CarTalk with Kartik #308: Launch Starts Before Writing

What happens when positioning shows up after the product is done? That's the question I recently discussed with one of my CEO clients. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named a Top Consultant of the Year by PMA, here's my take.

This mistake happens all too often with CEO books.

Some CEOs write the whole manuscript first, then suddenly ask, “Okay, now how do we position this?”

That is like building a product, launching it, and then asking, “Who is this for?” Very brave. Also slightly terrifying.

Your book positioning should shape the book from the beginning.

Who is the reader?

What problem are you solving?

What story do you want the market to associate with you?

When you answer those early, your book stops being a pile of smart thoughts and becomes a strategic asset. Remember, the launch starts before writing.

This insight comes from page 130 of my book Product Marketing Wisdom, which just completed 71 weeks as an Amazon bestseller. Check it out at:

https://ProductMarketingWisdom.com/s

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CarTalk with Kartik #307: The Hero Trap

Is your business secretly held together by one heroic person? That's the question I recently discussed with one of my CEO clients. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named a Top Consultant of the Year by PMA, here's my take.

If your company works only because Sarah remembers every customer detail, Roger knows every workaround, and Mike somehow fixes everything before anyone notices, congratulations. You don’t have a system yet. You have a very tired Avengers team.

Great people create momentum. But systems create durability.

And that is exactly what a great CEO book can reveal. Not just the shiny success story, but the hard-earned lesson behind it. The moment you realized talent is powerful, but process is what lets the business survive when people move on, burn out, or finally take that vacation they have been threatening since 2019. So avoid the Hero trap.

This insight comes from page 174 of the bestselling book "Millions of Meals Hidden In Plain Sight" by my client Robert Lee, CEO at Rescuing Leftover Cuisine. Check it out on Amazon. And see you next time on CarTalk with Kartik!

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CarTalk with Kartik #306: Write The Hard Truth

What if your book is not a project, but an instruction? That's the question I discussed with one of my CEO clients recently. Hey there, welcome to CarTalk with Kartik, I'm Nitin Kartik. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named a Top Consultant of the Year by PMA, here's my answer.

Sometimes your book does not arrive politely with a calendar invite and a neat Google Doc outline. Sometimes it shows up when life has taken away your clock, your comfort zone, and apparently, your ability to sit cross-legged without negotiating with your knees.

For CEOs, that matters. The best books usually come not so much from perfect plans, but more from hard-won clarity. From the moment you stop chasing every answer and realize the story itself is the answer.

A book is not just what you know. It is what your life finally made you ready to say. So write the hard truth.

This insight comes from page 150 of the bestselling book "Unmarried" by my client Rina Raichada, CEO at Dentistry on 10. Check it out on Amazon. And see you next time on CarTalk with Kartik!

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CarTalk with Kartik #305: Ego Book or Growth Book?

Is your book aligned with your CEO goals, or just your ego goals? That's the question I recently discussed with one of my CEO clients. Hey there, welcome to CarTalk with Kartik, I'm Nitin Kartik. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named a Top Consultant of the Year by PMA, here's my take.

A CEO book should not be a 200-page trophy that says, “Look, Ma, I have chapters.”

It should support your business goals.

If your goal is more credibility, the book should prove your thinking.

If your goal is faster sales cycles, the book should answer the doubts buyers already have.

If your goal is market leadership, the book should make your point of view impossible to ignore.

The best CEO books do what great go-to-market teams do: align the message, show impact, and keep everyone rowing in the same direction.

Preferably not in three different boats.

So decide whether you want an ego book or a growth book.

This insight comes from page 132 of my book Product Marketing Wisdom, which just completed 71 weeks as an Amazon bestseller. Check it out at ProductMarketingWisdom.com. And see you next time on CarTalk with Kartik!

#CEOs #BestsellingAuthor #BusinessBooks #ThoughtLeadership #CEOBrand #BookMarketing #ProductMarketing #CarTalkWithKartik

CarTalk with Kartik #304: Make Your Mission Inevitable

What if your book could make your mission feel inevitable? That's the question I recently discussed with one of my CEO clients. Hey there, welcome to CarTalk with Kartik, I'm Nitin Kartik. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named a Top Consultant of the Year by PMA, here's my take.

A powerful CEO book is not just a fancy business card with chapters.

It should make readers say, “Wait, why aren’t we already doing this?”

That’s how movements start.

The best books don’t only share your story. They change the default. They take the messy, real-world moment before someone says yes and make the next step feel obvious, practical, and normal.

Because vision is great, but execution is where the sandwich either feeds someone or meets a trash bag. Dramatic? Yes. True? Also yes. That’s how you make your mission inevitable.

This insight comes from page 186 of the bestselling book "Millions of Meals Hidden In Plain Sight" by my client Robert Lee, CEO at Rescuing Leftover Cuisine. Check it out on Amazon. And see you next time on CarTalk with Kartik!

