Interview With Author Will Dean

It Takes A Tribe

Will Dean is a British businessman and former counter-terrorism officer and Harvard Business School MBA, who is the co-founder and CEO of Tough Mudder, and often is called "The Mark Zuckerberg of Extreme Sports. Dean was named to Sports Business Journal's prestigious 2017 "Top 40 Under 40 List." Tough Mudder currently employs over 150 people worldwide. The company repeatedly has been identified as one of the live streaming industry's content leaders.

1.      What really inspired you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea or experience and conveying it into a book? At Tough Mudder, our mission is to grow Mudder Nation into a global tribe that lives courage, teamwork, personal accomplishment, and fun. A large part of my inspiration for It Takes A Tribe was to consolidate the stories and history of this mission and to share it with a larger audience.

2.      What is it about and whom do you believe is your targeted reader? In many ways, It Takes A Tribe doesn’t have a targeted reader. I believe the stories of teamwork, camaraderie and perseverance speak to anyone who has encountered obstacles in their life, which is to say, almost everyone. That said, I do think there are two distinct audiences who will find the book particularly compelling. First, Mudder Nation, the 3 million participants, spectators, and volunteers who have experienced the power of the community firsthand, will be particularly excited to read the story of their movement in print.  Second, anyone interested in the power of community and its role at a startup. In the early days, our office was incredibly small;  it was easy to create a team mentality because we were all in that room together. As the company grew, it was important to ensure that our culture grew with it. It Takes A tribe chronicles the Tough Mudder movement, but I believe it also provides key learnings for anyone trying to start a business.

3.      What do you hope will be the everlasting thoughts for readers who finish your book? What should remain with them long after putting it down? If readers only take away one thing from It Takes A Tribe, I hope it’s the power of teamwork. Competition is the driving force behind so much of what we do, and I think it’s important to recognize that working together - mutual success - is equally compelling.

4.      What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers? Just sit down and write! As the saying goes, the hardest thing to do is begin.

5.      What trends in the book world do you see and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? The internet has given rise to so many different forms of writing and to so many new voices, giving us, the reader, access to a much broader scope of authors .  think that what it means to be “published” will continue to change and so, in turn, will books.

6.      What great challenges did you have in writing your book? I think editing is one of the hardest parts - knowing what not to include is just as hard as deciding what to put in.

7.      If people can only buy one book this month, why should it be yours? It Takes a Tribe is a  book about a movement, but hopefully it is also invitation to join that movement.

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book