant I know has wrestled with this one - you’re on a discovery call, the prospect is opening up, and you can see exactly how to solve their problem. Then you hesitate, because giving them the answer upfront feels like free consulting.
Alan’s view is that this worry is a symptom of playing small. In his words, “The people who fret about giving away unpaid advice usually aren’t very successful yet.”
When you’re truly confident in your expertise, you don’t need to guard your ideas.
He continued, “Giving away free value just attracts people. When they see what they get for free, they think: If I’m getting this value for free from her, what the hell would I get if I paid her?”
And, if you do share an insight on a discovery call that lights up a prospect’s eyes, Alan suggests closing the loop with this line, “I was happy to be of help. How about we sit down together and I’ll explain how I can help you take this even further?”
3. The secret to business growth is a non-business life
When you’re building a business or stepping up in your career, the default is to go all in.
Alan sees it differently, “The worst thing you can do if you’re trying to grow a business is to do nothing but exclusively focus on it. You will burn out, lose friends, and lose perspective. The more fun I have, the more varied my interactions are, the better I get at business.”
Generosity outside work, whether that’s serving on a board, supporting a charity or simply being fully present with family and hobbies, gives you the perspective and emotional bandwidth to make better strategic moves inside your business.
Have a look at your calendar over the last month. What have you done that had absolutely nothing to do with work, revenue or professional development?
In our chat, we also cover how to handle ungrateful people when you do help them, and why demographic shifts are killing traditional volunteering clubs.
Save the date: Con Con 2027
Friday night reminded me how much I love getting terrific people together. Con Con is my curated event for consultants on the Gold Coast, and it’s back on 3-4 June 2027.
75% spots are taken. What the heck is Con Con? Find out here.
And if you enjoyed this read, please hit the heart button, it’s one way to let me know.
🌴
Leanne “not all of her ideas are feasible” Hughes
p.s. The best way to an author’s heart is through an Amazon review. If Work Fame gave you even one idea you’ve used at work, would you pay it forward with a review? 11 readers already have, and it takes about 73 seconds. Please leave a review here.