Why Writing My Latest Book Was a Huge Mistake: And What Every Speaker Can Learn from It

By Stephen Shapiro, CSP, CPAE

In mid-2024, I published what I believed to be my most important book yet.

It tackled today’s biggest business buzzwords, including uncertainty, volatility, disruption, and AI, and offered practical frameworks to help people and organizations regain a sense of clarity, stability, and focus. As someone who’s spent decades thinking about innovation and change, it felt like a timely and necessary addition to the conversation.

The feedback was excellent. The concepts resonated. But within weeks of launching the book, I came to a surprising conclusion:

I probably shouldn’t have written it.

Now, this isn’t false modesty or a veiled cry for compliments. I stand by the content. I’m proud of it. But the problem wasn’t the book.

The problem was me.

You see, one of the central ideas of the book is that in a world obsessed with what’s next, we often forget to double down on what already sets us apart. We chase reinvention when what we really need is amplification. It’s a call to rediscover our value in the unique contributions that are distinctive, desirable, and durable. In other words: focus on your differentiator.

The irony? Writing the book was me doing exactly the opposite.

Rather than concentrating on the signature experience that has created the most impact in my career, which I’ve delivered for decades with consistent success, I found myself chasing a new idea. A new message. A new contribution to the crowded world of content.

There’s nothing wrong with that, per se. As speakers, authors, and creators, we’re wired to explore and evolve. We want to bring fresh value to our clients and audiences. But sometimes, in the pursuit of something new, we forget to nurture what’s already working beautifully.

In my case, that “something” is an interactive experience I developed over 20 years ago. It’s physical, fun, and incredibly sticky. I’ve delivered it for everyone from startups to Fortune 100 companies. People remember it. They talk about it years later. They carry pieces of it in their wallets.

And yet, despite its lasting impact and clear differentiating power, I spent years treating it like a side dish while I kept creating new entrees.

Ironic, right? Especially for someone who preaches focus.

That moment of realization, when I saw how I’d drifted from my own core value, wasn’t just humbling.  It was catalytic. I began redirecting my energy, not because the newer ideas weren’t valuable, but because this older, proven one was irreplaceable. Others could replicate my keynotes or frameworks, but they couldn’t replicate this.

Here’s the broader lesson, especially for those of us in the speaking profession: Not all progress looks like forward motion. Sometimes, the most powerful leap you can make is a return.

In a world that encourages constant reinvention, it’s easy to feel pressure to develop a new talk, a new book, a new angle—every year. And while evolution is important, it’s equally vital to ask: What do I already offer that no one else can replicate? What part of my work consistently delivers the most value, resonance, and staying power?

If we’re honest, many of us already have our “signature dish,” which is distinct from a signature story. The problem isn’t that it’s outdated; it’s that we’ve become so used to it, we’ve stopped giving it the energy it deserves.

And here’s another key insight: The solution isn’t always breadth, it’s depth. The goal isn’t to do more speeches, it’s to go deeper into the one speech that sets you apart. Find your differentiator and then double down on it. Don’t just repeat it; reinvent how it’s experienced. Develop new formats, new touchpoints, and new ways to generate value for your clients using the same foundational content. Depth creates richness. Depth creates resonance. Depth creates results.

It’s tempting to keep chasing the shiny new thing. After all, we live in an era of content saturation and short attention spans. But often, the very thing we need isn’t more innovation, it’s sharper focus. It’s stripping away the distractions and investing more deeply in what already works, what already resonates, and what already creates transformation.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry put it perfectly: “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

This isn’t a rejection of reinvention; it’s a redefinition. Innovation isn’t just about what’s novel. It can also be about rediscovering what’s meaningful and magnifying what’s uniquely yours.

So, if you find yourself overwhelmed with ideas, juggling too many offerings, or constantly in creation mode, take a step back. Ask yourself a few questions:

• What part of my business consistently gets the strongest reactions or results?
• What experience or product has a shelf life longer than I ever expected?
• What do clients ask for, year after year, even if I’ve stopped promoting it?

And most importantly:

• Am I investing the majority of my time, energy, and resources into the content that sets me apart? Have I explored ways to create additional value for my clients by leveraging this content?

If not, maybe it’s time to return to your roots, not as a step backward, but as the most strategic move forward.

Yes, writing that book may have been a distraction from my differentiator. But paradoxically, it brought me full circle, with renewed clarity about where my real value lies.