The following content was originally published by Walden University Career Planning and Development Blog as part of its Alumni Voices series.

If you can run a project, manage competing priorities, and follow through under real-life constraints, you can write a book. That’s the mindset I brought to writing my book, Zero-Downtime Care. I wrote it by treating writing like any serious business outcome: define the target, build the plan, execute consistently, bring in pros for the parts that need professional skills, and publish a version you’re proud to put your name on.

Here’s the process.

Step 1: Start with an Ideal Reader Profile

Before you outline, write a short profile of the person you want to help. In business, you’d call it an ideal customer profile. For a book, it’s an ideal reader profile.

• Who are they?
• What are they trying to achieve?
• What is making it hard right now?
• What do they fear will happen if they get it wrong?
• What does “success” look like in their world?

This profile becomes your compass. It keeps you from chasing side topics that don’t help the reader.

Step 2: Define the Reader Promise (and what the book will NOT do)

Once you know who you’re writing for, define the promise:

• This book is for (who) who want to (result) without (risk or frustration).
  Example: “This book is for healthcare leaders who want to modernize technology without disrupting care.”

Next, write 3–5 bullets for what the book will not be.
Examples:

• Not a technical certification guide.
• Not a catalog of tools and vendors.
• Not a book for people who want theory without action.

Step 3: Build the Map

A simple structure that works for most nonfiction books is:

1. The problem: what’s happening and why it’s hard.
2. The process: what to do about it, step-by-step.
3. The future: what success looks like, and how to sustain it.
4. Common mistakes: If you want to add a final helpful section, include what people do that quietly sabotages their progress.

For each chapter, ask yourself:

• What confusion does this remove?
• What decision does this help the reader make?
• What action can they take soon after reading?

If you can’t answer those clearly, the chapter needs to be reshaped or cut.

Step 4: Write in Small, Consistent Blocks of Time

Choose a realistic weekly plan:

• Two writing sessions per week if your schedule is tight.
• Three sessions per week if you want steady momentum.

Each session should have a minimum “win,” so you can make progress even on hard weeks:

• Write for 60 minutes, or 1,000 words, whichever comes first.

Simple rules that help:

• Use the same writing platform every time (Google Docs or Microsoft Word).
• Keep a consistent folder structure so you can find everything quickly.
• Start by reviewing the last paragraph you wrote.
• Write the next paragraph before you do anything else.

Track your progress like you are working on a project. A simple weekly checklist works:

• Sessions completed.
• Words written.
• One section improved for clarity.
• One example or story added.

Step 5: Use Real Examples

Nonfiction readers want confidence and advice that holds up in real life. Consider including one or several of the following in your examples:

• A pattern you’ve seen repeatedly.
• A story.
• A before/after situation.
• A common objection followed by a practical answer.

Step 6: Hire an Editor If You’re Not a Professional Writer

A good editor helps you:

• Make the book easier to follow.
• Tighten the writing.
• Remove repetition.
• Strengthen your argument.
• Turn “what you meant” into “what the reader understands.”

There are different kinds of editing:

• Big-picture editing: structure, flow, clarity of the message.
• Line editing: sentence-level clarity and readability.
• Proofreading: catching errors before print.

If budget is a constraint, prioritize big-picture help first. A confusing book won’t be saved by perfect grammar.

Step 7: Choose a Publishing Path

Your path should be determined by your goals, timeline, and how much control you want.

Traditional publishing benefits:

• A longer runway.
• Gatekeeper validation.
• Distribution support.
  Tradeoff: Less control and often slower to market.

Self-publishing benefits:

• Speed.
• Control.
• Ability to update and improve over time.
  Tradeoff: You own quality and marketing.

Hybrid publishing benefits:

• Professional support (editing, design, production guidance).
• More speed than traditional.
• More structure than doing everything alone.
  Tradeoff: You must vet providers carefully and understand the contract.

Step 8: Launch by Getting It to Market, Not by Chasing “Perfect”

It’s better to get the book to market and learn than to keep polishing it in private. You can always update the book as a new version. Think of launch as a plan, not a single day; the goal is to put the book in the hands of the right people and let it do its job.

