It's ready...

It may still have a few flaws. Some copy does not read as well as it might - as well as it will. There are a couple of spelling mistakes and misalignments. But overall it is doing the job and so we are going forward. It is time for this material to take flight. It is time that it was shared with a larger audience. It is time to send it out to the world.

And I have important partners to thank for this fruitful collaboration.

Collaboration....

Most of us have a distaste for power because inherent in its use is a subtle deception. Power is usually used in the form of trickery.

Using power to achieve one's ends feels like manipulation. And most people who use it, do so thinking they are being covert. They influence and seduce us by dangling rewards or disguising threats. They conceal their purpose behind a clandestine plot to get what they want by convincing us that therein lies our opportunity.

Power feels sneaky.

So we hate it. And we dislike those who use it.

That's why the great alternative to power is collaboration.

Collaboration is the process in which we honesty disclose to others what we are seeking and how we believe they can assist us. We offer to exchange our assistance for their assistance. Something is in this for both of us. No secrets. No manipulation. No attempt to exploit the needs of others so you might have your way.

Within collaboration is the chance for greatness. When we are free to focus on the work, our best comes out.

When power is operating between us, we are forced to spend energy protecting ourselves. We are constantly attending to our arrangement with others - ever concerned that we may be short-changed. Afraid that we are being had. Afraid that we are not getting our worth in exchange for our efforts.

Where there is no power, there is honesty. And that honesty leads to trust.

Power on the other hand destroys trust. Future exchanges are rife with doubt and fear. The fear that results from the use of power never really goes away. We cannot permit ourselves to ever allow another person to know that they have what we need, for we know that they will take advantage of our weakness.

Power begets power. Collaboration begets results that are mutually beneficial. Collaboration begets partnership and compassion.

Now why am I going on and on about collaboration?

Because it is the perfect segue to the great collaboration that has become the onhavingpower.com website.

First I must thank someone that has taught me a lot about the value of collaboration.

Frank Maidens is an exciting young artist that has created numerous innovative and dynamic designs. Focused on the effect of good communication, Frank combines fundamental elements like color and proximity with wit and humor. His designs speak to me in a way I have not experienced before. This partnership in bringing the visual representation of the work to life has been a joy. He has taken my basic concept and turned it into a dynamic conversation. His interpretation of the diagrams and layout of the copy brings the Dynamic of Power to life before one's eyes.

Not only is he a thoughtful intelligent person, he is a demanding colleague who seeks perfection and accepts nothing less from me. His passion for the message in this book and his commitment to its completion has been inspirational.

I believe he would say he has gained from working on the project. I can say that I have been lucky to have him.

To know more about Frank and his extraordinary design abilities take a look at his website.

www.frankmaidens.com


After Frank recreated the visual imagery, he took the concepts and adapted them for a website design. A wave of positive response came from the test of that design. So it was time to make it real.

The next critical collaboration over the past five months was with a former Marketing student of mine, Greg Miller.

Draft after draft of the website - keeping an eye to the details - has made its way to the web. His patient explanations of how and why things do what they do have brought me calmness. His ultimate commitment to complete this project as it was designed has overcome the countless operational issues he has incurred. The sheer amount of work involved went well beyond his original estimates and yet he hung in knowing how important the work was to all of us.

I have had the pleasure of watching Greg mature into a business man who believes in service and loyalty. I have always said you can't buy loyalty. If people give it, they give it for free. Greg has been loyal to this project. Now that we are live I can't thank him enough.

Greg has his own website solutions business that is growing everyday. You can check out his portfolio at

www.webdesigns.com


The most recent collaboration with Nick Firan has been short but fruitful. I need to thank Nick for his fast and brilliant work on the animation that opens the site.

I have believed from the beginning that visual representation of these ideas is not only important for the readers' ability to interpret and utilize the ideas in On Having Power, but it is also essential in the creation of a branding concept that will grow with each book. The brand imagery was wonderfully incorporated in Frank's design work. And now the animation demonstrates and connects the diagrams with that brand.

I am confident that this wonderful piece of animation will make that nexus in the mind of the reader and build a brand that will carry us through the next nine volumes of On Having Power.

Nick has a portfolio of wonderful work available for your consideration.

www.eightyfivedesigns.com

If the words of On Having Power speak to you at all, then I am sure the work of Frank, Greg and Nick will bring it more depth and meaning.

This is true collaboration. Their commitment to helping me communicate these ideas has made them better.