I am the author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World (Thomas Nelson). It is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller. Recently, Forbes magazine named me one of the “Top 10 Online Marketing Experts To Follow In 2014.”

This is my personal blog. It is focused on “intentional leadership.” My mission is to help leaders leverage their influence. As a result, I write on personal development, leadership, productivity, platform, and publishing. On occasion, I write about stuff that doesn’t fit neatly into one of these categories.

I also have a podcast called, “This Is Your Life.” I cover similar topics. My show is consistently ranked in the top ten of iTunes’ Business category.

My goal is to create insightful, relevant content that you can put to work in your personal and professional life. If you are in a position of leadership—or aspire to be—then this blog is for you.

I typically post three times a week. To make sure you don’t miss my newest posts, you can subscribe via RSS or e-mail.

My Top Posts

If you are new to my site, you might want to start with my most popular posts. Here are my top three in each category:

Personal Development

• The Beginner’s Guide to Goal Setting
• How to Find a Mentor to Help You Go Further, Faster
• The One Thing You Must Do to Achieve Break-Through Results

Leadership

• Creating a Life Plan
• The Importance of a Leaders Heart
• Five Characteristics of Weak Leaders

Productivity

• Yes, You Can Stay on Top of E-mail
• How to Shave 10 Hours Off Your Work Week
• Slay Your Dragons Before Breakfast

Platform

• Do You Make These 10 Mistakes When You Blog?
• The Beginners Guide to Twitter
• 12 Reasons to Start Twittering

Publishing

• Advice to First-Time Authors
• Literary Agents Who Represent Christian Authors
• Writing a Winning Book Proposal

Miscellany

• My Take on the Vibram FiveFingers Running Shoes
• 20 Questions to Ask Other Leaders
• Whatever Happened to Modesty?

You can also check my blog’s archive for a list of every post I have written or use the search function below my picture in the sidebar to find other posts that might be of interest.

My Biography

I am the former Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the U.S. I have worked in the book publishing industry for most of my career.

I began at Word Publishing while a student at Baylor University. I worked at Word for a total of six years. In addition to serving as Vice President of Marketing at Thomas Nelson in the mid-80s, I also started my own publishing company, Wolgemuth & Hyatt, with my partner Robert Wolgemuth in 1986. Word eventually acquired our company in 1992.

I was a successful literary agent from 1992 until early 1998. However, I really missed the world of corporate publishing. As a result, I rejoined Thomas Nelson in 1998. I worked in a variety of roles in both divisional and corporate management. I was CEO from August 2005 to April 2011, when I was succeeded by Mark Schoenwald. I was Chairman from August 2006 until the company was acquired by HarperCollins in July 2012. Since that time, I have run my own company, Intentional Leadership.

I have also written eight books, two of which landed on the New York Times bestseller list. My most recent one is called Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World in May 2012. In addition to the New York Times bestseller list, it hit the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller lists.

I have been married to my wife, Gail (follow her on Twitter @GailHyatt), for thirty-five years. We have five daughters, five grandsons, and three granddaughters. We live outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

In my free time, I enjoy writing, reading, running, and golfing. I am a member of St. Ignatius Orthodox Church in Franklin, Tennessee, where I have served as a deacon for twenty-seven years.

My Contact Information

You can contact me via e-mail or follow me on Twitter or Facebook.

Please note: I do not personally review book proposals or recommend specific literary agents.

Colophon

My blog is built on WordPress 3.8 (self-hosted). I use GetNoticed, a premium WordPress theme Andrew Buckman and I developed from the ground up. It is specifically designed for anyone wanting to build a personal brand. This includes authors, comedians, speakers, pastors, and corporate executives. The theme is currently in limited early release.

In terms of design, the body text font is Georgia. The titles and subhead fonts are Helvetica Neue. Keely Scott took most of my personal photos. Laurel Pankratz also took some.

For blog hosting, I recommend BlueHost. It is easy-to-use, reliable, and inexpensive. It also has superb, 24-7 support. It is the only hosting service I personally recommend.