• Make a list of 20 to 50 people who would genuinely care about the book (friends, peers, colleagues, alumni, clients, etc.).
• Send personal messages to the most important 10 to 20.
• Ask early readers for honest feedback and reviews.
• Share a few short posts that repeat the core message of your book (people need repetition to understand and remember).

Recommended Readings:

Gordon, S. (2022). The million dollar book: The ultimate blueprint for writing a 7‑figure business book.
– Practical guidance on writing and building a nonfiction book business.
https://get.themilliondollarbook.org/

Chandler, S., & Palachuk, K. W. (2018). The nonfiction book publishing plan: The professional guide to profitable self-publishing. Authority Publishing.
– A professional, step-by-step view of publishing and profitability.  https://www.amazon.com/Nonfiction-Book-Publishing-Plan-Self-Publishing/dp/1949642003

Broad, J. (2023). Self-promote & succeed: The no boring books way to build your brand, attract your audience, and market your non-fiction book. Stick Horse Publishing.
– Clear, actionable guidance for marketing without sounding salesy.
https://www.amazon.com/Self-Promote-Succeed-Attract-Audience-Non-Fiction/dp/1736031511

Blanchard, W. E., Jr. (2025). Zero-downtime care: A plain-English playbook for providers, payers & population-health leaders to secure and scale IT.
– My perspective on modernization and operational reliability in healthcare, written in plain English for leaders.
https://www.amazon.com/Zero-Downtime-Care-Plain-English-Providers-Population-Health/dp/B0G25HZ11Q

Written by Walden University graduate Wylie Blanchard, BSBA ’08
Edited by the Walden University Career Planning and Development Staff

This content was originally published on the Walden University Career Planning and Development Blog

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A lot of leaders are trying to become more visible online.

They are posting more. Commenting more. Sharing more lessons, stories, and ideas.

That effort can help.

But attention by itself is not the goal.

The real question is what happens after someone notices you.

Where Should Your LinkedIn Attention Go?

A lot of leaders are trying to become more visible online.

They are posting more. Commenting more. Sharing more lessons, stories, and ideas.

That effort can help.

But attention by itself is not the goal.

This framework started as part of a guest talk I gave with the Illinois Small Business Development Center Business Growth Academy at Waubonsee Community College.

Big thanks to Maria Malayter, PhD and the team for inviting me in.

The conversation was about building a clearer digital presence, but the lesson applies well beyond LinkedIn: attention only helps when it has somewhere useful to go.

The real question is what happens after someone notices you.

Do they understand what you do?
Do they trust your point of view?
Do they know where to go next?
Do they have a reason to come back?

If the answer is no, the content may be creating motion without building much value.

Attention should have a destination

Posting without a destination is easy to miss because it still feels productive.

You published the post.
People saw it.
Maybe a few people reacted.
Maybe a few people commented.

That feels like progress.

Sometimes it is.

But visibility only becomes useful when it helps the right person take a reasonable next step.

That step does not always have to be a sales call.

It might be reading a related article.
It might be joining your newsletter.
It might be viewing your services page.
It might be reviewing your portfolio.
It might be saving a checklist.
It might be learning enough to trust how you think.

The point is simple: content should lead somewhere useful.

Reach is not the same as trust

Reach tells you how many people may have seen the post.

Trust is different.

Trust is built when your content helps people understand your judgment.

For a business owner, that might mean showing how you think about cost, risk, and customer experience.

For a healthcare leader, that might mean explaining how technology decisions affect staff capacity, compliance, and patient operations.

For a nonprofit leader, that might mean showing how to make better systems decisions without wasting limited resources.

For an IT services firm, that might mean helping prospects understand what good support, governance, and security should look like before there is a problem.

The common thread is clarity.

People should leave your content with a better understanding of the problem, the decision, or the next step.

That is what turns a post into more than a moment.

The three jobs of useful content

Before publishing a post, it helps to know the job of the content.

Most content should do at least one of these three things.

1. Build proof

Proof shows that you understand the real problem.

This can come through examples, lessons learned, practical breakdowns, case stories, or a clear point of view.

Proof does not mean showing off.

It means helping the reader see that you have thought about the issue from more than one angle.

A strong proof-building post might answer questions like:

• What problem do we keep seeing?
• Why does it happen?
• What does it cost when leaders ignore it?
• What should a practical first step look like?

