The Unintended Consequences of Writing a Book

When I published The SEQUENCE a year ago, I thought I knew what would happen.

 I hoped a few commercial real estate professionals would buy the book, find value in it, and perhaps improve their careers. I expected it to generate a conversation or two, maybe even a speaking engagement.

What I didn’t expect were the unintended consequences.

Writing a book has very little to do with selling books. Instead, it accelerated my credibility.

Fellow brokers no longer asked, “How long have you been in the business?” They simply assumed I had something worth saying. Conference organizers began calling. Podcast invitations appeared in my inbox. Brokers from across the country contacted me. Not to discuss a transaction, but to discuss a concept. 

The book opened doors that years of production alone never had. 

More surprising was what it did for me. 

Writing forces clarity. You cannot hide behind vague ideas when they’re staring back at you from a blank page. Every principle had to survive the question: “Would I stake my reputation on this?” If the answer wasn’t yes, it didn’t make the manuscript. 

The result wasn’t just a better book. It was a better framework for how I train new professionals, mentor younger brokers, and even evaluate my own decisions. 

Then came the biggest surprise. 

The book wasn’t the destination. It was the foundation. 

It has evolved into training programs, keynote presentations, workshops, interviews, articles, and conversations I never could have imagined when I typed the first chapter. Ideas that once lived only in my head now have a life of their own. 

That’s the funny thing about creating something meaningful. You think you’re producing a product. In reality, you’re building a platform. 

Whether you’re in commercial real estate, law, accounting, architecture, or any profession built on expertise, don’t underestimate the value of capturing what you’ve learned. It doesn’t have to be a book. It could be a series of articles, a newsletter, a podcast, or a class. 

The act of organizing your knowledge changes you. Sharing it changes how others see you. 

The unintended consequence isn’t that people begin viewing you as an expert. 

It’s that you finally become intentional about the expertise you’ve been building all along. 

Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104. His website is allencbuchanan.blogspot.com.