How to Sell a Book (or Any New Idea) (step 1 is the hard part)

My friend Fred has a new book coming out and he was trolling around for new marketing ideas. I think he'd be surprised at this: Sell one. Find one person who trusts you and sell him a copy. Does he love it? Is he excited about it? Excited enough to tell ten friends because it helps them, not because it helps you? Tribes grow when people recruit other people. That's how ideas spread as well. They don't do it for you, of course. They do it for each other. Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work. If Fred's book spreads, then he's off to a great start. If it doesn't, he needs a new book. You don't get to take step 2 if you can't do step 1.