Proof is especially important in services businesses, consulting, technology, healthcare, and other trust-heavy fields.

People are not just buying a solution.

They are buying confidence in your judgment.

2. Build trust

Trust comes from consistency.

Not just posting often.

Posting with a consistent point of view.

A leader who talks about every topic under the sun may get attention, but the audience may not know what to remember them for.

A leader who keeps returning to a clear set of problems becomes easier to understand.

For me, those themes include modernization, cybersecurity, data, project delivery, governance, and better business systems.

That does not mean every post must be technical.

It means the audience should be able to connect the post back to a larger body of work.

Trust grows when your content feels steady, useful, and aligned with the problems your audience actually faces.

3. Point to a next step

A next step does not need to be aggressive.

In fact, it usually should not be.

Most readers are not ready to buy after one post.

But they may be ready to learn more.

That is where a clear destination matters.

A useful next step might be:

• A newsletter for deeper thinking
• A service page for business context
• A blog post that expands the idea
• A tool or checklist
• A portfolio or case example
• A contact page for people already looking for help

The key is to match the next step to the intent of the post.

A thought leadership post might lead to a newsletter.

A practical checklist might lead to a related tool.

A service problem might lead to a service page.

A personal story might lead to an about page or speaking page.

The next step should feel natural.

A simple example

Imagine a founder posts every day about business lessons.

The posts are thoughtful. Some get good reactions.

But the profile has no clear offer, no newsletter, no useful article library, no services page, and no obvious way to understand how the founder helps.

That founder may be building awareness, but the attention has nowhere to land.

Now imagine the same founder makes a few changes.

The profile explains who they help.

The featured section points to a useful guide.

The newsletter captures the deeper lessons.

The services page explains the problems they solve.

The posts connect back to those resources in a calm, useful way.

The content did not become louder.

It became more connected.

That is the difference.

The destination should be ready before the traffic arrives

This is where many leaders get stuck.

They focus on posting more before they fix the place they are sending people.

A weak destination can quietly waste good attention.

Before you ask people to visit your website, subscribe, book a call, or review your services, check the basics.

Website and profile checklist

• Can a visitor understand what you do in less than 10 seconds?
• Is your best next step easy to find?
• Does your profile match your current positioning?
• Does your services page explain problems in the customer’s language?
• Is there at least one useful resource for people not ready to buy?
• Are your strongest ideas saved somewhere beyond the social feed?
• Does your newsletter, blog, or resource page give people a reason to come back?

This does not require a perfect website.

It requires a clear one.

What leaders should ask before posting

What leaders should ask before posting

Before publishing, ask these five questions.

1. Who is this for?

Be specific.

A post written for everyone usually lands with no one.

Is it for SMB owners?
Healthcare executives?
Nonprofit leaders?
Technology decision-makers?
Operations leaders?
A business evaluating outsourced IT support?

The audience shapes the language.

2. What decision does this help them make?

Good content helps the reader think better.

It might help them avoid a bad vendor decision.
Prioritize a system upgrade.
Understand a risk.
Ask better questions.
Recognize a pattern.
Start a better internal conversation.

If the post does not help the reader decide or understand something, it may not be ready.

3. What should this post build?

Pick the main job.

Is this post meant to build proof?
Build trust?
Start a conversation?
Point to a resource?
Clarify your point of view?

Do not ask every post to do everything.

4. Where should the attention go?

This is the part people skip.

If someone likes the post and wants more, where should they go?

Your profile?
Your website?
Your newsletter?
A tool?
A related article?
A services page?

Make the path easy.

5. Is the destination useful?

Do not send people to a dead end.

If the post creates interest, the destination should reward that interest.

That might mean a clearer landing page, a stronger article, a better newsletter signup page, or a resource that helps people solve part of the problem.

The leadership lens

This is not only a marketing issue.

It is a systems issue.

A leader would not spend money driving people into a broken process and call it progress.

The same standard should apply to content.

If your content is attracting attention, the next step should be clear, useful, and aligned with your business goals.

That matters even more in trust-heavy industries like healthcare, finance, education, and nonprofit services.

People in those spaces are not only looking for visibility.

