Andrew Sherman, author of Road Rules, on navigating the road of life

After publishing 17 books on business growth and strategy over nearly 20 years, Andrew Sherman had a revelation. “It occurred to me that I had been accumulating a lot of thoughts about personal growth — development in life and rules of engagement in society,” says Sherman, a partner in the corporate and finance practice at the DC-based law firm Dickstein Shapiro. That revelation led to the publication of Sherman’s newly released book, Road Rules: Be the Truck, Not the Squirrel. The theme of the book is simple yet profound: There are 12 rules for navigating the road of life. In the following Q&A, Sherman takes us on a journey through some of his favorite road rules and lessons learned along way.

Who’s your target readership?

Andrew Sherman: For the first time in my life I’m writing for the general audience — anybody you would see on the street, anybody you would find behind the wheel of a car. Many successful books about life lessons tie back to things that we can all relate to in life.  Certainly we can all relate to driving — the book talks about many of frustrations, as well as the pleasures, of driving.

Could you share one of your favorite road rules?

Andrew Sherman: One of my favorites is “Share the Road” — that’s Road Rule number two.  “Share the Road” is a reminder that the road does not belong to any one of us, we need to conduct ourselves in a fashion that is sensitive to other drivers on the road of life.  So many of us get up in the morning and seem to think that the highway belongs to them both literally and figuratively in the way that they drive.  That is also probably reflective of how they are living their lives; not being cognizant of the needs of other drivers on the road — the needs of your fellow employees, the needs of your strategic partners, the needs of your family members.

Read the rest of this entry »