I am old enough to remember Steve Martin when he was a young(er) comedian on Saturday Night Live and then in movies like Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid and The Jerk. In the latter, there is a very funny scene where he runs around the neighborhood announcing that “the new phone books are here” – as if the telephone directory was some sort of published masterpiece.
That is a bit how I feel after 3+ years of writing, editing, re-writing, and finalizing my first book. In fact, Xbox Revisited is here and ready for purchase. And believe me, I feel like running around the neighborhood to announce it, but reflecting the times, I will restrict my yelling to the digital world and ask that you help me spread the word around the neighborhood.
Xbox Revisited lays out my vision for what I call “civic engineering” which is simply how we can all help our community, non-profit, and government organizations work more effectively to improve everyone’s quality of life. It tells the Xbox story – and how a team of very committed people came together to birth a business, rescue it from the edge of disaster, and build it into a worldwide entertainment brand. The 3P Framework strategy process we used to fix the business is at the heart of Xbox Revisited and forms the core of my civic engineering message. It can be used in your personal, professional, and civic lives to drive transformational change, based on the key idea that it takes great simplicity to solve difficult problems. All you need is Purpose, Principles, and Priorities.
I hope you will do a few things to help me spread the message:
- Please Buy the Book – it is available now on my website and will be available on Amazon (in book and Kindle format) as well as other sites and stores beginning on September 3rd. Note that all profits from the book will be donated to charities like the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the US Olympic Committee – and dramatically more money will be raised if you buy from my website.
- Word of Mouth: Pass on this email to others who might be interested – or just buy them a copy of the book! Word of mouth is my most powerful marketing vehicle and your help is much appreciated.
- Speaking Engagements: The book is just one part of my civic engineering initiative. I’m available for speaking, guest lecture, and panel discussion opportunities and would love referrals and ideas. In the last year, I’ve spoken extensively at universities, business gatherings, conventions, and policy forums across the country and am excited to do this even more. Again, you can find out a great deal about my speaking topics as well as see me “in action” on www.robbiebach.com.
My marketing department (that would be me) would be very upset if I didn’t include some “marketecture” about the book – I hope you enjoy the read and find it helpful in all that you do.
What people are saying about Xbox Revisited
“Robbie presents a highly effective, common-sense strategy to address difficult business and community issues. And in the process, he challenges all of us to step up to the plate and participate in renewing our civic and political institutions. Seen through the lens of the creation of the Xbox, the story he tells from personal experience is both engaging and inspirational.”
Jeff Raikes
Co-Founder, Raikes Foundation,
Former CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and President, Microsoft Business Division
“..the book is a worthwhile read for two reasons. The first is that Bach offers a store of anecdotes about the Xbox years from a unique perspective. The triumphs and the terrors of launching a console from within a highly complex organization like Microsoft, as told by a Microsoft loyalist and insider, are interesting. Second is that the organizational lessons he’s learned, once distilled and packaged, are useful for individuals and for large organizations. His claim that these lessons ought to be used to “renew America” may seem grandiose. But he means them with absolute sincerity.”
Leading video game website
“[Xbox Revisited] is entertaining and refreshingly honest [with] useful business tips and frank, suspenseful narrative.”
About Xbox Revisited:
From Microsoft’s former Chief Xbox Officer, Robbie Bach, comes a unique book that provides a simple yet robust framework that can be used to tackle almost any problem. In Xbox Revisited: A Game Plan for Corporate and Civic Renewal, Bach takes business, non-profit, and community-engaged readers on the Xbox journey—a triumphant and personal saga from garage-shop beginnings to business success. Using the 3P Framework of Purpose, Principles, and Priorities developed by the Xbox team, Bach describes the process used to revitalize a beleaguered business and then applies those lessons to our most difficult community issues and the challenges of a nation at a crossroads.
After 22 years at Microsoft, Bach is turning his strategic and leadership skills to a new opportunity: helping individuals and organizations drive transformational change in business and civic institutions. The book is packed with common sense thinking and a strategic framework that can set change in motion at every level of community life. Xbox Revisited is a wake-up call, a challenge to every citizen to become a “civic engineer” addressing the issues we face in our communities and across our country.
Full Reviews of Xbox Revisited:
“Whatever Happened to Robbie Bach” – Polygon.com
“Review: Xbox Revisited: A Game Plan for Corporate and Civic Renewal” – Publishers Weekly
“The Untold Story of the Man Who Saved the Xbox From Oblivion Twice” – Bloomberg