In this concise "6 questions in 7 minutes" interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with Paul Brody, CEO of Brody Consulting and BCG Publishing. Brody explains how his firm helps coaches, consultants, attorneys, medical professionals, and other experts publish books and leverage storytelling to grow their businesses. He emphasizes the importance of getting a story out quickly—"done is better than perfect"—and using a book as a platform for authentic connection. Brody highlights his client‑centric approach, promising a 24‑hour response time, and stresses authenticity, clear communication, and the Latin core values "veritas et utilitas" (truth and service) as drivers of referrals. He describes the "side effect" of doing business the right way: organic word‑of‑mouth marketing. The conversation also covers his recommendation of colleague Ray Brenn for virtual summit services, a brief recount of his first job at Enterprise Rent‑A‑Car and the lessons of sales, service, and work ethic it taught him, and concludes with a call to action directing listeners to getpublishsystem.com for a free book and personal strategy session.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Well, Pete, thanks again for the opportunity. My name is Paul Brody. I'm the CEO of Brody Consulting and our publishing imprint BCG Publishing. What we do is we help coaches, consultants, attorneys, medical professionals, attorneys, again, executives, business owners, people that want to share their story and to be able to utilize that for their business, whether that's to start as a platform of their business or to take it to the next level.
Paul, it's great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
Being able to help people finally get their story out there. I've worked with clients that have wanted to get their books done, believe it or not, for up to 40 years. And to really help people be able to break that wall down and realize that two things: one, don't be afraid to take the plunge, but secondly, done is better than perfect. Most important thing you need to do is to get your story out there so you can connect with other people. Because as you know, Pete Alexander, it's not about a pitch, It's not about any type of script. It is about genuinely being able to connect with the other person. And the most powerful way to do that is by having this, by having your own book to be able to share your content and but also be able to share your journey, your struggles and your challenges and not being afraid to be vulnerable.
It's so true. And, and I love the fact that you mentioned about it doesn't have to be perfect, because if it's going to be perfect, it's never going to get done.
Exactly.
Speaking of books, I have a fictitious book, Paul, with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
I think the most important one is always the first one, because you and I both know less than 20% of people ever finish a book cover to cover. So that first chapter needs to be about the power of connection and the power of belief. The greatest salesmen are those that believe in what they're doing, and that's the main thing. You have to be able to believe in it, but also it can't feel like work. This has to be fun. Being on the show with you today, this is fun. This is a great opportunity to be able to connect with other people. And if you love what you're doing, you're never working.
Oh, I love that. And I, and I hear the passion in your voice. It's great. Question number 4. Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
The main thing is just be all in with your clients, and that's the biggest thing. Know that you need to be there for that entire process, for whatever business that is, widgets or whatever, is being there from the very beginning, having their back, being supportive, having constant communication. With my clients, they're always guaranteed a response within 24 hours, no matter what. They can ask me anything, they always get a very clear and crystal response. But also, be authentic, be real, make sure you're clear, hey, this is how we roll, this is how we do our business. And we want to make sure this is the right fit for you. And if it is, we'd love to talk further. And if not, hey, we'll send you some great resources and help you get to that journey. You'll just be doing it more yourself.
And I like the fact, you know, being responsive, people can count on you. That builds your credibility with the audience. And then I assume that it opens up additional referrals for you as well.
The greatest marketing we do is by doing our jobs, by taking care of our clients,, and having them so happy with the results that they are referring clients to us all the time. And that's basically what happens with us. We're always having clients refer business because we do exactly what we say we're gonna do. Our core values is a Latin phrase, veritas et utilitas, truth and helpfulness, also translates into truth and service. And when you do that and when you back it up, everything takes care of itself. I call that the side effect of doing things the right way.
Mm, I like that. That sounds like another book, the side effect doing things the right way.
Absolutely.
Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
Tell you what, I think you need to have my buddy Ray on there. Ray Brenn, he's also in industry as I am. We partner together. We also do a virtual summit creation service, so we help people with doing done-for-you virtual summits where all they have to do is basically do the interviews with their guests, We do everything else. Ray's a great guy, and also he holds the same core values that I do. And when you can connect with people that have those same core values, then you know you're in a good position for the future.
Love it. I'll reach out to Ray. I appreciate that referral. And our final question, question number 6: please tell me about your first job.
So I was thinking about this because you mentioned it could be any point in time, and I'm going to tell you about Enterprise Rent-A-Car. So right after college, Our business was bought out and I worked at Enterprise and it taught me, it taught me a lot of things. One was work ethic. You work your tail off there, but in terms of a company to be able to start your career, that is the best place because you also learn about two of the most important elements in life, and that is sales and service and taking care of customers. And that has stayed with me now for roughly 15 years since I worked with them. So that is the advice I want to give. Is at a company like that, it's tough. But the thing is, a lot of these big companies, that's where they get a lot of their recruits from, because work ethic, but also sales and service and taking care of people.
Yeah, I have to, to, to, you know, say the same thing with my first job at Radio Shack. You know, they're no longer around, but the same thing— sales and service is what we did in the store. And, and if you didn't do that, guess what? Store wasn't going to be profitable.
Exactly.
So Paul, thank you so much for being on the show. How could people find you?
So you can find me at getpublishsystem.com. If you guys want to grab a free copy of my book on there, you can do that. Um, it is free, complimentary. You can also get more information about our business and how we work. And there's also an option to set up a strategy session with the company. Um, it is not with a member of my staff. It is with me personally. So if you have a story that you want to share, love to have a conversation and see if we can help. And if we can help, great. And if not, we'll send you on your way with some great resources because everyone has a story to share and we would love the opportunity to help you do that.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