They are looking for judgment, clarity, reliability, and proof that you understand the environment they operate in.

Your content should help them see that.

A better way to think about content

The better question is not always, “How do we get more reach?”

A better question is, “What should this attention help build?”

That shift changes the work.

It moves content from activity to strategy.

It forces you to connect the post, the profile, the website, the newsletter, and the service offering.

It also makes content easier to evaluate.

Not every post will create a lead.

Not every post should.

But over time, your content should make it easier for the right people to understand three things:

• What you believe
• How you think
• Where they can go next

That is how attention starts becoming an asset.

Posting more is not the same as building a stronger digital presence.

A stronger presence has direction.

It builds proof.
It builds trust.
It gives the right people a clear next step.

Before your next post, ask one question:

Where is this attention supposed to go?

If you want more practical thinking on better systems, clearer decisions, and leading change without chaos, subscribe to the Better Systems newsletter.

This article expands on an idea I first shared on LinkedIn.

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Wylie Blanchard, BSBA ‘08

Wylie Blanchard, is an executive technology advisor and the Founder of Reintivity Technology Solutions, helping organizations modernize, secure, and simplify their IT, especially in healthcare and financial services. With 20+ years leading large, cross-functional initiatives, he is the author of Zero-Downtime Care, an Amazon #1 bestseller focused on practical modernization for healthcare leaders. 

Transcript

Academic Guides: Archived Webinars: Alumni and employer voices. (n.d.). https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/careerservices/careerwebinars/employer-voices/#s-lg-content-84238368

Walden University Career Planning and Development. (2026, March 16). Alumni Voices featuring Wylie Blanchard, BSBA ‘08 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC-46BO5cqY

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Usually, the issue is not effort. It is visibility.

I was reminded of that during a recent Walden University Alumni interview. The conversation touched a common problem in both careers and leadership: important work often gets described too vaguely, documented too late, or handed off without clear ownership.

When that happens, the value is harder to see. Good work starts to look like routine activity. Wins get forgotten. Leaders miss the business impact. And when decisions about promotions, budgets, or support need to be made, the proof is not easy to find.

That is a problem for individual contributors. It is also a problem for managers, executives, and business owners.

Good work gets overlooked when the impact is invisible.

The first mistake is describing work like a task instead of a result.

A lot of professionals say things like:

“I led the project.”
“I managed the implementation.”
“I supported the rollout.”

Those statements may be true, but they do not tell leadership what changed.

Leadership is usually listening for a few simple things:

• What changed?
• Why did it matter?
• What outcome improved?

That is why outcome language lands differently.

Instead of:
“I managed the implementation.”

Try:
“We completed the implementation on schedule, reduced follow-up issues, and gave leadership a clearer view of risk.”

Instead of:
“I led the project.”

Try:
“We cut response time by 28% and reduced escalation risk.”

The second version gives people something they can understand and remember. It makes your contribution easier to use in a staffing conversation, a performance review, an interview, or a budget discussion.

This is not about making ordinary work sound dramatic. It is about describing the real value clearly.

Why strong work still gets forgotten

Even when people know they should speak in outcomes, many still run into the same problem:

They did not capture the proof while the work was happening.

That has real consequences.

Promotions get missed because examples are vague.
Interviews feel weaker than they should because the best wins are hard to recall.
Managers try to advocate for someone with only part of the story.
Teams complete meaningful work, but months later no one can point to the evidence.

In a lot of cases, professionals do not have a performance problem. They have a documentation problem.

One habit helps more than most people realize: keep a career receipts file.

This does not need to be polished. It does not need to look like a resume. It just needs to be a simple place where you capture evidence as it happens.

What to capture in your receipts file

Keep it simple. When something important happens, write down:

1. What changed
2. What outcome improved
3. What risk, cost, or delay was reduced
4. What part you owned
5. Any metric, deadline, or result that helps prove it

That may look like this:

Weak version:
“I supported the rollout.”

Stronger version:
“I helped complete the rollout on schedule, reduced follow-up issues, and gave leadership a clearer view of risk.”

Weak version:
“I worked on reporting improvements.”

Stronger version:
“I improved reporting turnaround, reduced manual rework, and gave leaders faster access to decision-ready information.”

