Sample outlines
Sample CEO book outlines you can adapt
A good CEO book outline moves one reader from a problem you understand to a result you deliver, in eight to twelve chapters. Below are three illustrative outlines from Big Impact Books: a methodology book, a vision book, and a client guide.
Last updated: Published by Big Impact Books
How do I outline a book as a CEO?
Start with the reader's problem, not your biography. Open with what your ideal client struggles with, show why common answers fall short, introduce your approach, then walk through it with real examples. End with what the reader should do next.
These are teaching examples, not client books. Swap in your own framework and stories, and test every chapter against the business goal you set in step one of the CEO book roadmap.
The methodology book
For CEOs whose company gets results with a repeatable process.
- Ch. 1The problem your best clients keep running into
- Ch. 2Why the usual fixes fail
- Ch. 3How you discovered a better way
- Ch. 4Your framework at a glance
- Ch. 5Stage one, with a client example
- Ch. 6Stage two, with a client example
- Ch. 7Stage three, with a client example
- Ch. 8Mistakes to avoid when applying the framework
- Ch. 9What results look like after twelve months
- Ch. 10Where to go from here
The next-chapter vision book
For CEOs writing toward where the business is going in the next five to ten years.
- Ch. 1The shift you see coming in your industry
- Ch. 2What leaders are getting wrong about it
- Ch. 3The cost of waiting
- Ch. 4Three principles for the next decade
- Ch. 5What this looks like inside a company
- Ch. 6Lessons from your own turning points
- Ch. 7How to start in the next ninety days
- Ch. 8The industry you want to help build
The client guide (ideal for attorneys)
For attorneys and professionals whose clients arrive anxious and full of questions.
- Ch. 1What most people get wrong at the start
- Ch. 2The questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Ch. 3How the process actually works, step by step
- Ch. 4Costs, timelines, and what affects them
- Ch. 5Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Ch. 6Stories of clients who came through it well
- Ch. 7How to prepare for your first meeting
- Ch. 8Life after the matter is resolved
How do I turn an outline into chapters?
Treat each chapter title as an interview question. In the Big Impact Books process, authors talk through one chapter at a time in weekly sessions of about one hour, and the team shapes the recording into a draft. If you prefer to write, give yourself one chapter per sitting and use the title as your first sentence.
This page is part of The CEO Book Guide. For the bigger picture, read why CEOs write books and what a book should do for your business.
Common questions
- What should a CEO book be about?
- Write about the problem your best clients pay you to solve, framed around where your business is going next rather than a summary of your whole career. Big Impact Books encourages CEOs to ask what kind of work, clients, and opportunities they want more of over the next five or ten years, and to write toward that.
- How do I get started writing a book as a CEO?
- Write down the business result you want from the book, the one reader you are writing for, and the big idea you want to be known for. Then sketch a chapter outline; the sample outlines on this site are a useful starting point. Big Impact Books also offers a free Book Planning Checklist on its website.
- What if I feel intimidated by writing a book?
- That feeling is common among accomplished leaders, and Big Impact Books has written about why writing a book feels intimidating. Breaking the work into weekly one hour conversations makes it manageable. Paula Yost said she was clueless about assembling and publishing a book, and the team handled everything she did not know.
- Can a first time author with no writing experience do this?
- Yes. An interview based process is designed for experts who speak well about their work but lack the time to write. Manisha P. Patel said talking came easily to her, so she talked through each chapter while Melanie’s team pieced everything together, which removed obstacles that had kept her from getting started.
- Will the book sound like me if someone else helps write it?
- It should, and that is worth testing before you hire anyone. Big Impact Books says it honors each author’s authentic voice and refuses to churn out cookie cutter content. Its interview method means the ideas, stories, and phrasing come from you, with the team organizing and polishing them into chapters that you review.