This week I read Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt.  While reading it I thought that this book should be in the hands of every doctor with a passion, project or idea.

So what’s a platform?

Very simply, a platform is the thing you have to stand on to get heard.  It’s your stage.  But unlike a stage in a theater, today’s platform is not built of wood or concrete or perched on a grassy hill.  Today’s platform is built of people.  Contacts.  Connections.  Followers.

If have something to say or something to offer you need a platform.  Most doctors have something to say or offer and so every doctor should have a platform.  It doesn’t need to be a platform like Sanjay Gupta (CNN) or Atul Gawande (The New Yorker), it can be 100 people who like your practice Facebook page or those 300 Twitter followers interested in the links you share.

Whether you’re a high demand physician speaker or just looking to promote your practice locally, Hyatt’s book offers a blueprint for wherever you are.   The chapters are pithy and concise with direct action for whatever you need.  This book is approachable and clearly written.  You can thumb through to find what you need and get at it without a lot of work.  The chapters range from beginner level subject matter to material for those fine tuning a well-established platform.  From how to get a great head shot to repurposing old blog posts, it’s all covered.

These days every doctor should be thinking about how to grow their platform, be it local or global.  Platform is a great place to start.

Michael Hyatt knows what he’s talking about.  As a former literary agent and CEO of one of the most successful publishing houses in the world, he’s seen it all.  He’s one of the few voices I have consistently listened to since beginning my blogging journey and he sits at the top of my list of people I would most like to have to dinner.

Check out his blog, a hotbed of activity on productivity and publishing.