You are not trying to write your annual review in real time. You are building a record that makes future conversations easier and more accurate.

That file can help with:

• performance reviews
• promotion discussions
• job interviews
• resume updates
• team recognition
• manager advocacy

Most people undersell themselves because they rely on memory. Memory is inconsistent. Evidence is much more useful.

Where leaders make this worse without realizing it

This issue does not sit only with employees.

Leaders often create the same problem when they fail to define what success looks like, what proof matters, and who owns the result.

That matters even more when outside support is involved.

You can hand off execution.
You cannot hand off accountability.

A consultant, vendor, agency, MSP, or implementation partner may own delivery tasks. They do not own your internal trade-offs, your business risk, or your final decisions.

That breakdown usually starts in a few predictable places:

• Success criteria
• Decision rights
• Exception handling
• Final sign-off

Once those areas get fuzzy, confusion turns into risk. The work may still get done, but the ownership story gets weaker. Teams start assuming someone else is tracking outcomes. Vendors assume the client will make the final call. Internal leaders assume the partner is carrying more accountability than they really are.

That is when good execution can still produce a disappointing result.

The strongest teams keep ownership visible, even when work is shared.

What good looks like in practice

Whether you are trying to grow your career or lead a team, the pattern is similar.

Good work becomes easier to support when you do four things consistently:

1. Track outcomes, not just effort
   Do not stop at what was done. Capture what changed because it was done.
2. Translate work into business language
   Speed, risk, cost, compliance, customer experience, staff efficiency, and revenue impact are easier for leadership to use than activity summaries.
3. Save the proof while it is happening
   Do not wait until the annual review, the interview, or the board update to reconstruct the story.
4. Keep accountability visible
   When work is shared, be clear about who defines success, who approves trade-offs, and who owns the final result.

These habits help at every level.

• For professionals, they make your value clearer.
• For managers, they make advocacy easier.
• For executives, they improve decision quality.
• For organizations, they reduce the gap between effort and recognition.

A simple question to ask yourself

Before your next review, interview, project update, or leadership meeting, ask:

If someone had to explain the value of my work in two sentences, would they have the proof to do it well?

That question gets to the heart of the issue.

Good work should not disappear because it was described like maintenance.
Good work should not be undervalued because nobody captured the outcome.
And good leadership should not assume accountability moved just because execution did.

When value is clear, support gets easier.
When proof is available, advocacy gets stronger.
When ownership stays visible, results hold up better.

That is true for careers. It is true for teams. And it is true for businesses trying to scale without losing clarity.

For more practical ideas on leadership, technology, and business execution, join my newsletter or explore more articles here on the site.

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I’m grateful.
Grateful for every message, every share, and every person who supported the book and pushed this launch forward.

Thank you for helping bring more clarity, confidence, and calm into how healthcare leaders approach modernization. This win isn’t just about a book ranking — it’s about pushing better uptime, better care, and better outcomes into the spotlight.

If you’d like to help keep the momentum going, I’ve shared how you can support the book in the first comment.

More to come — and thank you again.

— Wylie

Want to continue supporting the effort? Learn how you can help at: https://www.zerodowntimecare.com/thank-you/

This content was originally posted on LinkedIn.

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They’re losing sleep over what happens when old tech fails at the worst possible moment.

1. Slow systems and processes
   Staff workarounds, duplicate entry, and delayed reports quietly draining capacity.
2. Weak security
   Outdated systems that haven’t kept pace with today’s cyber and compliance demands.
3. IT misalignment
   Technology decisions that don’t line up with clinical, operational, or financial priorities.

None of these are “just IT problems.” They’re leadership problems.

The good news: with the right playbook, you can modernize without blowing up your day-to-day operations—or overwhelming your team.

Zero-Downtime Care was written to give healthcare executives, directors, and founders a plain-English framework to do exactly that.

Kindle edition link below.
Thank you!

https://a.co/d/90PKbcw

This content was originally posted on LinkedIn.

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As the book launch winds down, I just want to say thank you.

The support, messages, shares, and early readers of Zero-Downtime Care have meant more than I can say. This book started as a simple goal:
give healthcare leaders a clear, practical way to modernize technology without chaos or downtime.

Seeing the response today has been incredibly energizing.

