Preorder My Book & Join My Launch Team!

Presale Campaign for (Sort Of) Do the Opposite

My name is Paul Gottsegen and I am the author of (Sort Of) Do The Opposite. I wrote this book because one of my most gratifying experiences is to nurture other leaders. I’ve learned how effective this ‘opposites’ style is by trial and error over four decades. In that time, I’ve also created a large coaching tree of marketing and business leaders who have learned from me. I’ve always wanted to find a way to scale this impact, and this book is my best effort to help others become more successful business leaders themselves.

About My Book

(Sort Of) Do the Opposite is about NOT following what you think is the expected approach to business success. In fact, do the opposite of what you’ve been trained, in terms of your style and methods of leading, communicating, and driving results. Following conventional wisdom is OK, but perhaps just a race to mediocrity. This book takes my 40 years of learning and best practices into a simple plan of how you can stand out and be exceptional at work.

The Benefits of Preordering

I am offering some exclusive rewards for people who preorder my book:

• All book purchases include a signed paperback and a handwritten thank-you note.
• All purchases include tickets to my virtual or in-person book launch event.
• Your name will appear in the Acknowledgments section of my book.
• You’ll join my Author Community and get sneak peeks into the publishing process.
• Early access to the Introduction and excerpts, to review and give me early feedback.
• You will have the opportunity to be involved in finalizing my cover and title.

What You’ll Learn

My hope is that, in reading this book, you will discover new methods to help you be more authentic, more kind, and create greater impact in your worklife.

In this book, you’ll learn fresh ideas on:

• How to evangelize
• How to develop a message
• How to lead a meeting
• How to make decisions
• How to give a presentation to a large crowd
• How to operate in a corporate matrix
• And how to create work/life balance

Who Is This Book for?

You will love this book if you are looking to grow your toolkit, and are open-minded about trying new plays that are a bit different, and will separate you from the pack.

(Sort of) Do The Opposite is a nonfiction book that speaks to ambitious business people who want to lead teams more effectively, achieve greater results, and create exceptional work–all while being kind and caring.

How the Book Is Organized

The book is written in four parts:

Part 1 contains the introduction and five additional chapters.

This part is focused on how to make an impact internally within your organization. It focuses on activities, such as how to lead large disparate teams, how to evangelize internally and how to communicate with skip level bosses. The opening chapter focuses on a breakthrough concept I started 15 years ago for internal communications, an all new method for inspiring your entire company. The weekly email I would send is titled Water Cooler Chatter, and delivers information in an informal, conversational, and clever style that inspired three different organizations and became my own personal brand as Chief Marketing Officer.

Part 2 contains Chapters 6-9 and focuses on how to make an external impact.

Many people mistakenly believe that one is either a ‘born communicator’ or not. I explain how anyone can create a core message or story and convey this in PowerPoint. I also detail how to present this most effectively and how to best evangelize on social media. These four are logically connected together as the value-chain of how to be an effective communicator. 

Part 3 contains Chapters 10-14 and is your ‘operations manual’ for more successfully engaging in work day-in and day-out.

I cover my best practices for how to make decisions, run a meeting, create work-life balance, empower your team and others around you, and how to support your team and colleagues in a way that makes them want to follow your lead. This includes a lesson where I was in a bit of a tailspin and the CEO of Infosys literally had my back.

Part 4 is a bonus section, containing a dozen detailed success tips

Those three sections above are plenty, but I’ve learned that in any endeavor, you should always strive to give a little bit more.

It doesn’t have to be much more, but always find a way to go beyond. There is a term in my hometown of New Orleans called Lagniappe–it means ‘a little something extra’. Section 4 is the Lagniappe section and includes a dozen or so vignettes–detailed nuggets of how I operate, and how I suggest you operate. You will be shocked at how picayune these get, and love it. For example, do you even ever think about removing gridlines from a spreadsheet?

About the Publishing Process

My publisher, Manuscripts, gave me a publishing team to help me produce and launch my book.

I am working with:

• A revisions editor, copy editor, and proofreader this fall to further hone my book (when you preorder a book, you’ll get early excerpts and access to earlier versions of my manuscript)
• A marketing specialist to coach and support me in marketing efforts, and help me reach new audiences
• A cover artist and layout editor will be designing my book. (The mockups you see currently are a placeholder)

Though I won’t have an exact publishing date until I get closer, I’m scheduled to publish in early 2026.

Other Ways to Support Me

Some people just can’t contribute, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help:

• Please share my presale campaign on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn with your friends, family, and network. Please use #DoTheOpposite and tag me so we can help amplify your efforts.
• Please recommend my book to five friends, family members, or co-workers who you think would enjoy it via text or direct message on social media.

Thank you so much for all of your support!

Paul

Paul Gottsegen: Marketing Maverick & Contrarian Thinker

Meet Paul Gottsegen, the rule-breaking marketing strategist who thrives when swimming against the current.

As President and Chief Marketing Officer of ISG, Paul orchestrates the firm’s global marketing efforts while maintaining his role as Chair of ISG Research—a division he propelled to unprecedented success from 2019 to 2023.

Paul isn’t your typical executive. His upcoming book, (Sort of) Do The Opposite: Unlocking Opportunity by Overruling Conventional Wisdom(Manuscripts Press, 2025), reveals the contrarian mindset that has defined his remarkable career arc—from pioneering the first network servers to transforming global enterprises.

While marketing remains his “center of gravity,” Paul’s versatility as a leader who has commanded large sales teams and shouldered full P&L responsibility sets him apart in the corporate landscape. His marketing alchemy has revitalized industry giants, including complete branding transformations at Mindtree and Infosys. Earlier, he shaped enterprise marketing strategies at technology powerhouses HP, Dell, and Compaq.

Beyond the boardroom, Paul channels his leadership into meaningful causes as Board Chair of the Gastric Cancer Foundation. His unique blend of technical expertise (B.S. in Computer Science from Brandeis University) and business acumen (MBA from The Wharton School) forms the foundation of his distinctive approach to challenging business orthodoxy.

Paul lives in Morristown, NJ, with his family, including three dogs and a cat. When not working, Paul is either playing guitar while singing classic rock, or playing golf.

To learn more, please follow me on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gottsegen/

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