Hema Crockett is an entrepreneur and former HR executive, leading successful teams in the private sector, as well as in the U.S. State Department and the Department of Justice. She is the Co-Founder of Gig Talent, a modern talent collective connecting high-caliber HR consultants and leadership coaches with innovative and forward-thinking organizations. Hema is a certified leadership coach, and a sought-after speaker on a range of topics in entrepreneurship, leadership, organizational culture, and building diverse teams. She has been published in Forbes and Thrive Global, among other publications. Hema is also the co-author of Designing Exceptional Organizational Cultures.
Michael Crockett (USMC, Ret.) served the U.S. military for 23 years, in combat as a member of the legendary “fighting” Fifth Marines and as a senior Leader at the School of Infantry. An expert in the Marines’ Fourteen Leadership Traits, he oversaw units at Seal Beach, CA, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and was the Senior Marine Corps Official at the U.S. Embassies in Kathmandu and Berlin. Michael retired from the Marine Corps in 2018 and is a sought-after speaker and consultant on military leadership and bringing the strong foundations and structure of military leadership into organizations. He is the head of Business Operations and Leadership Development for Gig Talent, alongside his wife, Hema. They live in San Diego, California.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you ended up writing a book?
Hema was an HR executive for 18 years before co-founding Gig Talent, a modern talent agency connecting HR consultants and coaches with forward-thinking organizations. Mike spent 23 years in the Marine Corps and now works alongside Hema leading operations and leadership development.
At the beginning of the pandemic, we noticed an uptick in requests from organizations for leadership coaches. People were struggling to lead in a remote environment. That led us to talk about the difference in the Marine Corps way of leadership, where leadership traits are taught from the moment a recruit enters bootcamp, as compared to business leadership, where leadership traits are not spoken about until a certain level or title is reached. We learned that while the underlying leadership principles were the same between the military and business, how these principles show up was different.
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
A deeper understanding of how to show up as a leader in their everyday lives, regardless of their role or title.
What are the top three tools you are currently using to write, publish, and promote your books?
- First, our publisher, Morgan James, provides a lot of marketing resources and Facebook groups to help their authors.
- Second, we have a wonderful PR team who set us up with radio shows and podcasts, enabling us to reach a broader audience.
- Finally, we have an internal social media guru who ensures we have strong content across our platforms.
What were the top three mistakes you made publishing your book and what did you learn from them?
We learned a lot from Hema’s first book, so we didn’t repeat the same mistakes here.
- At that time, one mistake was not taking the time to thoroughly read through the contract and think through the various terms and conditions, such as royalties. You can’t change a contract once it’s signed.
- Second, we didn’t document in the contract our discussions with the publisher on their promises to assist with marketing. They didn’t hold up their end and we were on our own.
- Lastly, we didn’t have a plan in place as to what happens after the book was published. Had we done this, we could have utilized it differently.
When will you consider your book a success?
We already do! We never thought we would write a book together and the feedback we received was more than we could have asked for.
Can you share a snippet that isn’t in the blurb or excerpt?
Leadership is a journey. Where you are today as a leader, regardless of how long you’ve been a leader, will be different from where you will be as a leader one year, three years, or even five years from now. This also means your leadership traits can evolve as well.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
The pandemic illuminated the gap in leadership that led to the book in the first place. The lockdown enabled us to spend time writing and finishing the book in four months. As for our business, the pandemic opened quite a few doors as we help place independent HR consultants and coaches, and HR was at the forefront helping organizations navigate Covid.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
We not only wrote the book together but we work together. This comes with the challenge of being with one another 24/7 and understanding where the work and home life separate. We found a balance and a rhythm and learned to openly communicate.
Another challenge was launching a new business right before the pandemic. As a team, we got very clear about our goals, mission, and vision. We also spent money to raise brand awareness. Over time, awareness converted to sales.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before publishing your book?
It would have been great to know how much (or how little) control we actually have over the final product. Maintaining control is easier when self-publishing or using a hybrid publisher.
Please share one thing new self-publish authors can do to gain more reviews on Amazon.
Ask people to leave reviews. It can seem strange to ask this, but it works! When we post on social media we will often write, “And don’t forget to leave us a review on Amazon.” When giving away books at speaking engagements, we insert a small card outlining our business and social media platforms with an ask to leave a review.
Can you share some of the marketing techniques that have worked for you when promoting your book?
- First, our publisher has resources that we tapped into, starting with an interview with them prior to launch. On launch day, the interview was published and advertised on all social media platforms, enabling us to share it on our personal pages, increasing visibility.
- Second, leading up to the book launch, we posted various teasers on social media to garner interest.
- Third, we secured reviews in advance of printing. For everyone that assisted us with a review, we provided a personalized gift, a signed copy of the book in branded packaging utilizing our book cover on the shipping boxes. When these packages arrived, people often recorded themselves opening the package or posted about the contents on social media.
Most important to us was partnering with an external agency to help us gain visibility by securing radio and satellite spots for various live and pre-recorded segments throughout the nation.
Lastly, we did a few giveaways and ads with places like Facebook and Bookbub and lowered the e-book price for a short time.
If you had the chance to start your career over again what would you do differently?
We wouldn’t change the paths we created and the positions we had over our careers. There were challenges, but there were also some amazing experiences and learning moments that have helped shape where we are today. With that said, early in our careers, we spent a lot of time working, neglecting the importance of self-care. So, while we wouldn’t change our paths, we would change how attached and connected we were to our careers.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
To-do lists! Creating a visual reminder the night before greatly improves focus and efficiency the day of.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to finish writing your book?
We created a writing schedule with due dates for each chapter. Having the visual reminder of what we needed to accomplish and seeing, “Final submission due” kept us motivated to keep going.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs and authors?
- Deep Work by Cal Newport provides tools on how to strip away the unimportant items we spend so much time on to focus on the work that brings the biggest value/impact.
- A podcast that provides amazing information on how to be an author, how to publish a book and some of the pitfalls along the way is Writeway by Rea Frey and Joe Tower.
- An online course we’ve taken is Find your WHY, because as an entrepreneur it’s important to understand who you are and what your mission is.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
Currently, our team is focused on scaling the business. We have never scaled our own organization so we are learning how to do this in a thoughtful way, one that is aligned with our values, the vision, as well as where we see the external landscape shifting.
If you only had $1000 dollars to promote a new book, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
Paid social media ads with a very clear, defined target audience in mind. Quality with a specific audience can be more important than quantity (ads everywhere).
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new authors?
The longer you wait, the less chance you will actually do it. Take it one step at a time and set deadlines. And be sure to write something every day – the more you do it, the better you become!
What is your favorite quote?
“A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.”
– Joe DiMaggio, former New York Yankees outfielder
Who should we interview next and why?
Chris Dyer author of Remote Work. The work he is doing around remote work and leading remote teams is wonderful.
What is your definition of success?
Success is doing what you love every single day and (hopefully) getting paid for it!
How do you personally overcome fear?
We try to focus on the bigger picture along with the desired outcome. Once we have the end state in mind, we break down the vision into the various tasks – what actually needs to happen. This helps us focus on the present while keeping the future in mind.
How can readers get in touch with you?
We are on LinkedIn under Michael Crockett, Hema Crockett, and Gig Talent. We are also on Facebook as TheEverydayLeader14. The best place to learn more about us, the book, and our business is our website, www.gogigtalent.com.
Author Interview: Career Tips, Tricks, and Smartcuts from Dave Liu, Wall Street Warrior and Silicon Valley Veteran
