One of three phases
Idea Forge
The decision it settles: what argument you want to be known for, and how you say it.
- The core of the work: the argument you’ll be known for, built into frameworks, language, and an outline you can use.
- This is the hard part of a book proposal, done for its own sake, whether or not a book follows.
Idea Forge is the second phase. It builds on Authority Foundation, which settles who you’re targeting and tests your big idea, and it comes before Platform Strategy.
At a glance
The scope, in brief.
- The decision. What argument you want to be known for, and how you say it.
- Right for you if. You already know your big idea and who you’re targeting, and you want to build it out into an argument, frameworks, and language people repeat.
- How we work. A long intake session, then drafts shared in stages, with a one-hour call each week for about three weeks.
- You receive. The Playbook: one designed document in your colors, with an editable version for your team.
- Not included. A book proposal, a manuscript, or a finished keynote, course, or podcast. The Playbook is the argument and the outline you build those from.
What it covers
Inside Idea Forge.
- The central thesis, stated once.
- The pillars that hold it up, and what makes the argument distinct from everyone else’s.
- Proprietary frameworks and a methodology, named.
- The stories, research, and examples that prove it.
- Signature language: the phrases people will repeat.
- An outline of the body of work: a book, a keynote, a course, a podcast, or a program.
How it runs
From intake to finished Playbook.
Intake session
A long conversation to get everything you know on the table.
Drafts in stages
Frameworks can’t be produced live in a room. This is real writing: I write, you read, and each week for about three weeks we go through a draft together on a one-hour call.
Your revisions
You mark up each draft and I revise it.
The finished Playbook
The finished document, with an editable version and a two-page overview for your team.
What you receive
A document your team can use.
The Playbook holds everything we built in one designed document, with an editable version for your team.
Example contents
The Playbook
- 01 Your central thesis
- 02 The opposite test
- 03 What makes it distinct
- 04 The pillars
- 05 The named framework
- 06 The method, step by step
- 07 Signature language: a glossary
- 08 Story bank
- 09 Research and sources
- 10 Examples and cases
- 11 Conceptual outline
- 12 Formats: book, keynote, course, podcast
- A two-page overview for your team
A closer look at section 05. The structure people will remember you by, with its name, its parts, and the order they come in.
An example of the kind of document you receive. Yours is written for you, and its sections may differ.
After this phase
What comes next.
The Playbook is yours either way. If you want more, Platform Strategy is the next phase, priced and agreed on its own. If a book is where the Playbook points, we talk about how to build toward it, as a separate conversation.
Next step
Start with one conversation.
A free, 30-minute exploratory call. Engagements begin at $12,500.