#CarTalkWithKartik #CEObooks #BestsellingAuthor #ThoughtLeadership #FounderBrand #MissionDrivenBusiness #BookMarketing

CarTalk with Kartik #303: Your Book Is Your Homecoming

What if becoming an author is really about coming home to yourself? That's the question I recently discussed with one of my CEO clients. Hey there, welcome to CarTalk with Kartik, I'm Nitin Kartik. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named a Top Consultant of the Year by PMA, here's my take.

For many CEOs, writing a book feels like building a brand.

But the best books go deeper.

They help you return to the ideas, values, and stories that made you who you are before the market, the boardroom, and 47 very urgent Slack messages got involved.

A powerful book does not just say, “Here’s what I know.”

It says, “Here’s who I’ve become.”

That is why bestselling books connect. They are not brochures with better binding. They are homecomings with chapter titles. Remember, your book is your homecoming.

This insight comes from page 160 of the bestselling book "Unmarried" by my client Rina Raichada, CEO at Dentistry on 10. Check it out on Amazon. And see you next time on CarTalk with Kartik!

#CEOBranding #BestsellingAuthor #ThoughtLeadership #BookMarketing #FounderBrand #CarTalkWithKartik

CarTalk with Kartik #302: Your Book Builds Champions

How can your book turn customers into ambassadors? That's the question one of my CEO clients asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer.

Most CEOs think a book is just a credibility tool.

It is.

But it can also become an ambassador engine.

Your best customers already trust you. They already know your value. But when your ideas are packaged in a book, something interesting happens.

They have something easy to share.

Instead of saying, “You should talk to this CEO, they’re good,” they can say, “Read this chapter. This is exactly what they help companies solve.”

That is much better than forcing your customers to become unpaid sales reps. Nobody wants that. Not even your mom, and she likes everything you post.

A strong book gives your champions language, proof, and confidence to spread your message. Remember, your book builds champions.

This insight comes from page 134 of my book Product Marketing Wisdom - which just completed 69 weeks on the Amazon bestseller list. Check it out at https://ProductMarketingWisdom.com/s

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CarTalk with Kartik #301: The Book Funnel Mistake

Should your book replace your sales funnel? That's the question one of my CEO clients asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and named a Top Consultant of the Year by Product Marketing Alliance, here's my answer.

No. Your book should not replace your sales funnel. It should make your sales funnel smarter.

A book is not a magic vending machine where you insert chapters and out come clients. Although, honestly, CEOs would buy that machine immediately.

Your book should create trust before the first conversation. But you still need the journey after that: content, follow-up, calls, offers, proof, and a clear next step.

Think of your book like a free trial. The trial alone does not close the deal. The experience around it does.

A bestselling book works best when it supports your sales motion, not when it tries to do every job in the company, including making coffee. So don’t make the book funnel mistake.

This insight comes from page 136 of my book Product Marketing Wisdom - which just completed 71 weeks on the Amazon bestseller list. Check it out at https://ProductMarketingWisdom.com/s

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CarTalk with Kartik #300: Five Stories First

Why should a book include personal stories? That’s the question one of my CEO clients asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here’s my answer.

Because people don’t connect with your resume. They connect with your receipts.

Your awards, titles, and company milestones matter, but your stories make them memorable. A great CEO book should not read like a corporate brochure that accidentally found a spine.

Start with five meaningful moments from your life or leadership journey. A photo. A failure. A weird customer meeting. The day everything changed. Then ask: what did this teach me, and how can this help my reader?

That is how your book becomes more than information. It becomes connection.

And connection is what makes readers remember you, trust you, and eventually want to work with you. Remember, five stories first.

This insight comes from page 140 of my book Product Marketing Wisdom - which just completed 69 weeks on the Amazon bestseller list. Check it out at https://ProductMarketingWisdom.com/s

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CarTalk with Kartik #299: Make Readers See Themselves

Should a book tell stories or teach lessons? That's the question one of my CEO clients asked me recently. As a 2X bestselling author featured on BBC TV & Times Square and having collaborated with over 70 CEOs, here's my answer.

Your book should do both.

Lessons make the reader think, “Interesting.”

Stories make the reader think, “Wait, that’s me.”

And that second reaction is where trust begins.

A CEO book is not just a container for your ideas. It is a guided journey. Show the reader the problem they are facing, the obstacle that makes it painful, and the transformation that becomes possible when they see it differently.

That is why the best business books do not sound like instruction manuals. Nobody curls up at night with a cup of tea and a compliance checklist.

They use stories to make expertise memorable. So make readers see themselves in your story.

This insight comes from page 142 of my book Product Marketing Wisdom - which just completed 69 weeks on the Amazon bestseller list. Check it out at https://ProductMarketingWisdom.com/s

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