If you haven’t grabbed a copy yet, the Kindle edition is still discounted for the initial launch as we make our final push toward the Amazon Best Seller list.

And if you’ve already purchased, shared, or encouraged others—you’ve helped this book reach the people who need it most. Thank you for making today memorable.

This content was originally posted on LinkedIn.

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A milestone the I’ve been working toward for nearly a year is now complete.

I wrote this book for healthcare leaders who are carrying the weight of outcomes, operations, and compliance—often while navigating technology that wasn’t built for today’s demands.

If we’ve worked together, you already know my mission: make technology feel less like a threat and more like a stable, strategic engine for better patient care. That mission is at the heart of this book.

For launch day, we’ve set the Kindle edition to $0.99 as we push to land on the Amazon Best Seller list.

If you pick up a copy, I’d love to hear what resonates. And if there’s a leader in your network who’s wrestling with modernization, feel free to pass it along.

Thank you for celebrating this milestone with me.

Here’s the Amazon link — Kindle version discounted for the initial launch. Kindle purchases help the most with the achieving bestseller status. Appreciate you!

This content was originally posted on LinkedIn.

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I’ve met countless professionals who believe that earning certifications like CISSP, CISM, Security+, etc. is the key to advancing their careers. And while certifications are valuable—they demonstrate expertise, commitment, and a solid understanding of best practices—there’s one critical skill they don’t teach: how to communicate security and technology risks in a way that leadership understands.

I have several myself: CISSP, PMP, ITIL, MCSE and more — each one has helped me gain deeper technical knowledge and industry credibility. But none of them, on their own, prepared me for the real challenge of leadership: translating complex security concepts into business priorities.

A few weeks ago, I spoke with a colleague who had just completed a major certification. He was feeling confident about his technical knowledge, but then he walked into a leadership meeting and was asked to explain why his team’s proposed security initiative mattered to the business. He knew the technical details inside and out, but when it came to making the case to executives—framing security as a business priority rather than a technical challenge—he struggled.

That moment made it clear: Certifications don’t prepare you for the real challenges of leadership.

The Gap Between Certifications and Real-World Leadership

Certifications focus on frameworks, methodologies, and compliance—which are important. But in the real world, professionals must be able to:

• Translate security risks into business impact.
• Justify IT investments in terms of ROI.
• Persuade leadership to prioritize security initiatives.

I’ve seen too many skilled IT professionals hit a ceiling in their careers—not because they lack knowledge, but because they struggle to communicate complex ideas in a way that decision-makers care about.

For example, if you’re discussing Zero Trust security with your executive team, you need to go beyond saying,

“Zero Trust limits network access to reduce attack surfaces.”

Instead, translate that into business terms:

“Zero Trust ensures that only the right people have access to critical systems, reducing the likelihood of a data breach that could cost us millions in fines and lost customer trust.“

This shift in communication changes the conversation—and ultimately determines whether your initiatives get the support they need.

Three Skills Every Cybersecurity and IT Leader Needs

If you want to stand out and drive real change, focus on developing these three essential leadership skills:

1. Storytelling & Business Impact

Leaders don’t respond to jargon and technical specs—they respond to narratives that connect security to real business challenges.

• Instead of saying: “We need to implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to strengthen security.”
• Say: “Over 80% of breaches come from weak passwords. MFA would immediately reduce our risk of unauthorized access, protecting both our data and our reputation.”

The difference? One statement sounds like an IT upgrade. The other sounds like a business necessity.

2. Risk-Based Decision Making

Security isn’t about eliminating all risks—it’s about prioritizing the most critical ones without disrupting operations.

• Understand risk appetite — how much risk your company is willing to tolerate.
• Learn how to quantify risk in dollars — leaders want to know what a security failure could cost the business.
• Frame recommendations in terms of business value, not just security best practices.

Example: Instead of saying, “This patch reduces vulnerabilities,” explain, “This patch could prevent an outage that would cost us $50K in lost revenue per hour.”

3. Stakeholder Influence & Negotiation

Your ability to secure buy-in for security initiatives determines whether they actually get implemented.

