Entrepreneur Revolution and Key Person of Influence - Daniel Priestley

This note now includes my notes on Key Person of Influence (January 2024).

Daniel Priestley's books are about building a business around what you create and the value you bring. These are my notes on two of them.

Entrepreneur Revolution

This book put into words things I'd felt for a long time, about how the world works and what entrepreneurship really is.

The idea that stuck with me most is the difference between consuming and creating. Priestley points out that everything we consume takes energy, not just to take in but to keep in our lives. Creating is different. When I create, I feel a clear surge of energy, as if making something reminds me what I'm capable of and what I'm for. The book pushed me to spend less time consuming and more time making things.

He describes being an entrepreneur as solving problems and creating value, working towards a vision that gives you energy rather than draining it. That's less about starting a business than about a change in yourself: a steady drive to grow and to have an effect.

The book is also practical. Priestley gives a framework for building and growing a value-based business, including nine maxims for a team's culture, such as "Influence comes from output, not confidence" and "Ideas are worthless, implementation is everything". They aren't just theory; they're practical, and they fit who I am and what I want to build.

It's a book I'd recommend to anyone serious about building something of their own.

Key Person of Influence

Here Priestley looks at influence: how some people become the ones others in their field turn to, what he calls a "key person of influence", and how you can become one. What sets it apart from many business books is that it's a step-by-step method rather than theory.

The method has five parts:

1. Pitch: say clearly and persuasively what value you bring.
2. Publish: share useful writing, whether articles, a book or online content, so people can see how you think.
3. Product: turn your expertise into products or services that can scale.
4. Profile: be visible and recognised in your field.
5. Partnership: build partnerships and networks that extend your reach.

The last part of the book is a call to action: stop waiting, and take on that role in your own work. The advice is practical, and it's useful for anyone who wants their work to reach further.

Read together, the two books cover why to build something of your own and how to become known for it.