Wiley Publishers just sent me an advanced copy of a professional trade book I wrote with my colleagues Dave Lepak and Jaime Bonache entitled Managing the Global Workforce. The primary audiences for the book are Human Resource (HR) professionals and students in HR courses. (My Rutgers Master of HRM students who have already graduated just breathed a collective sigh of relief. Could you hear it?)

Here's an amusing publishing question for you: How could a book that has not yet been released be available to purchase "used" from Amazon.com? Talk about an industry with a short life span. Yeesh.

While Managing the Global Workforce was written for practicing HR managers, I'd like to share one lesson I learned while writing it. A lesson about my own working style.

Honestly, I prefer to work alone -- especially when I write or doing anything requiring creativity. This preference is rooted in the fact that I sincerely enjoy the creative process, I am more introverted, and love getting totally lost in the flow of my thoughts. My husband will smile reading this and say it is because I like to stay in control. He may be right also. Whatever the reason, it is my personal work preference.

Managing the Global Workforce had three false starts since the original contract was signed in 2002 (one was a solo attempt on my part). My editor was patient. I was tenacious. In October of 2008 Dave Lepak, Jaime Bonache and I met to decide if we really had this book in us. We did -- and I learned a valuable lesson firsthand on what a well-formed team can accomplish together. We divided chapters according to our academic areas of expertise but then played different (and unspoken) roles for the team: Jaime kept us on schedule. Dave kept us succinct. I pulled our styles together into one voice.

While I still prefer to work on creative activities alone, I can honestly say that Managing the Global Workforce would not have been written if I stayed within my comfort zone.

Have you have had a similar type of experience... a time when moving out of your comfort zone produced a better than expected result? If so, please share your story -- I'd love to hear it.

All the best,

Paula