• Speak the language of finance, operations, and executive leadership—not just IT.
• Identify the real drivers behind security decisions (often compliance, customer trust, or financial impact).
• Build relationships before you need them—so when a crisis arises, decision-makers already trust your expertise.

If you can’t convince the CFO or CEO why security investments matter, even the best technology solutions will go underfunded or deprioritized.

How to Develop These Skills (Beyond Certifications)

So, how do you bridge the gap between technical expertise and executive influence?

1. Start practicing now. Present security insights to non-technical colleagues and get feedback on clarity.
2. Study leadership communication. Take courses on storytelling, negotiation, and business strategy.
3. Follow cybersecurity leaders who articulate security in business terms—watch how they frame discussions.
4. Get involved in executive-level conversations. Don’t just sit in IT meetings—engage with finance, operations, and leadership.

The professionals who stand out are the ones who combine technical depth with the ability to communicate its value to the business.

Certifications prove what you know—but your ability to connect security to business priorities is what sets you apart.

If you’re serious about advancing in cybersecurity or IT leadership, ask yourself:
Are you just learning technical frameworks, or are you preparing to lead?

Tech skills get you in the door. Communication skills put you at the table.

Are you ready for that next-level conversation?

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As we approach 2025, I’m excited to share some big goals I’ve set for myself and my business. Every November, I reflect on ways to grow, both personally and professionally, and this past November was no different.

Here’s a glimpse into what I’m focusing on in 2025:

Writing and Publishing My First Book

This year, my personal goal is to write and publish my first book. Publishing a book has been a long-time aspiration of mine and is an opportunity to channel creativity, share insights, and accomplish something deeply meaningful on a personal level. As part of this, I’m applying my “5 to 10% personal development rule,” dedicating no more than 5-10% of my time and income to this project.

Here’s where I stand:

• Exploring Content Options:
  • I’ve already drafted two books:
    • A passion project about technology careers.
    • A business-focused book targeting my ideal audience, which I’ve revised twice but may still refine further.
  • Alternatively, I may start fresh and write a completely new book that better meets the needs of my audience.
• Publishing Insights:
  • I recently read The Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan by Karl Palachuk and Stephanie Chandler, which provided valuable insights into the self-publishing process. It also helped confirm my assumption that self-publishing my first book would likely require more time than my 5-10% rule allows.
  • To balance my time commitments, I’m leaning toward working with a hybrid publishing company for this first book. This approach will provide the structure I need while ensuring I can meet my personal and professional priorities.
  • Self-publishing is still on the table for future books once I’ve mastered the process and can dedicate more time.

Aligning Personal and Business Goals:

This year, I’ve decided to align my personal goals with my business objectives to create a stronger, more cohesive path forward. A significant shift I’ve embraced is becoming more publicly active—a step I haven’t taken in several years. By aligning my personal and professional growth, I’m taking a strategic approach to strengthen my business and personal brand:

• Q1: Redefining my personal brand marketing strategy.
• Q2: Increasing my public presence by participating in events and networking.
• Q3: Developing a robust process to better engage my target audience.

I’ve also partnered with a marketing firm to fine-tune specific aspects of my business marketing. Their expertise will complement my efforts to enhance my overall strategy.

Looking Ahead

2025 is shaping up to be a transformative year. Publishing my first book—whether it’s a revised version of my current drafts or an entirely new project—will be a deeply personal milestone. By focusing on aligning my personal goals with my business strategy, I’m creating a foundation for growth and success in all areas of my life.

I’m excited about what’s ahead and grateful to have your support along the way. If you have advice, insights, or encouragement, I’d love to hear from you.

Let’s make this year one of meaningful achievements together!

Wylie Blanchard

Here are a few of my activities from 2024:

• What is Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Why Does It Matter?
• From NPD to the Cloud: Why Businesses Must Prioritize Cybersecurity Now
• Embracing AI in SMBs: Driving Competitiveness and Efficiency Through Technology
• Essential Disaster Preparedness Strategies: Safeguarding Your Business
• Innovating on a Budget: Strategies for Today’s Tech Leaders
• Embracing AI in SMBs: Driving Competitiveness and Efficiency Through Technology

Get more great content at WylieBlanchard.com... Need a great speaker for your next event, contact us to book Wylie Blanchard now.
Learn what clients are saying about his programs....